Parliamentary panel punches holes in Carriage Bill

New Delhi, May 7 : A parliamentary panel has questioned the rationale of the Carriage by Road Bill, 2005 limiting the absolute liability of goods booking companies (GBCs) to mere Rs 10,000 and not the total value of cargo and also suggested that overloading of trucks should be a ground for revocation of registration.

The bill, slated for a reintroduction in Parliament's Budget Session in a modified form, says the liability of the common carrier or GBCs for loss of or damage to any consignment will be limited to Rs 10,000 or its value declared in the goods forwarding note, whichever is less.

The committee, headed by Rajya Sabha member Nilotpal Basu, suggested that the absolute liability of a GBC for safe delivery of cargo should be at par with its invoice value.

It felt that the amount and extent of liability of a GBC could be regulated by an agreement to be reflected in the goods receipt and should be limited to the amount mutually decided between the consignor and the GBC.

The panel, however, said a GBC should not be held liable if it proved that the damage, loss or delay in delivery of a consignment had not taken place due to its fault or that of its agents.

Touted as the single largest attempt to reform the commercial road transport sector since independence, the Bill, once approved, will replace the Carriers Act, 1865, seeking to streamline the goods transport business and protect the trade and industry.

The panel concurred with a provision of the bill that lists out unforeseen conditions, under which a GBC would be exonerated from liabilities. These conditions include ''acts of God, war, fire, explosion, riots or civil commotion and orders of restriction by government''.

Recognising the menace of overloading, it said GBCs should be penalised for flouting provisions pertaining to axle load and gross vehicle weight as contained in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

It felt that despite improvement in the quality and network of roads and technical upgradation of vehicles, the load bearing capacity of trucks had not been revised since independence, which is restricting the tonne per km capacity.

''If the Registered Laden Weight (RLW) is increased by amending the 1988 Act, there would be an increase in government revenues.

The Department should consider enhancing the axle weight/RLW for goods carriers.''

Industry experts and leading transport bodies have been quick to hail the bill, saying the long overdue measure will trigger a major shake-out in the commercial road transport sector as it will fix accountability on transport companies and bring transparency in their functioning. It will tighten the noose on 'fly-by-night' transport operators by making it mandatory for all the GBCs to get registered with authorities concerned and file periodic details of their booking and delivery operations.

There have been numerous instances when a transport company would even elope with high value cargo and make a smart exit much to the chagrin of consignor and normally start afresh under a new name.

''The enactment will help the planner and the industry to generate proper and regular data base on movement of cargoes in the country.

It will work as a scanner on the movement of taxed and non-taxed cargoes,'' says Mr S P Singh, Convenor, Indian Foundation of Transport Research and Training (IFTRT).

There are over 130,000 goods booking companies (GBCs) in the country, which transport goods by road. Almost 75 per cent of the national cargo is handled by these GBCs with annual freight charges of Rs 1,80,000 crore.

The committee held that the proposed procedure of having five successive valid complaints for revoking the licence may defeat the spirit of the legislation and may even encourage erring operators.

The report also found the system of multiple registrations cumbersome and anomalous wherein a booking company prosecuted in one state, was allowed to carry on the business in other states under the shield of multiple registrations.

''This situation can be tackled if there is only one registration, i.e., in respect of the principal base of business, and the details of branch offices, if any, are endorsed in the certificate of registration.'' Thus, if a GBC contravenes any of the provisions of the enactment or if five or more complaints against it are established, it will be made to stop its business altogether as its registration certificate will be surrendered to the concerned registering authority.

''The committee recommends that offenders are dealt with strictly and put out of business altogether.''

UNI