Ship dismantling to resume at Alang from tomorrow

Work at Asia's biggest ship breaking yard in Alang shall resume from tomorrow as the central excise authorities today decided to put the notification seeking change in system of invoicing by the ship breakers for transparency, in abeyance for one month.

Work at Asia's biggest ship breaking yard in Alang shall resume from Saturday as the central excise authorities today decided to put the notification seeking change in system of invoicing by the ship breakers for transparency, in abeyance for one month.

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"Work at Alang shall resume from tomorrow as the authorities have decided to put the notification demanding bifurcation of materials obtained from ship dismantling in abeyance for a months time," Gujarat Ship Recycling Industry Association (GSRIA) President Vishnu Kumar Gupta said.

A delegation of ship breakers led by GSRIA met the Chief Commissioner of Central Excise Kishan Singh today and urged him to reconsider the notification in the light of difficulty faced by the industry in its implementation.

"In the meantime, a delegation of senior officials will also be visiting few yards in Alang to examine the difficulty faced by ship breakers in complying with the new norms as per the notification," Gupta said.

"A final decision on the notification shall be taken only after the review. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) will be refereed on this issue before any decision is taken," a central excise official said.

Ship dismantling at Alang, which came to a halt on December 21, remained suspended for four days in protest of the notification.