The High Court has suspended the recently increased service fees at Chittagong Port for one month, following a long-standing dispute over the hike. The Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) had published a gazette on Sept 14 raising different service fees by up to 41 percent, effective from the following day. Mohiuddin Abdul Kadir, lawyer for the petitioner, said the High Court suspended the CPA’s circular implementing the fee increase for a month. He said the court also issued a rule asking why the fee hike should not be deemed “beyond legal authority”. Port users had opposed the increase from the outset, arguing that the proposed rates would put pressure on consumers and businesses.
