Lok Sabha passes Bill to simplify maritime regulations

Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla conducts proceedings in the House during the Budget session of Parliament, in New Delhi, on March 28, 2025. Photo: Sansad TV via PTI

The Lok Sabha on Friday (March 28, 2025) passed a Bill which seeks to modernise provisions governing the carriage of goods by sea and simplify maritime regulations.

The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2024, was passed by a voice vote. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 9, 2024.

It seeks to replace the Indian Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925, which establishes the responsibilities, liabilities, rights, and immunities in case of goods carried from a port in India to other or to any other port in the world. The Act is in conformance with the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading of August 1924 (Hague Rules) and subsequent amendments to it.

The new Bill retains all provisions of the Act. It empowers the Union government to issue directions for carrying out provisions of the Bill, and amend the schedule specifying rules applicable to Bills of Lading.

A bill of lading refers to a document issued by a freight carrier to a shipper. It contains details such as the type, quantity, condition, and destination of goods being carried. The rules outline the responsibilities, liabilities, rights, and immunities of goods carriers.

Eliminate colonial laws

Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal, while replying to the debate before the passage of the Bill, said that the new legislation is part of the government’s broader initiative to eliminate colonial-era laws and simplify maritime regulations for the ease of doing business.

“This new legislation is a part of the greater initiative of the government to rid ourselves of all vestiges of the colonial mindset and ensure ease of understanding and ease of doing business through simple and rationalised law,” Mr Sonowal said.

He said the Bill aims to provide clear responsibilities, liabilities, rights and immunities for carriers in the shipping industry, ensuring a smooth implementation. “We have taken all stakeholders on board and our main intention is to make the law simpler and better understood,” he said.