New Delhi: The Parliament on Wednesday passed The Carriage of Goods by Sea Bill, 2025, with the Rajya Sabha approving it by voice vote amid the ruckus created in the upper house by the opposition MPs over the Special Intensive Revision issue.
The Bill has already been cleared by the Lok Sabha. With both Houses of Parliament already having approved the Bill of Lading Bill, 2025, it will now be sent to the President for her assent to be promulgated as the law.
Minister of State for Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Shantanu Thakur, moved the Bill to replace the 100-year-old Carriage of Goods by Sea Act, 1925.
The Act establishes the responsibilities, liabilities, rights, and immunities in case of goods carried from a port in India to another port in the country or any other in the world, and 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 bill simplifies the language, making the law easier to understand by stakeholders, particularly Indian exporters, importers, and shipping professionals.
While retaining the substantive legal framework, the bill is aligned with contemporary drafting practices, reducing ambiguities and minimising the risk of potential litigation.
The bill empowers the government to enable India to swiftly adapt to evolving international maritime conventions.
Besides, it ensures greater transparency and accountability by providing for parliamentary oversight of executive notifications.
On July 21, Parliament had approved the Bills of Lading Bill, 2025, which was passed by the Lok Sabha in March this year, to replace the 169-year-old colonial era shipping law with a simplified updated legal framework for shipping documents..
The new legislation will replace the Indian Bill of Lading Act 1856. The proposed legislation will provide a more modern and user-friendly approach to maritime shipping.
The current British era law, a brief three-section act, primarily governs the transfer of rights and confirmation that goods were loaded onto a vessel. With the shipping industry evolving and the global trade landscape changing, there is a pressing need for India to adopt a more comprehensive and understandable law that aligns with international standards.
(IANS)
