Indian Treaty Series

The Government of India and the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics on the basis of the Joint Soviet-Indian Communique issued on the 13th December, 1955, for the purpose of further development of economic cooperation and expansion of trade between the two Countries, have agreed as follows:

Article 1

For the purpose of maintaining regular cargo shipping communication between the Indian ports of Bombay and Calcutta on the one part and the Soviet ports of Odessa and Novorossiisk on the other part, a regular Steamship Service is hereby organised with equal tonnage participation of Indian and Soviet vessels.

Article 2

The vessels specified in Appendix No. 1 to the present Agreement are assigned for the Service mentioned in Article 1.

Each Party has the right to substitute its vessels mentioned above by other vessels, as well as to assign by mutual agreement additional vessels depending upon the volume of cargo moving and other circumstances relevant to the operation of the Service and involving the necessity of such substitution or increase in the number of vessels.

The schedule of sailings of the Service shall be fixed every three months after mutual consultation and agreement between the Organisations specified in Article 7 of the present Agreement and shall be announced a month in advance of the following three month period.

Article 3

The Parties to the present Agreement shall each operate their respective ships assigned to this Service independently and bear responsibility for financial results of such operation as well as for any kind of claims which may arise in connection with the operation of the vessels.

Article 4

Indian vessels in the Soviet ports and Soviet vessels in the Indian ports shall upon their entry into, stay in and departure from the ports, enjoy the most favourable conditions allowed by the corresponding laws, rules and regulations applicable to those ports.

All the dues on the vessels assigned to the Service shall be levied at the ports of India and at the ports of the U.S.S.R. in accordance with the laws and regulations which are in force at the ports of the two Countries.

Tonnage dues on Indian vessels assigned to the regular Service shall be levied on each vessel in the ports of the U.S.S.R. at preferential rates and only once a year irrespective of number of calls.

No income tax shall be levied or collected by the Government of India on the freight earnings at Indian ports of Soviet ships and no income tax shall be levied or collected by the Government of the U.S.S.R. on the freight earnings of Indian ships at Soviet ports.

Article 5

In pursuance of their general policy of minimising delays to shipping and accelerating their turn-round at the ports, the parties to the Agreement will, consistently with their international obligations and the laws and regulations applicable to each port, adopt all possible further measures for the improvement of work such as-

(a) increasing the norms of output of loading and unloading;

(b) introduction of one or two additional work shifts as the case may be;

(c) working on Sundays and on holidays other than closed holidays; (d) earmarking berths for the loading and unloading of special commodities;

where such measures are in the opinion of the Port Authority concerned operationally feasible and conducive to the better working of the port generally.

Article 6

All payments arising out of the operation of the Service including payments for freight for transportation of cargoes on vessels on the regular line covering the Indian-Soviet goods turnover shall be effected in accordance with the provisions of the Trade Agreement dated December 2, 1953, between the Government of India and the Government of the U.S.S.R.

Freight shall be paid in accordance with the rates indicated in Appendix No. II to the present Agreement. These rates are liable to modification and revision from time to time by mutual agreement between the Organisations specified in Article 7 of the present. Agreement.

Settlement of freight shall be effected by the Organisations specified in Article 7 of the present Agreement by means of submitting invoices for collection through authorised banks of their respective countries.

Article 7

For co-ordination of all questions connected with the operation of the Service the Government of India hereby nominate the Directorate General of Shipping as representative on their part and the Government of the U.S.S.R. likewise nominate the Vsesojuznoje Objedinenje "Sovfracht" as representative on their part.

In particular, the Organisations are entrusted to compute the schedule of sailings, to distribute cargoes between the vessels of both the Parties on a parity basis, to revise freight rates, and to solve all other questions connected with the actual operation of the Service.

For this purpose, the Directorate General of Shipping may have a representative in Moscow and the Vsesojuznoje Objedinenje "Sovfracht" may have a representative in Delhi.

Article 8

By Agreement between the Organisations specified in Article 7 of the present Agreement, the ships of the Regular Steamship Service may call at Indian and Soviet ports other than those specified in Article 1 and also at ports of third countries.

Article 9

The Indian ships at the Soviet ports will be handled by "Inflot". The handling of Soviet vessels at the Indian ports will be effected by Indian firms to be appointed by the Soviet Party as their Agents in consultation with the Directorate General of Shipping, Government of India.

Indian vessels in the Soviet ports and Soviet vessels in the Indian ports may receive bunkers (liquid and coal), lubricating materials and other provisions including food-stuffs for the crew at usual prices and on usual conditions prevailing at the ports of both the Countries.

Article 10

The present Agreement will come into force from the date of its signing and shall continue to be in force until either Party declare their intention to determine it by giving three months' notice in writing to the other Party.

EFFECTED in duplicate in New Delhi on the 6th Day of April, 1956, in English, Hindi and Russian, all the three texts being equally authentic.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the representatives of the Parties duly authorised thereto by their respective Governments have signed the present Agreement.

Sd. N.M. AYYAR, On behalf of the Government of India.

Sd. AA. SAVELIEV,
On behalf of the Government of the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics.

APPENDIX No. 1

THE VESSELS TO BE ASSIGNED BY THE PARTIES FOR THE REGULAR STEAMSHIP SERVICE

On the Indian Part:

On the Soviet Part:

APPENDIX NO. II

SCHEDULE OF FREIGHT RATES FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF CARGO ON BOARD THE SHIPS OF THE REGULAR STEAMSHIP SERVICE BETWEEN THE PORTS OF INDIA AND THE BLACK SEA PORTS OF THE UNION OF THE SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS.

I. ODESSA/NOVOROSSIISK TO BOMBAY/CALCUTTA On F.I.O. Basis

II. BOMBAY/CALCUTTA TO ODESSA/NOVOROSSIISK