“Latvian Port Fees Regulation and Law: Uniformity, Transparency, and Fairness Explained”

The regulations of the Cabinet of Ministers (MK) “Procedure in which the port authority determines port fees, their reliefs, threshold levels of port service tariffs” were developed on the basis of the Law on Ports. The Ministry of Transport (MoT) states that the big ports of Latvia have uniform, transparent, fair and non-discriminatory requirements for port fees, their reliefs and determining the limit levels of port service tariffs. According to the regulation of the European Parliament, these rules do not apply to small ports.

The Ports Law stipulates that the limit levels of port fees and port service tariffs are determined by the port authority. The MoU explains that, taking into account the recommendations of the European Parliament’s regulation, in order for port fees to be effective, they should be determined transparently in each individual port in accordance with the commercial strategy and investment plans of the port and – where applicable – with the general requirements set within the general port policy of the respective Member State. The MoU also states that arrangements should be made for said port services to ensure that fees are set in a transparent, objective and non-discriminatory manner and are proportionate to the cost of the service provided.

In the Law on Ports, the terms “relief” and “exemption” are used, and port authorities, after evaluating each case individually, are entitled to grant both reliefs and exemptions, taking into account the type of ships, the purpose of navigation and other aspects. Taking into account that port fee concessions and exemptions are granted to economic operators with the aim of keeping the port competitive compared to other ports in the region, such measures should be evaluated in the context of commercial activity support control.