ChargeBasis
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Reference

Freight fee glossary

The charge types ChargeBasis recognises on ocean and LCL invoices, the wording and abbreviations each one appears under on real documents, and the evidence a provider should be able to produce when the charge is questioned.

This is the same dictionary the product uses to match a quoted charge to an invoiced one — not a marketing summary of it.

Freight

Ocean freight
per containerNormally once per shipment
The base port-to-port move. Should tie directly to a quoted rate and the bill of lading.

Also appears as

ocean freight · sea freight · ocean freight charge · basic ocean freight · o/f · ofr · bas · basic freight · port to port freight · sea freight charges · freight charge · international freight

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Revised or superseding quotation
  • Bill of lading
  • Applicable tariff or rate sheet
LCL freight
per freight tonne (W/M)Normally once per shipment
Billed per freight tonne (greater of tonnes or cbm). The chargeable basis is the single most disputed input on LCL invoices.

Also appears as

lcl freight · lcl ocean freight · consolidation freight · lcl charge · less than container load · groupage freight · lcl w/m · freight w/m · ocean freight (w/m) · lcl sea freight

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Bill of lading
  • Measurement certificate
  • CFS receipt / warehouse receipt
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown

Origin

Origin charges
per shipment
Bundled origin-side handling. Ask for the component breakdown when it exceeds the quoted allowance.

Also appears as

origin charges · origin local charges · olc · origin handling · export handling · origin service fee · pre-carriage · export customs origin · origin fees · local charges origin

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
  • CFS receipt / warehouse receipt

Destination

Destination charges
per shipment
Destination-side handling. Frequently excluded from an origin-only quote — check the quote's inclusion scope before treating it as unquoted.

Also appears as

destination charges · destination local charges · dlc · destination handling · import handling · arrival charges · destination fees · local charges destination · import service fee

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Arrival notice
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Terminal handling charge
per container
Terminal-set tariff. The provider should be able to point at the published terminal tariff for the arrival date.

Also appears as

terminal handling charge · thc · terminal handling · destination terminal handling · dthc · othc · origin terminal handling · terminal handling charges destination · port terminal handling · wharfage · port charges · port service charge

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Terminal invoice
  • Applicable tariff or rate sheet
  • Arrival notice
CFS / deconsolidation
per freight tonne (W/M)
LCL deconsolidation, usually per freight tonne. Compare the CFS-measured basis against the quoted basis.

Also appears as

cfs · cfs charge · cfs handling · container freight station · deconsolidation · deconsolidation fee · devanning · unstuffing · destuffing · warehouse handling · cfs warehouse fee · break bulk fee · handling in/out

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • CFS receipt / warehouse receipt
  • Measurement certificate
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Drayage
per container
Port-to-door truck move. Waiting time and dry-run charges on top of drayage need a driver record.

Also appears as

drayage · port drayage · cartage · trucking · haulage · container drayage · pier pass · port to door trucking · inland transport · on-carriage

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Gate-out record
  • Signed delivery receipt
  • Driver waiting-time record
Final delivery
per shipment
Final leg. Accessorials such as liftgate or inside delivery should match what was actually requested.

Also appears as

delivery · delivery charge · final delivery · door delivery · local delivery · last mile · delivery to door · ltl delivery · tailgate delivery · inside delivery · residential delivery · liftgate

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Signed delivery receipt
  • Driver waiting-time record

Accessorial

Documentation fee
per documentNormally once per shipment
Per-document charge. A second documentation fee on one bill of lading is a common duplicate.

Also appears as

documentation fee · doc fee · documentation · docs fee · bl fee · b/l fee · bill of lading fee · document handling · doc handling fee · telex release · seaway bill fee · manifest fee · ams · aci

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Bill of lading
  • Applicable tariff or rate sheet
Fuel surcharge
as a percentage
Percentage or per-unit surcharge. Check the percentage applied and the base it was applied to.

Also appears as

fuel surcharge · fsc · baf · bunker adjustment factor · bunker surcharge · emergency bunker surcharge · ebs · low sulphur surcharge · lss · imo 2020 surcharge · fuel adjustment · fuel · eca surcharge

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Applicable tariff or rate sheet
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Security surcharge
per shipment
Small fixed surcharge. Usually valid, but should still appear in the quoted inclusion list.

Also appears as

security surcharge · isps · isps charge · carrier security fee · security fee · port security charge · terminal security · css · carrier security surcharge

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Applicable tariff or rate sheet
Storage
per day
Day-counted. Needs a start date, a free-time allowance, and an end date to be checkable.

Also appears as

storage · storage fee · warehouse storage · cfs storage · terminal storage · port storage · demurrage storage · free time exceeded · storage charges · yard storage

Evidence when questioned

  • Arrival notice
  • Last free day notification
  • Gate-out record
  • Published daily rate schedule
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Demurrage
per day
Container sitting inside the terminal past free time. Requires availability date, last free day, and gate-out date.

Also appears as

demurrage · demurrage charge · port demurrage · terminal demurrage · container demurrage · dem · free time exceeded demurrage · demurrage & detention · dem/det

Evidence when questioned

  • Arrival notice
  • Container availability notice
  • Last free day notification
  • Gate-out record
  • Published daily rate schedule
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Detention
per day
Container held outside the terminal past free time. Requires gate-out and empty-return dates.

Also appears as

detention · detention charge · container detention · per diem · equipment detention · det · container per diem · equipment per diem

Evidence when questioned

  • Gate-out record
  • Empty container return receipt
  • Published daily rate schedule
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Chassis
per day
Day-counted equipment rental. Same date evidence as detention.

Also appears as

chassis · chassis usage · chassis rental · chassis fee · chassis split · chassis per diem · trailer rental · equipment usage

Evidence when questioned

  • Published daily rate schedule
  • Gate-out record
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown

Government and customs

Customs clearance
per documentNormally once per shipment
The broker's own service fee — distinct from the duties and taxes they advance.

Also appears as

customs clearance · customs brokerage · brokerage fee · customs entry fee · entry fee · clearance fee · import clearance · customs entry · broker fee · single entry bond · continuous bond · b3 entry · release fee · pars fee

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Customs entry / declaration
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Examination / inspection
at actual costPass-through
Cannot be quoted in advance, but must be evidenced: an exam notice plus the exam-site receipt.

Also appears as

examination · exam fee · customs exam · inspection · inspection fee · vacis · x-ray exam · intensive exam · tailgate exam · cbsa exam · cbp exam · container examination · exam site fee · registration fee exam

Evidence when questioned

  • Customs examination notice
  • Third-party receipt for the advanced amount
  • Government receipt or payment confirmation
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Duties and taxes
at actual costPass-through
Government money advanced on your behalf. Should reconcile to the customs entry to the cent.

Also appears as

duty · duties · duties and taxes · customs duty · import duty · gst · hst · pst · qst · vat · excise tax · mpf · merchandise processing fee · hmf

Evidence when questioned

  • Customs entry / declaration
  • Government receipt or payment confirmation
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown

Adjustments

Reweigh / remeasurement
per freight tonne (W/M)
The classic LCL surprise. Only checkable against a dated measurement certificate that names who measured and where.

Also appears as

remeasurement · re-measurement · remeasure · reweigh · re-weigh · reweighing · weight correction · measurement correction · cbm adjustment · volume adjustment · weight adjustment · requantification · revised measurement · measurement discrepancy

Evidence when questioned

  • Measurement certificate
  • Reweigh or remeasurement record
  • CFS receipt / warehouse receipt
  • Packing list
  • Original rate quotation
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Currency adjustment
as a percentage
Needs the agreed rate source and conversion date, not just a converted total.

Also appears as

currency adjustment factor · caf · currency adjustment · fx adjustment · exchange rate adjustment · currency surcharge · exchange difference · fx difference · currency conversion fee

Evidence when questioned

  • Original rate quotation
  • Agreed exchange-rate source and date
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Credit / reversal
per shipment
A negative line. Recognised so it can cancel out an apparent duplicate rather than inflate variance.

Also appears as

credit · credit note · credit memo · reversal · adjustment credit · rebate · refund · correction credit · less credit · credit adjustment

Evidence when questioned

  • Credit memo

Pass-through

Pass-through / disbursement
at actual costPass-through
Money the provider advanced. The standard is a receipt at cost, plus any separately agreed advancement fee.

Also appears as

disbursement · disbursement fee · advancement fee · outlay · cash advance fee · third party charges · pass through · pass-through charge · agency disbursement · reimbursable · recoverable charge · out of pocket · advance fee

Evidence when questioned

  • Third-party receipt for the advanced amount
  • Terminal invoice
  • Government receipt or payment confirmation
  • Line-by-line calculation breakdown

Check a charge against your own documents

Knowing what a charge is only gets you halfway. The other half is whether the documents you hold support the amount you were billed.

Check a freight invoice

Guides

On the evidence listed here

These are the records that normally support each charge in ocean and LCL freight. What your provider is actually obliged to produce depends on your agreement and the applicable trading conditions. This glossary is general information, not legal advice.