Guide
Pass-through fees and the proof behind them
Some lines on a freight invoice are not the provider's own service at all. They are money the provider advanced to somebody else — a terminal, a government agency, an exam site — and is now recovering from you. These are held to a different standard from everything else on the invoice, and knowing the difference changes what you ask for.
Why pass-through charges cannot be quoted
A forwarder can quote its own handling fee because it controls it. It cannot quote a customs examination, because the authority decides whether to order one and the exam site sets the price. The same is true of duties and taxes, terminal charges set by tariff, and most government fees.
That means the absence of a pass-through charge from a quotation tells you nothing about whether it is correct. Comparing it to the quote is the wrong test entirely. The right test is whether the amount matches what was actually paid.
The receipt standard
For a charge advanced on your behalf, the supporting evidence is the underlying receipt: the exam site invoice, the terminal invoice, the government payment confirmation, the customs entry. It should reconcile to the amount billed, and where the provider adds a handling or advancement fee, that should be a separate identifiable line rather than folded into the amount.
A pass-through billed at a round number that no receipt supports is worth a question — not because anyone is presumed to be inflating it, but because the whole basis of the charge is that it reflects a third party's actual invoice.
The charges this applies to
- Duties, GST/HST, and other import taxes — should reconcile to the customs entry to the cent.
- Customs examination or inspection fees — need the exam notice showing an inspection was ordered, plus the exam site's own invoice.
- Terminal charges billed on by the forwarder — the terminal's invoice or the published tariff for the arrival date.
- Government fees and levies — the payment confirmation.
- Disbursement or advancement fees — the provider's own charge for advancing the money, which is legitimate but should be stated separately and agreed.
How to ask
Ask for the third-party receipt for the amount advanced, and for the advancement or handling fee to be identified separately if one was applied. This is an ordinary request. Any provider that routinely advances money on customers' behalf will have the receipts, because their own accounting depends on them.
Common questions
Is a disbursement fee on top of the advanced amount legitimate?
Generally yes — advancing money has a cost, and a fee for doing so is a normal commercial term. What is reasonable is that it is identified separately, that its basis is known, and that it is not silently folded into the amount presented as a pass-through.
The exam fee looks high. Can I question it?
You can ask what it consists of. Examination costs usually combine several components — moving the container, the exam itself, the site's handling, and return drayage. A breakdown plus the exam site's invoice will show whether the total reflects what was actually incurred.
What if the provider will not produce a receipt?
Ask again in writing, stating the specific charge and amount. A provider that cannot support an amount it advanced on your behalf has not established the basis for that line, which is a reasonable thing to point out plainly and without accusation.
A note on what this is
This guide describes how freight charges are commonly evidenced. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not describe the terms of your particular agreement with your provider.