Documentation fee
Per-document charge. A second documentation fee on one bill of lading is a common duplicate.
What it is calculated on
Per document, usually per bill of lading.
What it appears as on real documents
Providers write the same charge many different ways. All of these mean this charge:
- 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
What settles it when you question it
The test is whether the amount matches what was quoted, on the same basis. If the basis changed, that is the thing to ask about rather than the total.
Ask for:
- Original rate quotation
- Bill of lading
- Applicable tariff or rate sheet
Before you book
This is normally quoted. If it is missing from your quotation, ask why before booking.
Ask: Confirm the documentation fee and that it is raised once per bill of lading.
Check a documentation fee on your own invoice
Free, and no account needed to start.
Upload your quotation and final invoice. ChargeBasis pairs every charge on its normalised type rather than its wording, reports which part of the difference your documents actually explain, and names the document that would settle the rest.
Charges that travel with this one
- Fuel surchargePercentage or per-unit surcharge. Check the percentage applied and the base it was applied to.
- Security surchargeSmall fixed surcharge. Usually valid, but should still appear in the quoted inclusion list.
- StorageDay-counted. Needs a start date, a free-time allowance, and an end date to be checkable.
- DemurrageContainer sitting inside the terminal past free time. Requires availability date, last free day, and gate-out …
Common questions
- What is a documentation fee on a freight invoice?
- Per-document charge. A second documentation fee on one bill of lading is a common duplicate.
- What is a documentation fee calculated on?
- Per document, usually per bill of lading.
- What should I ask for if I question a documentation fee?
- Ask for original rate quotation, bill of lading, applicable tariff or rate sheet. The test is whether the amount matches what was quoted, on the same basis.