Fuel surcharge
Percentage or per-unit surcharge. Check the percentage applied and the base it was applied to.
What it is calculated on
As a percentage of another amount.
What it appears as on real documents
Providers write the same charge many different ways. All of these mean this charge:
- 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
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
- Applicable tariff or rate sheet
- Line-by-line calculation breakdown
Before you book
This is normally quoted. If it is missing from your quotation, ask why before booking.
Ask: Confirm the fuel surcharge, whether it is fixed or revised at sailing, and what base it is applied to.
Check a fuel surcharge 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
- Documentation feePer-document charge. A second documentation fee on one bill of lading is a common duplicate.
- 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 …
If this charge is on an invoice you are questioning
- Charges that were never on the quoteSome charges legitimately cannot be quoted in advance and some should have been. How to tell which is which, using the q…
- Your freight invoice is higher than the quoteA practical method for reconciling a freight invoice against the quotation: which differences are contemplated by the qu…
- Can you refuse to pay a freight invoice?What withholding payment on a freight invoice actually does, why a lien over your cargo is the risk nobody mentions, and…
- How long you have to question a freight invoiceFreight trading conditions commonly carry short notice periods. Where to find the one that applies to you, what the cloc…
Common questions
- What is a fuel surcharge on a freight invoice?
- Percentage or per-unit surcharge. Check the percentage applied and the base it was applied to.
- What is a fuel surcharge calculated on?
- As a percentage of another amount.
- What should I ask for if I question a fuel surcharge?
- Ask for original rate quotation, applicable tariff or rate sheet, line-by-line calculation breakdown. The test is whether the amount matches what was quoted, on the same basis.