Security surcharge
Small fixed surcharge. Usually valid, but should still appear in the quoted inclusion list.
What it is calculated on
Once per shipment, regardless of size.
What it appears as on real documents
Providers write the same charge many different ways. All of these mean this charge:
- security surcharge
- isps
- isps charge
- carrier security fee
- security fee
- port security charge
- terminal security
- css
- carrier security 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
Before you book
This is often missing from a quotation entirely — not excluded, just not mentioned. A charge a quotation is silent about is the one that arrives as a surprise.
Ask: Confirm whether ISPS and carrier security charges are included.
Check a security 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.
- Fuel surchargePercentage or per-unit surcharge. Check the percentage applied and the base it was applied to.
- 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
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Common questions
- What is a security surcharge on a freight invoice?
- Small fixed surcharge. Usually valid, but should still appear in the quoted inclusion list.
- What is a security surcharge calculated on?
- Once per shipment, regardless of size.
- What should I ask for if I question a security surcharge?
- Ask for original rate quotation, applicable tariff or rate sheet. The test is whether the amount matches what was quoted, on the same basis.