What is demurrage and how do compliance delays cause it?

Demurrage is a storage-type charge. Ports, terminals and shipping lines give a free period after cargo arrives. If the goods or containers are still there after that, they charge for each extra day. Related charges, sometimes called detention, apply when a container is kept outside the terminal too long. Exact names, free days and rates vary by port, terminal and carrier, and they are set commercially.

We do not publish demurrage rates or free-time periods; they are not in official sources we can cite. Ask your shipping line, terminal and customs broker for current terms before you ship.

Demurrage rates are commercial, but the custodians who charge them are regulated by the Handling of Cargo in Customs Areas Regulations, 2009. These cover ports, airports, ICDs, CFSs and land customs stations, though not bonded warehouses^[1].

Two duties matter to importers. Every custodian and service provider must publish or display its schedule of charges, with the stated aim of cutting dwell time and transaction cost^[1]. And custodians must dispose of unclaimed, uncleared or abandoned goods within the prescribed time^[1]. So ask your CFS or terminal for its published tariff before the ship arrives.

Demurrage is storage at the port or CFS, detention is for keeping the shipping line's container too long, and late Bill of Entry charges are a Customs levy. A single delayed shipment can attract all three.

Usually the importer, or whoever the contract makes responsible. It falls on the party that controls the cargo at the Indian end, which for most small importers means you, billed through your freight forwarder or broker.

New importers of electronics, toys and other regulated goods are most exposed, because their first shipment often reveals a missing approval. Section 17 of the BIS Act bars importing notified goods without a Standard Mark under a valid licence^[8], and getting one takes time.

Goods cannot be released until Customs gives out of charge. If an approval is missing, the clock keeps running while you fix it. Approvals cannot be rushed:

• BIS CRS: BIS targets 20 working days for grant if documents and conformity are satisfactory first time^[4]. Testing at a lab comes before that. If BIS raises a query, it gives at least 30 days to respond^[4].
• Battery EPR: importers must register with CPCB before importing^[9]. CPCB must register a producer within two weeks of a complete application^[5].
• Plastic EPR: applications are processed within 15 days^[6].

CPCB has asked Customs to verify battery^[10] and plastic^[11] EPR registration at clearance. A shipment that arrives before these are in place can be held until they are.

Sometimes not. As reported, regulation 6(1)(l) says a custodian, subject to other laws, may not charge rent or demurrage on goods seized, detained or confiscated by Customs. A 2010 JNCH notice reportedly applied this on a detention certificate from the investigating officer^[12].

Read this narrowly. The relief is reported to cover formal detention, not ordinary waiting while you find a missing licence, and courts have let port trusts charge under their own statutes^[12]. On the carrier side, law-firm commentary says the 2018 sea cargo manifest regulations bar container detention charges for containers Customs holds to verify a declaration^[13]. If your goods are formally detained, ask your customs broker to request a detention certificate at once.

After 30 days the custodian can move to sell them. Section 48 of the Customs Act reportedly allows goods not cleared, warehoused or transhipped within 30 days of unloading to be sold by the custodian, after notice and with Customs' permission, unless more time is allowed^[14]. The cargo handling regulations also require custodians to dispose of uncleared goods within the specified time^[1].

For BIS CRS goods the end can be worse. A reported CBIC instruction says consignments that fail sampling may be sent back or destroyed at the importer's cost^[15]. Demurrage keeps running while you decide.

Most fixes take weeks, so they rarely fit inside a port's free period. The official timelines below are best cases; lab testing and corrections come on top.

Demurrage terms come from contracts and port tariffs, which we do not cover. The compliance rules that most often extend holding time are:

• No retrospective marking. Products must carry the Standard Mark with a BIS registration number^[19]. Display devices still need a physical label on the packaging at import^[20].
• Fresh test reports. CRS test reports must be no more than 90 days old when BIS receives the application^[4].
• Factory, not importer. Only the manufacturer can hold a CRS licence^[19], so you depend on the factory to apply.

If a QCO has just come into force, check whether transition relief covers goods already shipped; some orders exempt goods shipped before the implementation date if the Bill of Entry is filed within 180 days of it^[21].

An importer brings in a container of LED bulbs. Self-ballasted LED lamps are a CRS category under IS 16102 (Part 1)^[22], but the factory's registration has not been granted.

1. Day 0, arrival. The Bill of Entry was filed late, five days after the deadline. Late charges are 3 x Rs 5,000 + 2 x Rs 10,000 = Rs 35,000^[2].
2. Customs check. Officers check BIS registration for CRS consignments, as reported^[15]. With none, the goods cannot be cleared: covered goods must carry the Standard Mark with a registration number^[19].
3. The fix. The factory must test at a BIS-recognised lab, then BIS targets 20 working days for grant^[4]. Marking cannot be added retrospectively to goods already shipped^[19].
4. The result. Weeks of storage, which demurrage tariffs charge day by day, while the stock may still end up re-exported or destroyed under the reported CBIC instruction^[15].

The cheaper route was to check the licence before paying the factory. See LED bulbs and how long BIS registration takes.

Act the same day: find out why, stop avoidable charges and fix the cause. This order of work keeps demurrage as low as possible.

Yes. When a facility is congested, the Commissioner of Customs may restrict or stop new cargo entering it for a temporary period, for example 15 days, under regulation 7(2)^[1]. If your nominated CFS is affected, your goods may have to go elsewhere, so ask your forwarder to confirm the CFS before arrival. Filing the Bill of Entry early, up to 30 days ahead^[3], gives the most room.

• Check approvals before you pay the factory. Use the approval checker and the first electronics import checklist.
• Ask for the licence, not a promise. Get the BIS licence copy and model list before shipping^[19].
• Register for EPR early. Battery registration must happen before import^[9].
• Agree free time in writing with the shipping line and broker.
• Watch QCO dates on the QCO tracker.

No official source publishes port demurrage rates, but these official numbers decide how long goods sit.

• Bill of Entry: file it early to start clearance before arrival.
• Out of charge: the order that stops the storage clock.
• Customs broker: the agent who handles holds and waivers.
• Compulsory Registration Scheme: the BIS registration behind most electronics holds.
• High seas sale: a way some importers transfer goods before arrival.

See also why shipments get held at Indian ports and get a free compliance check before you ship.