India–USA shipping

Shipping and trade glossary

111 terms Indian exporters and US importers run into, from the shipping bill and LEO to ISF, customs bonds and Incoterms, explained in plain words.

By topic

Trade terms & payment 15

A–Z

A

ACE: Automated Commercial Environment: CBP's system for filing US import and export data.
Advance Authorisation: A DGFT licence to import export inputs duty-free, in return for an export obligation.
Antidumping and Countervailing Duty (AD/CVD): Extra US duties on specific products from specific countries, set after a trade investigation.
APEDA: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, for food and farm exports.
Arrival Notice: The carrier's or forwarder's notice that a shipment is about to arrive, with the charges due.
Authorised Economic Operator (AEO): A trusted-trader status from Indian Customs that brings faster clearance.

B

Bill of Lading (B/L): The carrier's receipt for the cargo, the contract of carriage and, in its original form, the title to the goods.
Booking Confirmation: The carrier's confirmation of space on a sailing, with the cut-off dates.
Bunker Adjustment Factor (BAF): A surcharge on ocean freight that moves with the price of ship fuel.

C

C-TPAT: Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism: CBP's voluntary supply-chain security programme.
Cargo Insurance: Insurance against loss of or damage to goods in transit.
CBM (Cubic Metre): The unit used to measure cargo volume, and to price LCL shipments.
Certificate of Origin: A document certifying the country where the goods were made.
Chassis: The wheeled trailer frame a container sits on when it is trucked.
Commercial Invoice: The seller's bill to the buyer, which customs at both ends use to value the goods.
Consignee, Shipper and Notify Party: The parties named on a bill of lading: who sends the goods, who receives them, and who to tell on arrival.
Container Freight Station (CFS): A customs-bonded facility near a port where cargo is stuffed into or unloaded from containers.
Container Seal: A numbered seal on the container doors that shows whether the container has been opened.
Cost and Freight (CFR): The seller pays the ocean freight to the destination port; risk passes once the goods are on board.
Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF): The seller pays freight and minimum insurance to the destination port; risk passes on board.
Country of Origin Marking: The US rule that imported goods must show their country of origin in English.
Customs Bond: A surety bond guaranteeing that a US importer will pay its duties and follow CBP rules.
Customs Broker (CHA): A licensed agent who files customs documents and clears cargo with Indian Customs for the exporter.
Customs Broker (US): A US-licensed professional who clears imports with CBP for the importer.
Customs Location Code: The six-character code Indian Customs uses for each port, ICD, airport and SEZ.
Cut-off: The deadline for cargo, documents or VGM to reach the carrier for a sailing.

D

Dangerous Goods (IMDG): Hazardous cargo, which must be classified, packed and declared under the IMDG Code to ship by sea.
Delivered at Place (DAP): The seller delivers to a named place in the buyer's country, ready for unloading; the buyer pays import duties.
Delivered Duty Paid (DDP): The seller delivers to the buyer's door and pays the import duties too.
Delivery Order (DO): The release instruction that lets a trucker collect a container from the terminal.
Demurrage: A daily charge for leaving a full container at the terminal after free time ends.
Detention: A daily charge for keeping a carrier's container outside the terminal beyond free time.
DGFT: The Directorate General of Foreign Trade, which runs India's Foreign Trade Policy.
Documentary Collection (D/P, D/A): Banks exchange the shipping documents for payment (D/P) or for the buyer's promise to pay (D/A).
Drayage: Short-distance trucking of containers between a port or rail ramp and a warehouse.
Dunnage: Material used to fill gaps and protect cargo inside a container.
Duty Drawback: A refund of customs duties paid on imported inputs used to make exported goods.

E

e-BRC: Electronic Bank Realisation Certificate: proof that the export payment has been received.
Entry Summary (CBP Form 7501): The US customs document that declares the goods, their classification, value and the duties owed.
EPCG Scheme: Export Promotion Capital Goods: import machinery duty-free against an export obligation.
Ex Works (EXW): The seller makes the goods available at its premises; the buyer does everything else.
Export General Manifest (EGM): The carrier's declaration to Indian Customs of the cargo loaded on a departing vessel.
Export Oriented Unit (EOU): A unit that commits to export its output and gets duty-free inputs in return.
Export Promotion Council (EPC): An industry body that supports exporters of a product group and issues RCMCs.

F

FDA Prior Notice: Advance notice to the US FDA required for food shipments before they arrive.
Feeder Vessel: A smaller ship that carries containers between regional ports and a hub port.
Flat Rack and Open Top: Special containers for cargo too tall, wide or heavy to load through standard doors.
Foreign Trade Policy (FTP): India's framework of export and import rules and incentive schemes, administered by DGFT.
Formal Entry: The full US customs entry required for most commercial shipments valued over $2,500.
Free Carrier (FCA): The seller clears the goods for export and hands them to the buyer's carrier at a named place.
Free on Board (FOB): The seller delivers the goods on board the vessel at the port of shipment; the buyer pays the ocean freight.
Free Time: The days allowed to use a container or leave it at the terminal before charges start.
Freight Forwarder: A company that arranges shipping on the shipper's behalf: booking, paperwork, customs and delivery.
Full Container Load (FCL): Shipping a whole container for one shipper's cargo.
Fumigation Certificate: Proof that cargo or its packing was fumigated against pests before shipment.

G

General Average: A maritime rule under which all cargo owners share the cost of saving a ship in an emergency.
General Rate Increase (GRI): A rate increase a carrier announces across a trade lane from a set date.

H

Harbor Maintenance Fee (HMF): A US fee of 0.125% of the value of goods arriving by ship at US ports.
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS): The US tariff schedule: a 10-digit code for every product, with its duty rate.
High Cube Container: A container about 30 cm taller than standard, for light, bulky cargo.
House Bill of Lading (HBL): The bill of lading a freight forwarder or NVOCC issues to the shipper.
HS Code: The six-digit international product code that every country's tariff builds on.

I

ICEGATE: Indian Customs' electronic gateway for filing shipping bills and bills of entry and tracking refunds.
IGST Refund on Exports: The refund of IGST paid on exported goods, processed automatically from the shipping bill.
Importer Exporter Code (IEC): The 10-character code from DGFT that every Indian business needs to import or export.
Importer of Record (IOR): The party legally responsible for a US import: its classification, value, duties and compliance.
Importer Security Filing (ISF): The US filing, also called 10+2, that must reach CBP at least 24 hours before ocean cargo is loaded.
Incoterms: The ICC's standard trade terms that split costs, risk and tasks between seller and buyer.
Inland Container Depot (ICD): An inland dry port where export cargo is customs-cleared and containerised before moving to a seaport.
Inland Point Intermodal (IPI): Ocean service to a US inland city, with the rail leg included under one bill of lading.
ISPM 15: The international standard for treating and marking wooden pallets and crates used in shipping.

L

Landed Cost: The total cost of getting a product to the buyer's door: price, freight, insurance, duties and fees.
Lashing and Securing: Tying down cargo inside a container so it cannot move during the voyage.
Last Free Day (LFD): The last day a container can stay at the terminal before demurrage starts.
Less than Container Load (LCL): Sharing a container with other shippers and paying only for the space used.
Let Export Order (LEO): Indian Customs' permission to load goods for export, given after the shipping bill is assessed.
Letter of Credit (LC): A bank's promise to pay the exporter when it presents documents that match the credit's terms.
Letter of Undertaking (LUT): A GST filing that lets an exporter ship without paying IGST on the export.
Liquidation: CBP's final calculation of the duties owed on a US entry.

M

Master Bill of Lading (MBL): The bill of lading the shipping line issues, usually to a freight forwarder or NVOCC.
Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF): A US customs fee charged as a percentage of the value of most formal entries.
Mother Vessel: The large mainline ship that carries containers on the long-haul leg.
MPEDA: Marine Products Export Development Authority, for seafood exports.

N

NVOCC: Non-Vessel Operating Common Carrier: a carrier that issues its own bills of lading but does not run ships.

P

Packing List: A list of what is in each package, with weights and dimensions.
Partner Government Agency (PGA): A US agency other than CBP whose rules apply to certain imports, such as the FDA or USDA.
Peak Season Surcharge (PSS): An extra charge carriers add when demand on a lane is high.
Phytosanitary Certificate: An official certificate that plant products are free of pests, issued before export.
Port of Loading (POL) and Port of Discharge (POD): The port where cargo is loaded onto the ocean vessel and the port where it is unloaded.
Proforma Invoice: A preliminary invoice sent before shipment, used to confirm the order or open a letter of credit.

R

RCMC: Registration-cum-Membership Certificate from an export promotion council, needed to claim FTP benefits.
Reefer Container: A refrigerated container that holds a set temperature during the voyage.
Revenue Ton (W/M): The LCL charging unit: one cubic metre or one tonne, whichever is greater.
RFID e-Seal: An electronic container seal required on self-sealed export containers in India.
RoDTEP: Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products: an Indian scheme that refunds embedded taxes on exports.
Rolled Cargo: Cargo moved to a later vessel than the one it was booked on.

S

Sea Waybill: A non-negotiable transport document: the named consignee can collect the cargo without an original.
Self-Sealing (Factory Stuffing): Permission for an exporter to stuff and seal export containers at its own premises.
Shipping Bill: The export declaration filed with Indian Customs for every export shipment.
Shipping Instructions (SI): The details the shipper sends the carrier to draft the bill of lading.
Special Economic Zone (SEZ): A designated duty-free enclave in India for export-focused businesses.

T

Tare Weight: The weight of an empty container, painted on its door.
Telex Release: Surrendering the original bill of lading at origin so the cargo can be released at destination without it.
Terminal Handling Charge (THC): The charge for handling a container at the origin or destination terminal.
TEU: Twenty-foot Equivalent Unit: the standard measure of container capacity.
Through Bill of Lading: One bill of lading covering several legs, such as rail in India, ocean and rail in the US.
Transit Time: How long a shipment takes, usually quoted port to port.
Transloading: Moving goods from an ocean container into a domestic truck or trailer near the port.
Transshipment: Moving a container from one vessel to another at an intermediate port.

U

UN/LOCODE: The five-character UN code for ports and other trade locations, such as INMAA for Chennai.

V

Verified Gross Mass (VGM): The certified total weight of a packed container, required before it can be loaded.

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Shipping and trade glossary

By topic

India export 31

US import 25

Shipping 40

Trade terms & payment 15

A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

P

R

S

T

U

V

Vessel Schedules from Leading Global Shipping Lines

atmavaan

location_onUSA — Atmavaan, Inc.

location_onIndia — Atmavaan Logistics Pvt Ltd

location_onCanada — Atmavaan, Inc.

Primary Services

Additional Services

Shipping and trade glossary

By topic

India export 31

US import 25

Shipping 40

Trade terms & payment 15

A–Z

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

L

M

N

P

R

S

T

U

V

Vessel Schedules from Leading Global Shipping Lines

atmavaan

location_onUSA — Atmavaan, Inc.

location_onIndia — Atmavaan Logistics Pvt Ltd

location_onCanada — Atmavaan, Inc.