Demurrage and detention questions
Common questions, each answered from the provision that settles it.
| Sequence no | Slug | Question | Answer | Provision slug |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | part-541-scope | What invoices does Part 541 cover? | It governs D&D invoices issued by an ocean common carrier, MTO, or NVOCC. It does not govern billing relationships among and between ocean common carriers and MTOs. | cfr-541-2-a |
| 2 | missing-field | What happens if a mandatory invoice field is missing? | Under §541.5, the billed party is not required to pay the applicable charge. The report separately flags the possibility of a compliant reissued invoice; that is not an automatic permanent deletion rule. | cfr-541-5 |
| 3 | invoice-fields | What must a compliant invoice show? | At minimum: B/L number(s), container number(s), import discharge port(s), proper-party basis, invoice and due dates, free time and key operational dates, charged dates, total, applicable rule, rates, dispute contact/instructions/timeframes, and two certifications. | cfr-541-6-a |
| 4 | billable-party-after-541-4 | Who may be billed after §541.4 became Reserved? | There is no new automatic bright-line list. The invoice must still explain why the billed party is the proper party of interest and liable under §541.6(a)(4), with the contract, B/L, consignee role, tariff, and operational record considered in context. | cfr-541-6-a |
| 5 | thirty-day-invoice | When must the billing party issue the invoice? | Within 30 calendar days from the date the charge was last incurred. If late, the billed party is not required to pay that charge. | cfr-541-7-a |
| 6 | nvocc-pass-through | What is the NVOCC pass-through deadline? | An NVOCC billing party must issue its invoice within 30 calendar days from the issuance date of the D&D invoice it received. | cfr-541-7-b |
| 7 | mitigation-window | How long do I have to request mitigation, refund, or waiver? | The billing party must allow at least 30 calendar days from invoice issuance. It must attempt to resolve the request within 30 calendar days of receipt, unless a later date is agreed. | cfr-541-8-a |
| 8 | incentive-principle | What is the incentive principle? | Section 545.5 asks whether a charge serves the primary financial-incentive purpose of promoting freight fluidity, alongside cargo availability, return, notice, inspection, and policy factors. | cfr-545-5-c-1 |
| 9 | automatic-clock-stop | Does §545.5 automatically stop the clock whenever a terminal is closed? | No. It is a fact-specific reasonableness framework, not an automatic clock-stop or blanket closed-port exemption. | cfr-545-5-f |
| 10 | wsc-effect | Did WSC v. FMC invalidate all of Part 541? | No. The D.C. Circuit set aside only §541.4; the remaining invoice-content, timing, and dispute provisions remained in place. FMC later codified §541.4 as Reserved in 90 FR 60579. | cfr-541-4 |
| 11 | mandate-date | Why is 14 November 2025 not in the timeline? | The date is a FRAP-based calculation recorded in the report as expected, but no primary docket/FMC/Federal Register entry independently verified it in this research cut. The export therefore omits it rather than presenting it as a docket fact. | cfr-541-4 |
| 12 | charge-complaint | How do I start an FMC Charge Complaint? | Collect the invoice, B/L, payment proof, and operational evidence; state the alleged §41104(a) or §41102 violation; and submit through the FMC interim route at chargecomplaints@fmc.gov. | usc-41310 |
| 13 | complaint-route-choice | What are the available FMC complaint routes? | The 2026 framework distinguishes the no-fee interim Charge Complaint, the formal complaint route under §502.62, and the consent-based small-claims route under §502.304. Do not duplicate the same merits claim across routes. | cfr-502-62 |
| 14 | formal-fee | What filing fee is recorded for a formal complaint? | The report’s 2026 research snapshot records a $387 filing fee; check the current FMC fee page before filing. | cfr-502-62 |
| 15 | small-claims-consent | Does small claims require consent? | Yes. The small-claims route is the consent-based informal procedure described in §502.304; the export records a $176 fee and a $50,000-or-less scope from the research snapshot. | cfr-502-304 |
| 16 | eu-comparison | Does the EU have a Part 541-equivalent D&D invoice schema? | The official EU sources reviewed — Regulation (EU) 2017/352 and Directive 2011/7/EU — provide port-charge transparency and late-payment context, not a verified Union-wide Part 541-equivalent D&D invoice schema. | eu-reg-2017-352 |
| 17 | uk-comparison | Did the reviewed UK sources establish a single D&D invoice process? | No. The reviewed UK statutes and GOV.UK/HMRC materials provide carriage, harbour-charge, VAT, and late-payment context; no single Part 541-equivalent D&D invoice schema was verified. | uk-cogsa-1971 |
Sources
- 46 CFR Part 541 — Office of the Federal Register / FMC · Public domain
- 46 CFR §545.5 — Office of the Federal Register / FMC · Public domain
- World Shipping Council v. FMC — U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit · Public domain
- FMC Charge Complaint interim guidance — Federal Maritime Commission · Public domain
- Charge Complaint Procedures — FMC / GPO · Public domain
- FMC Summary of Fees — Federal Maritime Commission · Public domain
- 46 CFR Part 502 — Office of the Federal Register / FMC · Public domain
- Regulation (EU) 2017/352 — European Union / EUR-Lex · Reusable with attribution
- UK Ecosystem of Trust Evaluation Report — UK Government / GOV.UK · Reusable with attribution
2 further records are on file but not shown, because the publisher's terms do not clearly allow them to be republished.