FMC FINAL RULE ON D&D BILLING PRACTICES COMES INTO FORCE
On 28 May, the Final Rule on Detention & Demurrage billing practices issued by the US Federal Maritime Commission (FMC) took full effect. Invoices issued for D&D charges from this date must be fully compliant with all the new billing requirements.
Published by the FMC in February 2024, the rule sets out new requirements for how maritime carriers and terminal operator must bill for D&D charges: billing parties must invoice only those parties that have contracted for the ocean transport and storage as opposed to intermediaries or other services providers, and carriers and terminal operators are required to issue invoices within 30 days after the charges stop accruing and provide 30 days to dispute the charges with clear information about how charges should be disputed.
CLECAT welcomes FMC’s efforts to provide clarity on D&D billing practices which will be seen as a great relief for shippers and freight forwarders. This significant milestone comes amid the news reported by the Loadstar that claims to the FMC related to unfair D&D charges amounted to around $67 million since the entry into force of the OSRA. We now call on other regions to follow suit and adopt similar guidelines on D&D charges, also in support of modal shift towards non-road alternatives whenever possible.
Source: FMC