Articles
Articles
Practical guides for logistics, transport and finance professionals — specific cases, not general marketing material. Articles are updated when regulations or deadlines change.
Browse by topic:
All articles
Road tolls · · 5 min read
In Norway the issuer refunds the overcharge, not the toll company
The stations belong to the toll company, but the invoice comes from the AutoPASS issuer. Who the claim is addressed to decides whether it succeeds.
Read
Freight audit · · 5 min read
Ad valorem is not insurance: what you actually bought
A declared value charge raises the carrier's limit of liability. It pays only when the carrier is liable — insurance works differently.
Read
Freight audit · · 5 min read
A declared value charge with no entry in the consignment note
Raising the limit of liability works only when the declared value is entered in the transport document. Without the entry, the charge bought nothing.
Read
Freight audit · · 5 min read
When there is no point in raising the limit of liability
On the road the limit is 8.33 SDR per kilogram. For cheap heavy cargo it never comes into play, so an ad valorem charge has no function.
Read
Customs · · 5 min read
Returned goods: three years and an application
Goods exported from the EU and returned within three years may be relieved of import duty. The relief is granted upon application — and most often nobody makes one.
Read
Customs · · 5 min read
Repair abroad and duty on the full value
Goods sent out for repair and returned may be charged on the value of the repair only, and where the repair is under warranty — possibly with no duty at all.
Read
Customs · · 5 min read
Why missed reliefs are not recovered
Amending a declaration after the release of the goods is limited. That is why almost the whole value of a missed relief lies ahead rather than behind — and it is worth knowing beforehand.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
Cost without a revenue line
Every cost line has either a matching revenue line or an explanation. The third option — revenue that was never invoiced — is usually invisible.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
The indexation nobody carried out
The annual indexation set out in the contract often never happens, because performing it is assigned to nobody. After two years the prices lag behind what was agreed.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
When not to issue the invoice
A late invoice can be legally possible and commercially wrong. How to set the limit, and why most of the value of leakage lies in fixing the process.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
The invoice dispute deadline in your contract
The dispute deadline decides not how many errors we find but whether the errors found are still usable. What it does to the audit scope, and what wording to ask for.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
The set-off exclusion in your contract
A set-off exclusion means a confirmed overcharge cannot be deducted from the next invoice. What that changes in practice, and why “not established” is not the same as “barred”.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
The invoice itemisation requirement
Without an itemised invoice thirty line-level checks cannot be performed — that is measured, not assumed. Why this clause decides the most, and what wording to ask for.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
What happens between the dollar and the euro on your invoice
A currency margin has no line of its own — it is built into the rate. The calculation takes a minute, but nobody does it, because there is nothing to see on the invoice.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
When the contract permits the carrier to set the rate
If the contract permits the other side to apply its own exchange rate, the margin is lawful. That is not a claim but a negotiating matter — and it can be calculated exactly.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
The customs value rate is monthly
The customs value is converted at that month's customs rate, not at that day's ECB rate. The error affects both the duty and the import VAT, and the refund window is three years.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
What a single audit will not solve
Some errors disappear for good after an audit, others come back with every new invoice. How to tell the two apart.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
Not paying or recovering — why these are not the same thing
An error found before payment and one found after payment are two different things. The second needs a claim, evidence and a limitation period to track.
Read
Road tolls · · 5 min read
A new truck in the road toll system: class one by default
A new vehicle is charged in CO2 class one until it is reclassified. Reclassification does not happen by itself and is done separately in each country.
Read
Sea and air · · 5 min read
Six thousand or five: the air freight divisor
The volumetric divisor decides how many kilograms you are charged for a cubic metre. The difference between 6000 and 5000 is a fifth of the invoice.
Read
Sea and air · · 5 min read
When 96 kilograms have to be charged as 100
Air freight rates have weight breaks. If charging a higher weight gives a lower amount, the lower amount applies. In practice almost nobody checks it.
Read
Sea and air · · 5 min read
The Montreal Convention does not cover your invoice
The 14 and 21 day limits in the Montreal Convention apply to damage to the cargo, not to an invoice overcharge. The limit for an overcharge is set by your contract, and it is often shorter.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
A written claim suspends the limitation period — but only the first one
Article 32(2) of the CMR Convention lets you stop the clock. What the conditions are, and where it most often goes wrong.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
A time-barred claim cannot even be set off
Article 32(4) of the CMR Convention closes the set-off route as well. Why that matters more than it looks at first sight.
Read
VAT and excise · · 5 min read
30 September: the deadline nobody extends
A late claim is invalid regardless of its merits. What has to be done before September.
Read
VAT and excise · · 5 min read
400 or 50 euros: why a quarterly claim is rejected and an annual one is not
The threshold depends on the period. The same amount can be inadmissible for a quarter and admissible for a year.
Read
VAT and excise · · 5 min read
Not everything you paid comes back: deductibility depends on the country
Only the share that would be deductible in the Member State of refund is repaid. Why an over-broad claim is more dangerous than a narrow one.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
CMR Article 32: why a three-year archive may already be too late
One year, and the clock starts three months after the contract. What that means for invoice audits.
Read
Road tolls · · 5 min read
Road tolls 2026: where the biggest changes are
Germany's exemption extended to 2031, Poland has no CO2 classes yet, the Netherlands switched systems. An overview with verified figures.
Read
Road tolls · · 5 min read
Sorted your CO2 class in Germany? In Austria it is still class one
Proof of the emission class is filed separately in each country. Why registering in one country does not carry over to the next.
Read
Road tolls · · 5 min read
Thresholds move every 1 July — why a classification goes stale
The CO2 class is not a property of the vehicle but a ratio to a reference value that keeps falling. And why both directions have to be checked.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
Which documents an invoice audit needs, and why
The invoices alone are not enough. What else is required, and what each document makes checkable.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
What to do if you do not have the carrier contract at hand
The rate schedule is often not available straight away. What can be checked without it, and how to obtain it.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
Why we publish no percentages until we have twenty cases
One hundred percent out of three cases is not an indicator. What sample a figure needs before it means anything, and what to judge a provider on until then.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
When a claim counts as successful
Claimed, accepted and paid are three different things. Why a set-off and “we decided not to pursue it” are separate states, and what each of them tells you.
Read
Methodology · · 5 min read
“That was not our tariff”: why it matters which version was in force
Tariffs change and the dispute comes months later. How to record what you relied on.
Read
D&D · · 5 min read
What a substantiated claim to the carrier looks like, and why most are rejected
A claim without a calculation and a reference to the contract clause is rejected almost automatically. What it has to contain.
Read
VAT and excise · · 6 min read
Commercial diesel excise refunds: which countries, and how much
Several EU states refund part of the diesel excise duty for commercial transport. The rates, the conditions, and where the gaps appear.
Read
VAT and excise · · 5 min read
Why your refund intermediary does not reclaim everything
An intermediary processes its own card transactions. What falls outside their field of view, and how to check it.
Read
VAT and excise · · 4 min read
Rates that change every quarter: how to track excise refund figures
Refund rates change often, and are sometimes suspended altogether. What that means for the calculation and for planning.
Read
D&D · · 5 min read
Terminal storage tiers: where one day costs four
The storage rate escalates in tiers and the boundary is stated in the tariff as a number. Why a one-day error costs more than a whole day at the first rate.
Read
D&D · · 5 min read
Working or calendar days: what the terminal tariff actually says
Common advice says free time is counted in working days. Two large published tariffs say otherwise — and that changes the order in which you check.
Read
D&D · · 5 min read
THC: what it covers and when it gets billed twice
Terminal handling charge is a bundle that also covers temporary storage. Where the overlap arises, and why several THC lines are not in themselves an error.
Read
Sea and air · · 6 min read
FuelEU Maritime and the EU ETS: two regulations, one invoice
One taxes the quantity of emissions, the other regulates energy intensity. Why both on one invoice is lawful, and what in them can be checked.
Read
Sea and air · · 4 min read
Blended emissions surcharge: why one line means you can no longer check
Carriers merge ETS and FuelEU into one surcharge. What that loses, and why splitting the line by guesswork is not an option.
Read
Sea and air · · 5 min read
Penalty or pool: why the FuelEU cost is not €2,400 per tonne
The penalty is the most expensive FuelEU compliance option and rare in practice. What that means for the size of the surcharge and for negotiations.
Read
Finance · · 5 min read
What late payment really costs: interest, €40 and the cost of working capital
The cost of late payment has three parts, and two of them are rarely counted.
Read
Finance · · 6 min read
Directive 2011/7: what rights you have and why almost nobody uses them
The rights have applied automatically since 2013. What they say, where member states differ, and why there will be no new regulation.
Read
Finance · · 5 min read
DSO against the agreed term: how to measure it and what to do with it in negotiations
Overall DSO says nothing about a specific customer. How to measure the gap between the agreed and the actual term, and how to use it.
Read
German toll · · 6 min read
CO2 emissions class on the German toll: why the default is the most expensive
The German toll rate depends on the CO2 emissions class, and without submitted proof the most expensive one applies. The operator never upgrades you on its own.
Read
German toll · · 5 min read
German toll refund: the three-year window and the BALM application process
The claim for an overpaid German toll expires at the end of the third calendar year. How the BALM portal works, and why most applications don't reach a result.
Read
German toll · · 5 min read
Axles, weight class and empty runs: where the German toll invoice gap appears
The tandem and tridem axle count, weight class from documents, not cargo.
Read
Sea and air · · 6 min read
ETS surcharge in ocean freight: what it's made of and what can be checked
From 2026, the EU ETS applies to shipping at full scope. What makes up the surcharge, what can be checked, and what is the carrier's commercial decision.
Read
Sea and air · · 6 min read
50% or 100%: how the EU ETS scope rule changes your invoice
The scope rule is set by the loading and discharge ports. Where errors happen and how to check them from the B/L.
Read
Sea and air · · 6 min read
Why ETS surcharges aren't uniform, and what that means at the negotiating table
There's no single standard for calculating the ETS surcharge. What can be compared, what can't be disputed, and how to use it in contract negotiations.
Read
Rail · · 6 min read
Wagon demurrage: how the hours are calculated and where errors arise
Demurrage is calculated hourly from the wagon's placement. Every hour begun is billed in full, and the rate can double.
Read
Rail · · 6 min read
When the demurrage clock stops: weekends, holidays, and customs procedures
Wagon demurrage is typically not counted on weekends and holidays, and the clock stops during customs inspections.
Read
Rail · · 6 min read
Surcharge codes in the CIM consignment note: how to identify what you're paying for
In the CIM consignment note, surcharges are marked with international codes. How they help separate demurrage from other charges.
Read
Sea and air · · 4 min read
Chargeable weight in air freight: when 43 kg costs more than 45
How volumetric weight is calculated, when it's worth charging the higher weight, and why a forwarder's system often doesn't do it.
Read
Sea and air · · 4 min read
Air terminal storage: a clock that runs in hours, not days
Free time at an air terminal is measured in hours, and counting can start from different moments. Where the dispute usually arises.
Read
Driver waiting time · · 5 min read
Driver waiting at the ramp: why it almost never gets paid
The truck sits, the driver waits, and none of it makes it onto an invoice. Why waiting hours vanish, and what needs to be documented for them to get paid.
Read
Freight audit · · 5 min read
Carrier invoice and contract: why they almost never get compared
An invoice gets checked arithmetically, but never compared against the contracted rate. Seven categories of error, and why they recur month after month.
Read
VAT and excise · · 4 min read
Till receipt or invoice: why half your documents never come back as money
Half the documents a driver collects don't qualify for a VAT refund. Why this surfaces too late, and what to ask for right at the till.
Read
Customs · · 4 min read
Retroactive preferential origin: how to recover duty when the origin document was late
Did the origin document arrive after the declaration was filed? Duty is often refundable. How it works, the deadlines, and what your broker will need.
Read
Customs · · 5 min read
The customs refund time limit: three years that end quietly
When customs must refund overpaid duty, when the three years start counting, and why the window closes unnoticed. A practical explanation.
Read
VAT and excise · · 4 min read
30 September: the one date after which foreign VAT stops coming back
An application to reclaim VAT paid in another EU country is filed by 30 September of the following year. How the €400.00 threshold works and what to sort out earlier.
Read
D&D · · 2 min read
Demurrage and detention: what's the difference, and why it matters in a dispute
Demurrage and detention are constantly confused, and in a dispute the difference determines which contract terms apply to which period. We explain it clearly, without the jargon.
Read
D&D · · 2 min read
How to prepare for a D&D dispute: what data you'll need and where to get it
A practical checklist: what documents and data to gather before disputing a demurrage invoice, and where to actually find them in your company.
Read
Freight audit · · 2 min read
From B/L to detention invoice: where the days go missing
The container's path from B/L issuance to empty return — and the points where the days that later show up on a D&D invoice actually appear.
Read
Driver waiting time · · 2 min read
Detention isn't just for containers: why driver waiting time also goes unpaid
Why the driver-detention problem is structurally identical to container D&D, yet checked even less often — and what it costs the industry.
Read
D&D · · 2 min read
Prevention or compensation: what a late response costs
A D&D audit recovers part of the money already lost. Real-time alerts prevent the loss in the first place. A fair comparison of both paths.
Read
Freight audit · · 2 min read
Terminal storage fee or demurrage? How to tell two invoices apart
Terminal storage and carrier demurrage often overlap for the same period. A practical explanation of how to spot when you're paying twice for the same thing.
Read
Fuel · · 3 min read
What CSRD/Scope 3 emissions are and why your customer is asking for them
Large companies are increasingly requiring Scope 3 fuel emissions data from their carriers as a condition of business, not a choice. What it is, why it's happening, and how to prepare without your own accounting team.
Read
CMR · · 2 min read
eFTI and e-CMR: what changes for your CMR data by 2027
The EU eFTI regulation takes effect on 9 July 2027 — exactly what changes for CMR data, why it matters to a forwarder already, and how to prepare without waiting for the final specification.
Read
Methodology · · 2 min read
Why most document-reading tools break when the format changes — and how to avoid it
Template-based OCR breaks the moment a document's format changes. Why our system reads CMR, rail and B/L documents by meaning, not position, and when it admits it doesn't know.
Read
Rail · · 2 min read
Rail Baltica and SMGS/CIM documentation: what's changing, when, and why it matters already
Rail Baltica — 870 km of new European-standard rail from Tallinn to Poland. Where construction actually stands, why it matters for SMGS/CIM documentation, and what it means for a forwarder now, not on paper.
Read
D&D · · 2 min read
The invisible fee: why cargo owners overpay every year
Why D&D errors almost never get checked — and what it costs the industry.
Read
CMR · · 3 min read
How much time does a freight forwarder lose manually entering CMR data?
An illustrative calculation of how many work hours a month manual CMR data entry costs.
Read
D&D · · 2 min read
How to check whether your demurrage invoice is correct: a practical guide
A five-step check you can do yourself in 15 minutes.
Read
Sea and air · · 3 min read
Extracting B/L data without legal risk: what to automate, and what not to
Why a clear line between data extraction and legal document confirmation is a strength, not a limitation — and how it protects your business.
Read
Fuel · · 2 min read
Fuel theft in your fleet: how to detect it with data, not suspicion
Why manual fuel-consumption tracking in an Excel sheet almost never catches anomalies in time — and how automatic comparison against a norm changes that.
Read
Rail · · 2 min read
SMGS and CIM waybills: why Baltic forwarders need to understand both
The Baltic region is the only place in Europe where a rail forwarder has to manage two different gauge and documentation standards at once. Why it's costly, and how to work with it.
Read