Delivery order in shipping: getting import cargo released

Customs clearance tells the port that duty is settled. It does not tell the terminal or the CFS who owns the cargo. That is the job of the delivery order, the carrier's instruction to release the container or cargo to the consignee. Importers who plan for it before the vessel arrives clear faster and pay less in storage and detention.

This guide describes general practice at Indian ports, as checked on 6 October 2026. Each shipping line, NVOCC, terminal and CFS sets its own procedure, documents and charges. Confirm them with your carrier or forwarder before the vessel arrives.

What a delivery order is

A delivery order (DO) is issued by the shipping line, or its agent, instructing the terminal, container freight station (CFS) or inland container depot (ICD) to deliver the cargo to the consignee named in it, or to the consignee's customs broker. Without it the cargo is not released, even after Customs has given Out of Charge.

Who issues it

• Direct shipments. The shipping line, or its agent at the port of discharge, issues the DO against the master bill of lading.
• Consolidated cargo. The carrier issues a DO to the NVOCC or consolidator named on the master bill, and the NVOCC issues its own DO to each consignee against the house bill of lading.

Knowing which bill you hold tells you whose desk to go to. Paying the shipping line when you hold a house bill does not get you the cargo.

What has to be settled before the DO

• The bill of lading. Surrender the original bill of lading, endorsed if it is made out to order, unless the shipper has arranged a telex (express) release or the shipment moves on a sea waybill, where no original is needed.
• Freight, if the shipment is on freight-collect terms.
• Destination local charges such as terminal handling, documentation and DO charges, as per the carrier's published tariff.
• Container security, a deposit or an undertaking, where the line asks for it, especially when the container leaves the terminal for destuffing at your premises.
• Authority and KYC. An authority letter for the customs broker or person collecting the DO, and your KYC documents if the carrier asks.

The DO process, step by step

1. Arrival notice from the carrier or NVOCC, with the expected arrival, the IGM details and the charges due.
2. Settle the charges, and surrender the original bill of lading or confirm the telex release.
3. Receive the DO, increasingly as an electronic delivery order (e-DO) sent to the CFS or terminal.
4. In parallel, file the bill of entry and complete Customs clearance up to Out of Charge.
5. Present the DO and Out of Charge at the CFS or terminal, pay its charges and collect the gate pass.
6. Take delivery, then return the empty container to the depot the line names, within free time.

Validity and revalidation

A DO is valid up to a date. If the cargo is not taken by then, the DO has to be revalidated, often with further charges, and storage at the CFS keeps running meanwhile. Plan Customs clearance so that Out of Charge comes inside the DO's validity.

Detention and storage: the clocks that start at discharge

• Detention is charged by the shipping line when its container is kept beyond the free days it allows.
• Storage or ground rent is charged by the terminal or CFS when cargo stays beyond its free period.

Both clocks start long before the DO arrives. Every day spent waiting for an original bill of lading or a freight payment can cost twice.

Common reasons a DO is held

• The original bill of lading is still with the bank or the shipper.
• Freight-collect amounts or local charges are unpaid or disputed.
• The consignee name on the bill of entry differs from the bill of lading or the IGM line.
• The DO was issued to the wrong CFS, or the container was nominated to a different CFS than planned.
• For house bills, the NVOCC has not yet received its own DO from the carrier.

Where software helps

Delivery orders are a chain of permissions across the carrier, the NVOCC, the CFS and the broker. Teams that track each job's bill of lading status, charges and DO in one place stop chasing them on the phone.

Logiintra covers container tracking, CFS operations and DO management, with each job's documents and status kept together. See our CFS and container software and NVOCC software, or read the guides on the IGM and EGM and the bill of entry.

More customs and GST guides

• Bill of entry process in India
• Shipping bill process in India
• e-Way Bill rules for transporters
• IGM and EGM in India
• IGST refund on exports