DEM/DET KNOWLEDGE HUB
Combined DEM/DET: Separate Charges and Combined Free Time
Combined DEM/DET treats the usage periods associated with DEM and DET under one set of terms. It can use a shared allowance instead of Separate allowances, but it is not a condition you create by adding two Free Time numbers together.
Separate versus Combined
With Separate charges, read DEM and DET as individual items and identify the start, end and Free Time for each. With Combined terms, identify the allowance and rates for the full period defined by that tariff. Establish the applicable structure before interpreting any number.
A Combined row does not mean Separate charges should be added to it. Check whether the structures are alternatives and which conditions select the applicable one. Also avoid assuming that terminal storage or additional services are included in the combined item.
Reading a shared allowance
Read Combined Free Time as an allowance for the overall usage period specified in the source. If that period covers time before and after gate-out, do not automatically treat gate-out as the start of a fresh free period.
Whether time unused before gate-out remains available afterward, or whether other limits apply, depends on the tariff. A shared-period concept helps you start the review; it does not establish an unrestricted transfer right or replace the applicable contract terms.
Fictional example: an intermediate move does not reset counting
Fictional example: the overall usage period is seven counted days, consisting of four before gate-out and three afterward. The invented Combined allowance is six counted days. Both parts use the same counting basis, and the intermediate event is not counted twice.
Under these fictional rules, one of the seven days exceeds the allowance. Gate-out does not create another six-day allowance. No actual charging decision, rate or currency is specified, and the example does not reproduce a carrier’s terms.
For Separate charges, identify the allowances and events for each item afresh. You cannot split the example’s six days between DEM and DET, or convert two individual allowances into Combined terms by adding them. The counting structure must come from the applicable source.
Conditions that are easy to overlook
The full import period may differ from the export period. Check the country, port, inland arrangement and return facility, and record the actual starting and ending events. Two rows called Combined are not necessarily directly comparable.
Check Free Time and charging-day bases, rate tiers and inclusion of the final date together. A scheduled ending event is also different from a completed event. Exceptions, additional services and contract conditions may appear in notes outside the main rate row. Read those notes before using the figures.
A sequence for lookup and comparison
Selecting Combined in IndustryQuery identifies the charge type for a lookup. It does not mean Separate rates are automatically summed or a combined rate is invented. When comparing a result with another charge type, confirm whether the underlying conditions can actually be compared.
For a practical handover, retain the overall period, movement records, applicable tariff and unresolved conditions together. Passing on only one row or a Free Time number can make a separate period look like a combined one. Preserve the distinction for the next person reviewing the shipment.
Confirm whether the official source specifies Separate or Combined.
Identify the period’s starting and ending events and its allowance.
Check the day basis and treatment of intermediate events.
Match rate tiers, currency, effective date, equipment and cargo conditions.
Confirm additional costs and shipment applicability before using the result.