FAQ

Off-Dock service or Inland Container Depot (ICD) offers entire item-wise package of service activities for handling the temporary empty and laden container, loading and unloading general export and import goods, and containers under custom clearance. It is an equivalent of a seaport located in the hinterland. It is also called a dry port. It receives and delivers container and general cargo by road, rail, and waterways.

Off-Dock service or Inland Container Depot (ICD) may be defined as per United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD): "A common user facility with public authority status equipped with fixed installations and offering services for handling and temporary storage of import/export laden and empty containers carried under customs transit by any applicable mode of transport placed under customs control. All the activities related to clearance of goods for home use, warehousing, temporary admissions, re-export, temporary storage for onward transit and outright export, transshipment of cargo can also take place from such stations."

The Off-Dock service is essential and significant for the following reasons:

• Concentration points for long distance cargoes and its unitization.
• Provides support and service as a transit facility.
• Provides customs clearance facility available near the centers of production and
• Reduces level of demurrage and pilferage.
• No customs required at gateway ports.
• Issuance of bill of lading by shipping lines, hereby resuming full liability of shipments.
• Reduces overall level of empty container movement.
• Provides competitive transport cost.
• Reduces inventory cost.
• Increases trade flows.

The primary functions of Off-Dock service may be summed up as under:

• Receipt and dispatch or delivery of cargo.
• Stuffing and stripping of containers.
• Transit operations by rail or road to and from serving ports.
• Customs clearance.
• Consolidation and desegregation of cargo.
• Temporary storage of cargo and containers.
• Reworking of containers.
• Maintenance and repair of container units.

The Off-Dock service is used to export different items like jute and jute made products, medicines, readymade garments, footwear, knitwear, woven garments, leather and leather products, frozen seafood etc. Various forwarders/shippers uses Off-Dock service as well like all other cargo services. Various forwarders/shippers realized the necessity of having an Off-Dock location and that is why they already started this service to smooth the export and import activity with customs clearing.

The duty on merchandise is based on bonded area and commercial area. Bonded area like Export Processing Zone (EPZ) is duty free for merchandise and commercial area is not duty free. Various forwarders/shippers uses Off-Dock facility for importing of different items like petroleum products, plastics and rubber articles, yarn, food grains, capital machinery, chemical, edible oil, sugar, wheat, spices, cotton and so on. To unload the items and for customs clearing with necessary formalities off-Dock facility provides different services to ease the process.