Free reference · The Logistics Files
The Plain Words Glossary
Logistics hides behind short words. Somebody says "the demurrage started at discharge and the DO is not released", and a perfectly capable business owner has no idea whether that is good news or a bill.
None of it is complicated once somebody explains it. Here is 47 terms, each in one sentence you could say out loud to a friend, with a link to the tool that shows you how it works. Search it, or browse by group.
The basics
The words you meet first, and the ones people use without explaining.
Goods being transported, or the money charged to transport them.
Harmonised System code, a number every product in world trade carries, like a barcode for customs. Your product's code decides its tax rate.
See it in the HS Code Finder →The work of moving goods from where they are made to where they are needed, and everything that makes that possible.
The official price list, either customs' book of tax rates, or a company's standard price list.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →Trade terms
The three-letter codes that decide who pays for what, and where the risk changes hands.
Cost, Insurance and Freight, the goods price plus insurance plus shipping. This total is what customs taxes.
See it in the Quotation Builder →Delivered At Place, the seller delivers to your address, but you handle the import taxes yourself.
See it in the Quotation Builder →Delivered Duty Paid, the seller handles everything, including your country's taxes, and delivers to your door.
See it in the Quotation Builder →Ex Works, you buy the goods sitting at the seller's door. Everything after that (transport, export papers, shipping) is on you.
See it in the Quotation Builder →Free On Board, the price of the goods alone, before shipping. If a seller quotes FOB, transport to your country is your problem.
See it in the Quotation Builder →A set of standard three-letter trade terms (like FOB, CIF, DDP) that say exactly who pays for what, and where responsibility passes from seller to buyer.
See it in the Quotation Builder →Documents
The papers a shipment cannot move without.
The air-cargo version of a shipping ticket, the document the airline issues for your goods. Often shortened to AWB.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →Air Waybill, the document the airline issues for your cargo; the air version of a Bill of Lading.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →Short for Bill of Lading, the sea-shipping document that proves your goods are on the ship and lets you collect them.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →The most important sea-shipping document, proof your goods are on the ship, and the "ticket" needed to collect them at the other end. Often shortened to B/L.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →The shipping company's permission slip to release your container, issued after you pay their charges. Often shortened to DO.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →The bank form that officially registers your import with the Nigerian government before the goods ship. No Form M, no legal import.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →The ship or plane's official passenger-list for cargo, every shipment on board, reported to customs before arrival.
The bank form that registers an export from Nigeria, the export cousin of the Form M.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →Pre-Arrival Assessment Report, customs' advance calculation of what you will pay, issued before your goods arrive.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →Single Goods Declaration, the official form your clearing agent files to declare your goods to customs.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →An electronic release of your goods, no original paper document needed at destination.
Charges and taxes
Everything you get billed for, and who is billing you.
An extra bill customs sends when it decides you underpaid, for example, if the declared shipping cost was lower than the real one.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme levy, a small 0.5% charge that funds trade across West Africa.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →A 4% charge on your goods price (FOB), introduced under the Customs Act 2023 and shown as FCS on the official government calculator. It has been suspended and reinstated more than once, so confirm it applies before you rely on it.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →The main tax you pay the government for bringing goods into the country.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →Terminal Handling Charge, the port's fee for lifting and handling your container.
See it in the Landed Cost Calculator →Value Added Tax, a 7.5% government tax. At the port it is charged on your goods PLUS all the other import charges: tax on top of tax.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →Space and measurement
How cargo is measured, and how it is charged for.
Cubic metre, the standard unit for measuring cargo space. A 20-foot container holds about 28–33 CBM.
See it in the CBM Calculator →The weight airlines actually bill you for, the bigger of the real weight and a size-based weight (length × width × height ÷ 6,000, in cm).
See it in the Chargeable Weight Calculator →Combining many customers' smaller shipments into one container to share the cost. Also called groupage.
See it in the Container Fit Calculator →Full Container Load, you rent the whole container for your goods alone.
See it in the Container Fit Calculator →The total weight of your goods including all packaging.
See it in the Chargeable Weight Calculator →Less than Container Load, your goods share a container with other people's goods, and you pay for the space you use.
See it in the Container Fit Calculator →Time and delays
The clocks that run against you, and what starts them.
A daily fine the shipping company charges when you keep their container too long. A few days are free; after that the meter runs.
See it in the Demurrage and Storage Clock →Like demurrage, but for keeping the container outside the port, the daily charge until the empty box is returned.
See it in the Demurrage and Storage Clock →The number of days the port and the shipping company let your container sit before daily charges start. Know them, they are a countdown.
See it in the Demurrage and Storage Clock →The daily charge the port terminal adds when your goods sit there beyond the free days.
See it in the Demurrage and Storage Clock →Agencies and approvals
Who regulates what, and which permit belongs to whom.
A secure, customs-supervised warehouse where goods can wait before duties are paid.
See it in the Customs Duty Calculator →The government agency that checks goods entering or leaving the country and collects taxes on them.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →The agency that regulates food, drugs, cosmetics and chemicals in Nigeria, such goods need its permit to enter.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →The agency check on plants, animals and wooden packaging, to stop pests entering the country.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →Standards Organisation of Nigeria, the agency that checks imported products meet safety and quality standards.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →SON Conformity Assessment Programme, a certificate proving your product meets Nigerian standards, obtained before shipping.
See it in the The Documentation Toolkit →Who is who
The companies and people in a shipment, and what each one actually does.
A licensed professional who deals with customs on your behalf so your goods can be released.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →A company that organises the whole journey of your goods for you, booking ships or planes, handling paperwork, and clearing customs.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →The company that owns and operates the ships (and the containers), like an airline, but for sea cargo.
See it in the The Clearance Journey →The part of the port where containers are loaded, unloaded and stored.
See it in the Demurrage and Storage Clock →Nothing matches that. Try a shorter word, or a part of one.
A word that is not here?
If you hit a term on this site, or anywhere else, that is not explained here, tell me and I will add it. That is the whole point of the site: nothing in logistics is genuinely too complicated to explain in one sentence, and anybody who tells you otherwise is protecting their own position rather than teaching you.
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