How a quote is built
A price built from your cargo, not read off a rate card
Freight is billed on chargeable weight, surcharges depend on the mode and the cargo, and duty is assessed by customs rather than by us. Here is each of those, and what it means for the number you will see.
What a quote itemises
- Base freightThe rate for a vehicle that can carry the load, on chargeable weight
- SurchargesOnly the ones that apply to this mode and this cargo, itemised
- Estimated dutyAgainst the tariff, on the CIF value — an estimate, not an assessment
Chargeable weight
A carrier bills the space as well as the mass
Cargo that is light but bulky still occupies the vehicle, so freight is billed on the greater of what the shipment weighs and what its volume converts to. The divisor that does that conversion differs by mode, and it is the single figure that most often surprises people.
One consignment
1 crate · 120 × 80 × 100 cm · 90 kg
Road
Volume in cm³ ÷ 5,000
- Actual weight
- 90 kg
- Volumetric weight
- 192 kg
Billed on 192.0 kg
Sea
Weight or measure, whichever is greater
- Weight
- 0.090 t
- Measure
- 0.960 CBM
Billed on 0.960 revenue tons
Air
Volume in cm³ ÷ 6,000
- Actual weight
- 90 kg
- Volumetric weight
- 160 kg
Billed on 160.0 kg
5,000
Road volumetric divisor
We bill the greater of that volumetric weight and the actual weight. On road, bulky cargo converts into kilograms fastest of the three modes.
Volume in cubic centimetres ÷ 5,000 = volumetric weight in kilograms.
6,000
Air volumetric divisor
Same arithmetic, larger divisor — so bulky-but-light cargo is charged less harshly by air than it would be by road, even though air costs more per kilogram.
Volume in cubic centimetres ÷ 6,000 = volumetric weight in kilograms.
W/M
Sea: weight or measure
Sea freight compares the cargo's volume in cubic metres against its weight in tonnes and bills whichever is greater, rather than converting one into the other.
Cubic metres against tonnes; the greater of the two is billed.
Surcharges
What can sit on top of the base rate, and when
A shipment can carry additional charges depending on the mode and the cargo. Your quote itemises exactly which ones apply before you commit — nothing is bundled in silently, and nothing that does not apply is charged.
Border and customs handling
A fixed handling charge, on every mode. It is the work of getting a consignment through the gateway and the declaration filed, and it applies whether you move by road, sea or air.
Fuel surcharge
Road freight only, as a percentage of the freight base. It moves with fuel cost rather than being folded into the rate, so you can see what you are paying it on.
Waiting time
Road freight only, charged by the hour, if a vehicle is held beyond loading. Nothing accrues unless the truck is actually kept waiting.
Cargo insurance
Available on every mode, priced as a percentage of your declared cargo value — not of the freight. Insuring a high-value consignment is not a function of what the truck cost.
Out-of-gauge handling
Road and sea, where the cargo is too large for standard capacity and needs a flatbed. It is triggered by the vehicle the cargo actually requires, not by an opinion about its size.
The duty estimate
Customs assesses the duty. We estimate it.
Alongside the freight, a quote carries an expected customs duty so you can budget against the landed cost rather than half of it.
5%
GCC Common External Tariff
Assessed on cost, insurance and freight together — so the freight price is an input to the duty, not a separate number beside it. Some goods are exempt or zero-rated.
Ad valorem on the CIF value; exemptions and higher rates exist per code.
0%
VAT in Qatar, as of 2026
Duty and handling are the whole tax picture on an import. There is no VAT line to budget for and none to reclaim later.
No value added tax is levied in Qatar at the time of writing.
Estimate
What the duty figure on a quote is
It is what to budget against, not a binding charge. The number that is payable is the one the Authority assesses once the declaration is filed.
The General Authority of Customs assesses duty on the declaration we file.
End to end
From cargo lines to a number
Three steps, and you enter the details at the first one only.
Your cargo lines
Pieces, weight and volume per line, plus the destination and the mode. The same packing-list data a declaration needs, entered once.
Chargeable weight
Actual weight against volumetric weight, by the divisor for that mode. Whichever is greater is what every vehicle that can carry the load is priced on.
Freight, surcharges, duty estimate
The base rate, then only the surcharges that apply, itemised — and alongside them an estimated duty on the CIF value. Nothing is bundled in silently.
Quoted prices are estimates in QAR and rates change. Duty is assessed by the General Authority of Customs on the declaration we file, so any duty figure shown beforehand is an estimate rather than a final number.
Start here
See it priced for the cargo you actually have
Enter your shipment details, pick road, sea or air, and get a chargeable-weight price for every vehicle that can carry it, with the surcharges that apply and your duty estimate.