Inland container depot
ICD
An inland container depot is a customs-notified facility away from the seaport. Containers are handled, stored and cleared there for import or export.
What it is
An inland container depot, or ICD, is a facility located in the hinterland rather than at the coast, equipped to receive, store and dispatch containers and approved for customs clearance. It works as a dry port: import containers travel from the seaport to the ICD under customs control and are cleared there, and export containers are cleared at the ICD before moving to the gateway port.
How it works in practice
Containers usually move between the seaport and the ICD by rail or road under a transhipment permission, without customs examination at the gateway. A bill of lading for such cargo shows the ICD as place of delivery or place of receipt. In India the term is used alongside container freight station: an ICD is generally treated as a customs station in its own right, while a CFS is an extension of a port or ICD.
Why it matters
ICDs bring clearance closer to factories and consignees, which cuts inland haulage of loose cargo and relieves congestion at ports. For a carrier or agent, an ICD delivery adds an inland leg to plan, extra manifest references to track, and a longer equipment cycle, since the empty container must return to a depot the line nominates. Free time and detention terms often differ for ICD shipments.
In Sailix
How Sailix handles it
Sailix keeps ICDs as reference records linked to a port, with named locations inside each. A voyage can hold a separate IGM number and date for the ICD, a delivery order records whether cargo goes to a CFS, an ICD or direct port delivery, and the CFS / ICD / DPD report groups discharged containers by delivery destination.
- Delivery orderIssue import delivery orders behind discharge, payment and detention checks, then extend validity with detention billed.
- Container movement trackingA movement register plus load, discharge, pick and drop confirmations that keep container status and inventory in step.
- Reports and analyticsRegisters, stock and voyage reports, financial statements and an analytics dashboard, with Excel and PDF output.
Related terms
- Container freight stationA container freight station is a facility where cargo is stuffed into or stripped from containers. Cargo is held there under customs control pending clearance.
- IGM and EGMIGM and EGM are the import and export cargo manifests filed with Indian customs for a vessel. The IGM covers an arriving vessel and the EGM a departing one.
- DetentionDetention is a charge for keeping a carrier's container outside the port or terminal beyond the free time. It runs until the empty is returned or the full is gated in.
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