Regulatory Disclaimer

ATAHSKIA is not a law firm

ATAHSKIA BUSINESS SOLUTIONS PRIVATE LIMITED is an automated freight billing audit and dispute preparation technology provider. ATAHSKIA is not a law firm, does not employ attorneys to act for customers, and does not provide legal advice or legal representation. No attorney-client relationship is created by using the website, the free retrospective audit, the OSRA dispute calculator or the platform.

Our rule library, guides and glossary describe the text of 46 CFR Parts 541 and 545 and the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 (Pub. L. 117-146) so that logistics and finance teams can apply them to their own invoices. That material is general information about the regulations, not advice about your situation.

Submissions are made by the billed party

Dispute packets, relief requests and charge complaint dossiers are prepared by the platform for the billed party. Administrative filings with the Federal Maritime Commission are submitted under the authorization and direction of the billed party. ATAHSKIA does not submit charge complaints in its own name, does not appear before the FMC, and does not act as an agent or representative of any party in a proceeding.

You review, approve and send every dispute to a billing party, and you decide whether to submit a charge complaint under 46 U.S.C. § 41310. Where your configuration routes a dispute email through the platform, it is sent from your account on your instruction and identifies you as the disputing party.

What the platform checks

The OSRA Audit Engine tests each D&D invoice against the minimum information required by 46 CFR § 541.6 (20 elements across identifying, timing, rate, dispute and certification groups) and the issuance timing in § 541.7. Milestone & Gate Tracking compares billed days with carrier and terminal events relevant to the incentive principle described in the FMC's interpretive rule at 46 CFR § 545.5.

• A failed check is a finding that the invoice, as received, appears to lack required information or to have been issued outside the time allowed. It is not a determination that a charge is unlawful.
• § 541.5 provides that failure to include required information eliminates any obligation of the billed party to pay; whether a particular billing party accepts that position is outside our control.
• Milestone findings depend on the completeness and accuracy of EDI, terminal and appointment data available for the container.

Deadlines and timing

§ 541.8 gives the billed party at least 30 calendar days from invoice issuance to request mitigation, refund or waiver, and requires the billing party to resolve a request within 30 calendar days of receipt unless both parties agree otherwise. The platform calculates these dates from invoice and transmission data and alerts you in advance.

Deadline calculations rely on the invoice date and delivery records available to the platform. Billing parties may publish longer request windows. Confirm critical dates against the invoice and the billing party's published dispute page, and act early where the date is uncertain.

Charge complaints under 46 U.S.C. § 41310

OSRA 2022 added a charge complaint process at 46 U.S.C. § 41310 that allows a person to submit a complaint alleging that a charge violates 46 U.S.C. § 41104(a) or § 41102(c). For detention and demurrage charges, the common carrier bears the burden of establishing reasonableness, and the FMC may order a refund or waiver. Charges invoiced before June 16, 2022 are outside this process.

The FMC Charge Complaints module compiles the invoice, the Part 541 findings, the milestone evidence and the dispute history into a dossier formatted for the billed party's review. The billed party decides whether to submit it, and is the complainant if it does.

When to consult maritime counsel

Consult qualified maritime counsel before taking any step that goes beyond an invoice dispute or an informal charge complaint.

• Formal complaints under 46 U.S.C. § 41301 and other adjudicated FMC proceedings.
• Litigation, arbitration or collection actions involving a carrier, NVOCC or marine terminal operator.
• Disputes over service contract terms, NVOCC service arrangements or negotiated rate arrangements.
• Matters involving cargo holds, liens, customs penalties or other agency enforcement.
• Any situation where you are unsure whether to pay, withhold or accrue a disputed charge.

No guarantee of outcome

Recovery figures published by ATAHSKIA, including the $42.8M+ disputed and recovered and the 45% to 75% recovery range for customers disputing under Part 541, describe results across our customer base. They do not predict the result of any individual dispute or complaint, which depends on the invoice, the evidence, the billing party's response and, where applicable, the FMC.

Accuracy of regulatory content and contact

Arjun Malhotra, Head of Maritime Regulatory Intelligence, leads review of the rule library against the Federal Register and FMC publications, including the Part 541 final rule at 89 Fed. Reg. 14330 (Feb. 26, 2024), effective May 28, 2024. Regulations change, and the official text published by the FMC and the Government Publishing Office controls.

Report a suspected error in our regulatory content to legal@atahskia.si. We review every report and publish corrections on the affected page.