COD Charges for Courier Clients: How to Price and Bill Them
How to set a COD charge (percentage plus minimum) that covers DTDC's COD fee, which amount it is calculated on, and how it appears on a GST invoice, with a break-even table.
By Courier Billing · · 8 min read
What COD costs your franchise
Cash on delivery means DTDC collects money for your client and is responsible for it until it is remitted. DTDC charges the franchise for that risk: 1.5% of the COD amount by default, and 18% GST on that fee.
Worked example · ₹2,000.00 COD parcel
DTDC's COD fee is ₹30.00, and with GST ₹35.40. That is on top of the freight and fuel DTDC bills you for the same parcel.
If your franchise claims input tax credit, the GST part comes back and your real cost is the 1.5% fee. If it does not, budget for the full 1.77%.
How to charge the client: a percentage and a minimum
Two numbers per client cover every COD parcel:
- COD risk %: applied to the COD amount. It scales with big collections.
- Minimum COD (₹): the least you charge on any COD parcel. It protects you on small collections, where a percentage is only a few rupees.
COD charge = the higher of (COD amount × COD risk %, Minimum COD)
Worked example · 2% with a ₹50.00 minimum
₹1,000.00 collected: 2% is ₹20.00, below the minimum, so the charge is ₹50.00.
₹8,906.00 collected: 2% is ₹178.12, above the minimum, so the percentage applies.
Break-even table
The COD part of each parcel only, ignoring freight. Under each client charge is its gap to DTDC's fee. A positive gap means the client's COD charge covers DTDC's COD fee including GST; a negative gap is money lost on every such parcel.
| COD amount | DTDC fee + GST | Client at 2%, ₹50 min | Client at 1%, no min |
|---|---|---|---|
| ₹500.00 | ₹8.85 | ₹50.00+₹41.15 vs DTDC | ₹5.00−₹3.85 vs DTDC |
| ₹1,000.00 | ₹17.70 | ₹50.00+₹32.30 vs DTDC | ₹10.00−₹7.70 vs DTDC |
| ₹2,500.00 | ₹44.25 | ₹50.00+₹5.75 vs DTDC | ₹25.00−₹19.25 vs DTDC |
| ₹5,000.00 | ₹88.50 | ₹100.00+₹11.50 vs DTDC | ₹50.00−₹38.50 vs DTDC |
| ₹10,000.00 | ₹177.00 | ₹200.00+₹23.00 vs DTDC | ₹100.00−₹77.00 vs DTDC |
The 1% client loses on every row. The 2% client earns most on small parcels, where the minimum does the work, and still clears DTDC's fee on large ones.
Which amount the COD charge uses
A DTDC booking export carries two money columns that are easy to mix up: the declared value of the goods, and the COD amount to be collected. Courier Billing calculates COD on the COD amount only, which is also what DTDC's fee is based on. A parcel declared at ₹5,000.00 but collecting ₹1,200.00 is charged on ₹1,200.00.
Only parcels booked as COD are charged. Prepaid parcels carry no COD charge, whatever their value.
How COD appears on the GST invoice
The COD charge is part of each line's price before GST, next to freight and fuel, and the invoice shows the COD total on its Risk Charges line, right after freight. GST is then added once on the invoice, so the client pays GST on the COD charge like any other part of the service. The consignment annexure lists the COD charge per CN, which makes disputes quick to settle. The GST invoice guide covers the tax split.
Setting COD charges in Courier Billing
- Open Billing → Clients and choose the client.
- Fill in COD risk % and Minimum COD (₹). The form shows the formula under the fields.
- Save. The client's assigned consignments that are not yet invoiced are repriced with the new COD settings.
- In Create Invoice, the COD column shows the payment mode and the COD charge for each CN, so you can check a few before generating.
Billing a CPDP client with COD bookings? The CPDP automation guide shows how their consignments are matched automatically.
Frequently asked questions
Is the COD charge calculated on the parcel's declared value?
No. In Courier Billing it is calculated on the COD amount, the cash the delivery boy collects from the consignee. The declared goods value in the DTDC export is not used for COD.
What if a COD parcel has no COD amount in the export?
The percentage part works out to zero, so the client is charged your minimum COD charge. That is one more reason to always set a minimum.
Is GST charged on the COD charge?
Yes. The COD charge prints on the invoice's Risk Charges line and is part of the taxable value along with freight and fuel, and GST is added on that total.
What happens if I never set COD for a client?
There is no hidden default. A client with no COD risk percentage and no minimum is charged nothing for COD, while DTDC still charges you its COD fee. Set both fields for every client who books COD.
Do invoiced consignments change if I edit the COD settings?
No. Editing a client's COD settings reprices that client's assigned consignments that are not yet invoiced. Invoices already generated keep the COD charge they were issued with.
Let the app do this math for every CN
Upload your DTDC booking export and Courier Billing prices each consignment from your own rate card, shows the DTDC cost beside it and builds the GST invoice. Uploads and basic analytics are free forever.