Delhivery Zones, RTO and COD: How to Price Your Clients
Delhivery surface zones A to F (C1, C2, D1, D2) vs express zones, how the rate card works, setting client prices with a markup on GST-inclusive cost, and billing RTO and COD.
By Courier Billing · · 8 min read
Delhivery's surface zones
| Zone | What it covers |
|---|---|
| A | Within the same city |
| B | Up to about 500 km (regional) |
| C1 | Metro to metro, about 501–1,400 km |
| C2 | Metro to metro, about 1,401–2,500 km |
| D1 | Other routes, about 501–1,400 km |
| D2 | Other routes, about 1,401–2,500 km |
| E | Special: Jammu, Himachal, North-East except Manipur, or beyond 2,500 km |
| F | Kashmir, Manipur, Ladakh, Andaman & Nicobar |
The statement already tells you each shipment's zone, so you never have to classify a pincode yourself. That is different from DTDC, where the franchise places each consignment in one of six lanes. Express shipments carry the six-zone set, where C is metro and D is the rest of India.
How Delhivery's rate card works
A typical card has a price up to 500 g (some zones also have a cheaper 250 g step) and a price for each extra 500 g or part of it. Surface shipments carry a ₹1.00 per-shipment fee and express ones ₹2.00. This example card was worked out from one franchise's statement:
| Zone | Up to 500 g | Each extra 500 g |
|---|---|---|
| A | ₹29.00 | + ₹7.00 |
| B | ₹33.00 | + ₹12.00 |
| C2 | ₹38.00 | + ₹21.00 |
| D1 | ₹38.00 | + ₹21.00 |
| D2 | ₹40.00 | + ₹24.00 |
| E | ₹48.00 | + ₹29.00 |
Heavy parcels can sit on a separate card. In the same statement a 5 kg surface C2 box cost less than a 4.7 kg one, because 5 kg and above was priced per kilogram. Check your agreement before quoting heavy shipments.
Setting client prices from your cost
Worked example · a 1.2 kg surface C2 parcel at 20% markup
Delhivery charges ₹38.00 for the first 500 g, plus two extra steps of ₹21.00, plus the ₹1.00 fee: ₹81.00 before GST, ₹95.58 with 18% GST. A 20% markup on that cost gives a client price of ₹114.70 before your own GST, and ₹19.12 profit on the parcel.
Put the markup on the GST-inclusive cost. On the pre-GST cost, a 20% markup leaves almost nothing once Delhivery's GST is counted. In Courier Billing, Price Settings → Prefill Delhivery rates from your costs fills empty zones this way, and you can adjust any zone before saving.
Billing RTO (return to origin)
When a parcel comes back, Delhivery bills the return leg at the surface rate for that zone and weight, even if the forward leg was express. An RTO therefore roughly doubles the shipment's cost. Choose per client how to recover it:
- Forward rate (default): the client pays the forward price again for the return.
- Flat: a fixed amount per returned parcel.
- Percent: a percentage of the forward price.
- None: you absorb the return, for clients where that is the deal.
Billing COD on Delhivery shipments
Worked example · a ₹3,500.00 COD parcel
If Delhivery's COD fee is the higher of ₹20.00 or 1% of the COD value, it charges you ₹35.00. With a client COD setting of 2% and a ₹40.00 minimum, you bill the client ₹70.00.
Set the COD percentage and minimum per client. The charge is worked out on the COD value collected and printed on the invoice's risk-charges line. The COD charges guide has a break-even table, and the Delhivery billing software page shows the full flow.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Delhivery Surface and Express zones?
Surface uses eight zones: A, B, C1, C2, D1, D2, E and F. Express uses the older six: A, B, C (metro), D (rest of India), E and F. The same route can therefore be C2 on surface and C on express, so a client rate card needs separate Surface and Express rates.
Should I charge my client for an RTO?
Delhivery charges you again for the return leg, so an RTO roughly doubles that shipment's cost. Most franchises bill the client the forward rate again for the return. Courier Billing defaults to that, and lets you set no charge, a flat amount or a percentage per client.
Is COD charged on a returned shipment?
No. Delhivery waives its COD fee when the parcel is returned, because no cash was collected, and Courier Billing does not add a COD charge to the client for an RTO either.
What markup should I use on Delhivery rates?
That is your commercial call, but work it out on Delhivery's GST-inclusive cost. Courier Billing's prefill adds your markup to the cost including Delhivery's 18% GST, so a 20% markup leaves about 20% profit on each shipment.
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.