The function is one thing, the fee is another.

What the delivery order does in operations

On an import shipment the container arrives at the port, but nobody can simply pick it up and leave. The carrier or its agent has to tell the terminal to whom the goods are to be delivered. In practice the document that does this is called the delivery order — ordino, or under the newer Turkish name, the cargo delivery instruction form.

The sequence is:

1. The carrier gives release — against the bill of lading or by telex release.
2. The agent issues the delivery order; the terminal now knows to whom to hand the goods.
3. Customs formalities are completed.
4. The container leaves the gate — and the demurrage clock stops, detention starts.

So the delivery order is not the release itself but the release passed on to the terminal. Having obtained a telex release is not, on its own, enough to get the container out of the gate.

Why the legal position is disputed

The core of the dispute rests on a simple finding: neither the Turkish Commercial Code nor the Customs Law No. 4458 provides for a document called "ordino" or "cargo delivery instruction form". The document is not a requirement of legislation but an established trade practice.

According to trade sources, the process ran as follows:

• The Directorate General of Customs issued an opinion that the practice was contrary to customs legislation, on the ground that neither the Commercial Code nor Law No. 4458 contains a provision on this document.
• Proceedings were brought against the administrative letter on the delivery of goods arriving by sea and against the circular on the fee tariff.
• Trade sources report that the Plenary Session of the Administrative Law Chambers of the Council of State annulled these instruments and that the cargo delivery instruction form practice was abolished. According to the same sources the decision was not limited to sea transport but also covered air and road.

This information appears consistently in more than one independent trade source — including a customs brokers' association publication, a customs brokerage firm's bulletin and a column in a national business newspaper. By contrast, the texts of the decisions themselves could not be accessed in this work; case and decision numbers could not be confirmed.

Separating the function from the fee

This is the page's most important distinction, and most disputes come from confusing the two.

The function — not disputed

The terminal has to be told to whom the goods are to be released. Whatever it is called, this is work that has to be done; without it the container does not leave.

A separate fee — disputed

The dispute is over the basis for charging a fee for this work that is separate from freight and the other items. If the document is not provided for in legislation, the basis for a tariff-based fee for that document is open to challenge as well.

The practical consequence: the inference "the delivery order has been abolished, so I can collect the container directly" is wrong. The delivery process itself continues. What changes is whether that process can be invoiced as a separate item.

If you see it on your invoice

The first thing to do is not to object but to gather information:

1. Ask for a breakdown of the item. Which service it is for, which tariff it rests on, who is charging it — the agent, the terminal or the carrier.
2. Check your contract. Was this item foreseen in your freight quote or contract of carriage, was it within the "all-in" scope.
3. Check the delivery term. Whether the item is yours or the other party's depends on the delivery term — see the cost allocation table.
4. Consult your broker. They are the ones who can assess the current judicial and administrative position for your own file.

A timing warning: if the objection process keeps the container at the terminal, the demurrage and storage cost can exceed the amount in dispute. Collecting the container first and arguing the item afterwards is usually cheaper — this is not legal advice but an operational observation.