Delhi air cargo terminal — export and import clearance at INDEL4

Scapex books, clears and follows through at Delhi ourselves, so accountability for your shipment does not change hands at the gate.

Gateway details

What we handle at Delhi

• Booking and equipment release against a named vessel or flight
• Inland haulage from the factory, by road or rail
• Customs filing, examination coordination and follow-through
• Security screening, build-up and air waybill issue
• Dangerous-goods acceptance checks before the shipment is tendered
• Temperature-controlled handling where the consignment needs it

What people mean by “the Delhi cargo terminal”

There is no single Delhi cargo terminal. Indira Gandhi International Airport has two integrated cargo terminals, each run by a different operator, and your consignment goes to whichever one handles the airline it is booked on. You do not choose the terminal; the airline’s handling agreement does. That is the first thing to establish when a shipment is booked through Delhi, because the terminal decides where the cargo is tendered, whose tariff applies to storage, and whose system shows its status.

One of the two changed hands recently. In May 2025 the Ministry of Civil Aviation revoked the security clearance of the Çelebi group, which had run one terminal, and Delhi International Airport Limited awarded that terminal to GMR Airports on the existing terms. The other terminal is operated by Delhi Cargo Service Centre (DCSC). Operator arrangements can change again, so confirm the current handling terminal for your airline when you book.

The code you file against

The customs location code for Delhi air cargo is INDEL4. The 4 marks an air cargo station, as against 1 for a seaport and 6 for an inland container depot such as ICD Tughlakabad (INTKD6). The code goes on the shipping bill or bill of entry, and your AD code has to be registered at this station before the first filing. Registration is per station: an AD code registered at Mumbai air or at a Delhi ICD does nothing here.

How an export moves through Delhi air cargo

1. Booking with the airline, which fixes the flight, the handling terminal and the cargo acceptance cut-off.
2. Shipping bill filed against INDEL4, with the air waybill number once issued.
3. Tender at the terminal against the air waybill, where the consignment is weighed and measured. The terminal’s figures, not the invoice, decide the chargeable weight.
4. Security screening before build-up, under the aviation security rules that apply to all air cargo leaving India. Missing security paperwork stops a consignment here more often than customs does.
5. Customs examination if the risk system calls for it, then the let-export order.
6. Build-up and uplift on the booked flight, or the next one if a cut-off is missed.

The cut-off that matters is the airline’s cargo acceptance time at the terminal, not the departure time. Each airline sets its own, and a consignment that arrives after it waits for the next flight with space.

How an import comes in

The airline files the import manifest, the cargo is broken down at its handling terminal, and the clock on terminal storage starts under that operator’s published tariff. The bill of entry can be filed in advance of arrival, and doing so is the single most effective way to keep an import out of paid storage. After assessment, duty payment and any examination, the consignment is given out of charge and released against the delivery documents.

The most common and most expensive import mistake at Delhi is waiting for the original documents to arrive before starting the filing. By the time the paperwork turns up, the free period has often gone.

Chargeable weight decides the bill

Air freight is charged on the higher of the actual gross weight and the volumetric weight, which uses a divisor of 6,000 cubic centimetres per kilogram. Light, bulky cargo pays for its size. Measure the packed pieces before you ask for a price, or use our CBM and chargeable weight calculator. How we quote air freight is on the air freight page.

What moves through Delhi

Delhi is the air gateway for the whole of north India. Airport operator DIAL describes it as South Asia’s largest cargo gateway. Through it go garments and made-ups from the NCR clusters, auto components from Gurugram and Manesar, pharmaceuticals and samples, handicrafts, and perishables that need temperature-controlled handling. Each brings its own checks. Pharmaceuticals need temperature control booked, not assumed; dangerous goods need classification settled from the safety data sheet before booking; and high-value cargo needs insurance, because an airline’s liability is set per kilogram.

How we work here

Scapex files its own customs entries at Delhi air cargo. The work runs from our Ahmedabad desk on one file, so the booking, the filing and the follow-through stay with the same people. For sea and rail cargo from the NCR, see ICD Tughlakabad.

What goes wrong here

• Tendering at the wrong terminal. The airline’s handling agent decides the terminal, not the forwarder’s preference.
• AD code not registered at INDEL4. The first shipping bill stops until it is.
• Security paperwork incomplete. The consignment misses its build-up slot even though customs has cleared it.
• Undeclared dangerous goods. Batteries, aerosols and some chemicals are found at screening, and the shipment is offloaded.
• Import filing started late. Terminal storage is charged by the day from arrival.

Where to check the official position

• ICEGATE — location codes, AD code registration and the status of a filed shipping bill or bill of entry.
• Delhi Airport cargo — the airport operator’s cargo pages, terminal information and notices.
• CBIC — the notifications behind assessment, examination and advance filing.

Terminal operators, tariffs, acceptance cut-offs and free periods change. Nothing here is a quotation. Confirm the current position for your shipment when you book.

Tracking a shipment through Delhi

Once a bill of lading or air waybill is issued, follow it on our tracking page. It reads the reference, works out which carrier issued it, and takes you to their own live milestones.