Weight Discrepancy Charges in India: How to Check and Dispute Easy Ship and Courier Weight Billing

A weight discrepancy is a charge raised when the weight a courier or marketplace bills is higher than the weight you entered. The usual cause is volumetric weight: a light but bulky parcel is billed on the space it takes. Delhivery, for example, uses length x breadth x height in cm divided by 5000, and bills the higher of dead weight and that figure once dead weight is over 1 kg. To dispute it, you need the real weight, the real box size and photos. This page is as of November 2026. Rules differ by courier and by marketplace programme, so read your own contract.

What is a weight discrepancy?

Three weights matter.

• Dead weight is what the scale shows, with the product and its packaging.
• Volumetric weight is calculated from the outer box dimensions. See our volumetric weight explainer and the volumetric weight calculator.
• Billed (chargeable) weight is the one the carrier invoices, normally the higher of the two once the rules apply.

A discrepancy appears when the carrier's recorded weight or dimensions differ from yours. It can come from a different scale, a box you declared smaller than the one you shipped, or a data entry error in the catalogue. Sometimes it is the carrier's mistake.

How do couriers decide the billed weight?

Delhivery's help page gives a clear example of how one carrier works. At manifestation, if dead weight is under 1 kg, dead weight is used. If it is over 1 kg, the chargeable weight is the higher of dead weight and volumetric weight. A 60 x 25 x 40 cm box weighing 6 kg has a volumetric weight of 12 kg (60,000 divided by 5000), so 12 kg applies. Flyers are billed on dead weight only, up to 1 kg.

Other carriers and aggregators may use different divisors and slabs. Shiprocket's own page says the divisor varies by carrier. That page is dated 2014, so treat it as background and not as the current rule. Check the rate card in your account.

Why does Easy Ship bill more than I expected?

Amazon Easy Ship charges a weight handling fee, and the weight slab drives the fee. A public Seller Central forum thread shows how this goes wrong for sellers. The seller was charged ₹143.90 for a 370 g parcel of 36 x 13.5 x 13.5 cm. They worked out 1.31 kg of volumetric weight and expected ₹76.70 including GST. Amazon's reply said that 6,561 divided by 5000 is 1.31 kg, that the volumetric weight is used, and that at the seller's STEP level the fee was ₹122 plus ₹21.96 GST at 18%, ₹143.96 in total. Amazon did not answer the seller's point that the Easy Ship calculator showed "5" instead of "5000", and did not explain the seller's lower estimate. It told the seller to contact Seller Support.

Lessons from that thread:

• A small, light parcel can still be billed on a much higher volumetric weight if the box is long.
• The fee depends on your STEP level. The public fee page says weight handling fees were revised "basis applicable STEP level".
• Fees on the schedule exclude GST, and Amazon applies 18% GST on top.

What is not confirmed: Amazon's public fee page shows the Easy Ship rate table as an image, and I could not read the slab amounts, the exact volumetric formula or a formal dispute process as text. Amazon publishes those inside Seller Central. See the Easy Ship fee glossary entry and the fee reduction update for fee changes.

How do I dispute a courier weight discrepancy?

Use this order. The exact buttons differ by carrier. The steps below are Delhivery's, from its help page.

1. In Delhivery One, open Disputes and select Weight Mismatch.
2. Find the AWB and click Raise a Claim. This works only for delivered shipments.
3. Click Add Weight, enter the weight in grams and the dimensions in cm, and attach photos of the package.
4. Click Raise Claim. A Claim ID is created, and you track it under Disputes > Claims.
5. If the claim is auto-rejected, go to Closed Claims, click Need Help?, add details or files and click Raise this Issue.

For prepaid clients, Delhivery deducts the charge at manifestation first. If a weight mismatch or slab change is found later, it refunds the earlier amount and deducts the revised one.

For other couriers and aggregators, ask for the claim route in your dashboard or contact the support desk. Shiprocket's page says to reach out through the billing panel. The time limit for a claim is not stated on the pages I opened, so raise it as soon as you see the charge.

What evidence wins a weight dispute?

Collect it at the packing bench, not after the charge.

• A photo of the sealed parcel on a scale showing the reading.
• A photo of the parcel with a tape measure along each side.
• The AWB number visible in the photo or noted with it.
• The weight and dimensions saved in your catalogue or order screen.
• A short video if the carrier allows attachments.

Delhivery's claim form asks for the weight, dimensions and photos, so this is the evidence it expects. Measure the outer box, not the product. A bulging box counts at its widest point.

Worked example: should you dispute this charge?

For example, you ship a 700 g kurta set in a 40 x 30 x 8 cm box. Volumetric weight is 40 x 30 x 8 = 9,600, divided by 5000, which is 1.92 kg. With dead weight under 1 kg, Delhivery's rule uses dead weight. If you were billed at 2 kg, that is a candidate for a claim. A courier whose rule bills volumetric weight at all weights, or Amazon Easy Ship, may bill it as 1.92 kg. So first read which rule your carrier uses. Then compare, then claim only if the bill breaks that rule.

How do I stop weight discrepancies?

1. Weigh and measure the packed product, not the bare product, before you create the listing.
2. Use the smallest box that protects the item. Moving from a long box to a flatter one can cut volumetric weight sharply.
3. Re-check weights when you change packaging.
4. Fix catalogue weights in bulk with a template if many SKUs are wrong. See our courier comparison for rate-card checks.
5. Compare the invoice line with the order each week. See the payout deductions calculator.

Weight billing is also part of your cost of returns. See the RTO cost calculator.

FAQ

What is a weight discrepancy charge? It is an extra freight charge when the carrier's recorded weight is higher than the weight you declared. Causes include volumetric weight, a different scale or wrong catalogue data. The carrier then bills the higher weight, and you can dispute it with evidence.

Is volumetric weight always divided by 5000? No. Delhivery's help page uses 5000 for surface and express. Shiprocket says the divisor varies by carrier. Check your own rate card.

Can I dispute an Easy Ship weight handling fee? Amazon's forum reply told a seller to contact Seller Support if concerns remain. A formal dispute process is not confirmed on public pages. Check inside Seller Central.

Does GST apply on the weight handling fee? Amazon's fee schedule says the fees shown exclude GST and that 18% GST applies on top. Courier invoices carry GST too, so check yours.

Can I raise a Delhivery claim before delivery? No. The Weight Mismatch claim option works only for delivered shipments. Keep your packing photos until the shipment is delivered.

What if my claim is auto-rejected? On Delhivery One, open Closed Claims, click Need Help, add more details or files and raise the issue again. Better photos with a scale reading and tape measure are the usual fix.

How long do I have to dispute? Not confirmed on the pages I opened. Raise it as soon as the charge appears, and ask your carrier or account manager for the written time limit.

Next step

Check your five highest-volume SKUs this week: weigh the packed parcel, measure it, and compare with the catalogue. If you want a team to fix catalogue data across Amazon.in, Flipkart and quick commerce, see Blooprint's Amazon account management.