Incoterms 2020
The Incoterms or International Commercial Terms are a series of pre-defined commercial terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) relating to international commercial law.
The first work published by the ICC on international trade terms was issued in 1923, with the first edition known as Incoterms published in 1936. The Incoterms rules were amended in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010, with the ninth version — Incoterms 2020 — having been published on September 10, 2019.
Defined terms in Incoterms
There are certain terms that have special meaning within Incoterms, and some of the more important ones are defined below:
Delivery: The point in the transaction where the risk of loss or damage to the goods is transferred from the seller to the buyer
Arrival: The point named in the Incoterm to which carriage has been paid
Free: Seller has an obligation to deliver the goods to a named place for transfer to a carrier
Carrier: Any person who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or to procure the performance of transport by rail, road, air, sea, inland waterway or by a combination of such modes
Freight forwarder: A firm that makes or assists in the making of shipping arrangements;
Terminal: Any place, whether covered or not, such as a dock, warehouse, container yard or road, rail or air cargo terminal
To clear for export: To file Shipper's Export Declaration and get export permit
Rules for any mode of transport
EXW – Ex Works (named place of delivery)
The seller makes the goods available at their premises, or at another named place. This term places the maximum obligation on the buyer and minimum obligations on the seller. The Ex Works term is often used while making an initial quotation for the sale of goods without any costs included.
FCA – Free Carrier (named place of delivery)
The seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, at a named place (possibly including the seller's own premises). The goods can be delivered to a carrier nominated by the buyer, or to another party nominated by the buyer.
CPT – Carriage Paid To (named place of destination)
CPT replaces the C&F (cost and freight) and CFR terms for all shipping modes outside of non-containerized seafreight.
CIP – Carriage and Insurance Paid to (named place of destination)
This term is broadly similar to the above CPT term, with the exception that the seller is required to obtain insurance for the goods while in transit.
DPU – Delivered At Place Unloaded (named place of destination)
This Incoterm requires that the seller delivers the goods, unloaded, at the named place of destination. The seller covers all the costs of transport (export fees, carriage, unloading from main carrier at destination port and destination port charges) and assumes all risk until arrival at the destination port or terminal.
DAP – Delivered At Place (named place of destination)
Incoterms 2010 defines DAP as 'Delivered at Place' – the seller delivers when the goods are placed at the disposal of the buyer on the arriving means of transport ready for unloading at the named place of destination. Under DAP terms, the risk passes from seller to buyer from the point of destination mentioned in the contract of delivery.
DDP – Delivered Duty Paid (named place of destination)
Seller is responsible for delivering the goods to the named place in the country of the buyer, and pays all costs in bringing the goods to the destination including import duties and taxes. The seller is not responsible for unloading.
Rules for sea and inland waterway transport
The four rules defined by Incoterms 2010 for international trade where transportation is entirely conducted by water are as per the below. It is important to note that these terms are generally not suitable for shipments in shipping containers; the point at which risk and responsibility for the goods passes is when the goods are loaded on board the ship, and if the goods are sealed into a shipping container it is impossible to verify the condition of the goods at this point.
FAS – Free Alongside Ship (named port of shipment)
The seller delivers when the goods are placed alongside the buyer's vessel at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of loss of or damage to the goods from that moment.
FOB – Free on Board (named port of shipment)
Under FOB terms the seller bears all costs and risks up to the point the goods are loaded on board the vessel. The seller's responsibility does not end at that point unless the goods are "appropriated to the contract" that is, they are "clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods". Therefore, FOB contract requires a seller to deliver goods on board a vessel that is to be designated by the buyer in a manner customary at the particular port. In this case, the seller must also arrange for export clearance. On the other hand, the buyer pays cost of marine freight transportation, bill of lading fees, insurance, unloading and transportation cost from the arrival port to destination. Since Incoterms 1980 introduced the Incoterm FCA, FOB should only be used for non-containerized seafreight and inland waterway transport. However, FOB is commonly used incorrectly for all modes of transport despite the contractual risks that this can introduce. In some common law countries such as the United States of America, FOB is not only connected with the carriage of goods by sea but also used for inland carriage aboard any "vessel, car or other vehicle."
CFR – Cost and Freight (named port of destination)
The seller pays for the carriage of the goods up to the named port of destination. Risk transfers to buyer when the goods have been loaded on board the ship in the country of Export. The seller is responsible for origin costs including export clearance and freight costs for carriage to the named port.
CIF – Cost, Insurance & Freight (named port of destination)
The term "cost, insurance, freight" or "c.i.f." predates the introduction of Incoterms.
Allocations of costs to buyer/seller according to Incoterms 2020
The risk and the cost is not always the same for Incoterms. In many cases, the risk and cost usually goes together but it is not always the case.
Rules for sea and inland waterway transport
Previous Incoterms
While these terms do not feature in the current version of Incoterms it is possible that they may be seen in sales order contracts. Care must be taken to ensure that both parties agree on their obligations in this case
DAF – Delivered at Frontier (named place of delivery)
This term can be used when the goods are transported by rail and road. The seller pays for transportation to the named place of delivery at the frontier. The buyer arranges for customs clearance and pays for transportation from the frontier to their factory. The passing of risk occurs at the frontier.
DAT – Delivered at Terminal
This term means that the seller delivers the goods to the buyer to the named terminal in the contract of sale, unloaded from the main carriage vehicle. The seller is responsible for making a safe delivery of goods to the named terminal, paying all transportation and export and transit customs clearance expenses. The seller bears the risks and costs associated with supplying the goods to the delivery terminal and unloading them, where the buyer becomes responsible for paying the duty and taxes, as well as any further carriage to a destination.
DES – Delivered Ex Ship
Where goods are delivered ex ship, the passing of risk does not occur until the ship has arrived at the named port of destination and the goods made available for unloading to the buyer. The seller pays the same freight and insurance costs as they would under a CIF arrangement. Unlike CFR and CIF terms, the seller has agreed to bear not just cost, but also Risk and Title up to the arrival of the vessel at the named port. Costs for unloading the goods and any duties, taxes, etc. are for the Buyer. Until 2011,DES was a commonly used term in shipping bulk commodities, such as coal, grain, dry chemicals; and where the seller either owned or had chartered their own vessel.
DEQ – Delivered Ex Quay (named port of delivery)
This is similar to DES, but the passing of risk does not occur until the goods have been unloaded at the port of discharge.
DDU – Delivered Duty Unpaid (named place of destination)
This term means that the seller delivers the goods to the buyer to the named place of destination in the contract of sale. A transaction in international trade where the seller is responsible for making a safe delivery of goods to a named destination, paying all transportation and export and transit customs clearance expenses. The seller bears the risks and costs associated with supplying the goods to the delivery location, where the buyer becomes responsible for paying the duty and taxes.
FOR - Free on rail and FOT - Free on truck
These two terms were both included in Incoterms 1953, in each case specifying a named departure point.
The Incoterms or International Commercial Terms are a series of pre-defined commercial terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) relating to international commercial law.
The first work published by the ICC on international trade terms was issued in 1923, with the first edition known as Incoterms published in 1936. The Incoterms rules were amended in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010, with the ninth version — Incoterms 2020 — having been published on September 10, 2019.
Defined terms in Incoterms
There are certain terms that have special meaning within Incoterms, and some of the more important ones are defined below:
Delivery: The point in the transaction where the risk of loss or damage to the goods is transferred from the seller to the buyer
Arrival: The point named in the Incoterm to which carriage has been paid
Free: Seller has an obligation to deliver the goods to a named place for transfer to a carrier
Carrier: Any person who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or to procure the performance of transport by rail, road, air, sea, inland waterway or by a combination of such modes
Freight forwarder: A firm that makes or assists in the making of shipping arrangements;
Terminal: Any place, whether covered or not, such as a dock, warehouse, container yard or road, rail or air cargo terminal
To clear for export: To file Shipper's Export Declaration and get export permit
Rules for any mode of transport
EXW – Ex Works (named place of delivery)
The seller makes the goods available at their premises, or at another named place. This term places the maximum obligation on the buyer and minimum obligations on the seller. The Ex Works term is often used while making an initial quotation for the sale of goods without any costs included.
FCA – Free Carrier (named place of delivery)
The seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, at a named place (possibly including the seller's own premises). The goods can be delivered to a carrier nominated by the buyer, or to another party nominated by the buyer.
CPT – Carriage Paid To (named place of destination)
CPT replaces the C&F (cost and freight) and CFR terms for all shipping modes outside of non-containerized seafreight.
CIP – Carriage and Insurance Paid to (named place of destination)
This term is broadly similar to the above CPT term, with the exception that the seller is required to obtain insurance for the goods while in transit.
DPU – Delivered At Place Unloaded (named place of destination)
This Incoterm requires that the seller delivers the goods, unloaded, at the named place of destination. The seller covers all the costs of transport (export fees, carriage, unloading from main carrier at destination port and destination port charges) and assumes all risk until arrival at the destination port or terminal.
DAP – Delivered At Place (named place of destination)
Incoterms 2010 defines DAP as 'Delivered at Place' – the seller delivers when the goods are placed at the disposal of the buyer on the arriving means of transport ready for unloading at the named place of destination. Under DAP terms, the risk passes from seller to buyer from the point of destination mentioned in the contract of delivery.
DDP – Delivered Duty Paid (named place of destination)
Seller is responsible for delivering the goods to the named place in the country of the buyer, and pays all costs in bringing the goods to the destination including import duties and taxes. The seller is not responsible for unloading.
Rules for sea and inland waterway transport
The four rules defined by Incoterms 2010 for international trade where transportation is entirely conducted by water are as per the below. It is important to note that these terms are generally not suitable for shipments in shipping containers; the point at which risk and responsibility for the goods passes is when the goods are loaded on board the ship, and if the goods are sealed into a shipping container it is impossible to verify the condition of the goods at this point.
FAS – Free Alongside Ship (named port of shipment)
The seller delivers when the goods are placed alongside the buyer's vessel at the named port of shipment. This means that the buyer has to bear all costs and risks of loss of or damage to the goods from that moment.
FOB – Free on Board (named port of shipment)
Under FOB terms the seller bears all costs and risks up to the point the goods are loaded on board the vessel. The seller's responsibility does not end at that point unless the goods are "appropriated to the contract" that is, they are "clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods". Therefore, FOB contract requires a seller to deliver goods on board a vessel that is to be designated by the buyer in a manner customary at the particular port. In this case, the seller must also arrange for export clearance. On the other hand, the buyer pays cost of marine freight transportation, bill of lading fees, insurance, unloading and transportation cost from the arrival port to destination. Since Incoterms 1980 introduced the Incoterm FCA, FOB should only be used for non-containerized seafreight and inland waterway transport. However, FOB is commonly used incorrectly for all modes of transport despite the contractual risks that this can introduce. In some common law countries such as the United States of America, FOB is not only connected with the carriage of goods by sea but also used for inland carriage aboard any "vessel, car or other vehicle."
CFR – Cost and Freight (named port of destination)
The seller pays for the carriage of the goods up to the named port of destination. Risk transfers to buyer when the goods have been loaded on board the ship in the country of Export. The seller is responsible for origin costs including export clearance and freight costs for carriage to the named port.
CIF – Cost, Insurance & Freight (named port of destination)
The term "cost, insurance, freight" or "c.i.f." predates the introduction of Incoterms.
Allocations of costs to buyer/seller according to Incoterms 2020
The risk and the cost is not always the same for Incoterms. In many cases, the risk and cost usually goes together but it is not always the case.
Rules for sea and inland waterway transport
Previous Incoterms
While these terms do not feature in the current version of Incoterms it is possible that they may be seen in sales order contracts. Care must be taken to ensure that both parties agree on their obligations in this case
DAF – Delivered at Frontier (named place of delivery)
This term can be used when the goods are transported by rail and road. The seller pays for transportation to the named place of delivery at the frontier. The buyer arranges for customs clearance and pays for transportation from the frontier to their factory. The passing of risk occurs at the frontier.
DAT – Delivered at Terminal
This term means that the seller delivers the goods to the buyer to the named terminal in the contract of sale, unloaded from the main carriage vehicle. The seller is responsible for making a safe delivery of goods to the named terminal, paying all transportation and export and transit customs clearance expenses. The seller bears the risks and costs associated with supplying the goods to the delivery terminal and unloading them, where the buyer becomes responsible for paying the duty and taxes, as well as any further carriage to a destination.
DES – Delivered Ex Ship
Where goods are delivered ex ship, the passing of risk does not occur until the ship has arrived at the named port of destination and the goods made available for unloading to the buyer. The seller pays the same freight and insurance costs as they would under a CIF arrangement. Unlike CFR and CIF terms, the seller has agreed to bear not just cost, but also Risk and Title up to the arrival of the vessel at the named port. Costs for unloading the goods and any duties, taxes, etc. are for the Buyer. Until 2011,DES was a commonly used term in shipping bulk commodities, such as coal, grain, dry chemicals; and where the seller either owned or had chartered their own vessel.
DEQ – Delivered Ex Quay (named port of delivery)
This is similar to DES, but the passing of risk does not occur until the goods have been unloaded at the port of discharge.
DDU – Delivered Duty Unpaid (named place of destination)
This term means that the seller delivers the goods to the buyer to the named place of destination in the contract of sale. A transaction in international trade where the seller is responsible for making a safe delivery of goods to a named destination, paying all transportation and export and transit customs clearance expenses. The seller bears the risks and costs associated with supplying the goods to the delivery location, where the buyer becomes responsible for paying the duty and taxes.
FOR - Free on rail and FOT - Free on truck
These two terms were both included in Incoterms 1953, in each case specifying a named departure point.
