Incoterms

This page is designed to provide a basic level of understanding of Incoterms ® 2020 Rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)

incoterms-diagram
Shipping:
Versicherung
Duties

Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport

FCA

Frei Träger

Supplier produced, packed and prepared the cargo to be shipped. Goods are received by the buyer’s carrier, which picks up the load from the seller’s place. You can call FCA conditions “buyer’s pick-up."

CIP

Carriage and Insurance Paid To

Same as CPT but insurance is added for seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance, can be any.

DTP

Delivered at Terminal Paid

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination, discharging, and paid import customs duties in consideration of the cargo value, taking into account transport costs.

CFR

Preis und Fracht

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board and paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination.

CPT

Fracht bezahlt zu

The seller arranges the delivery to the indicated place and includes it in the goods price. As a rule, such a place is a terminal where ocean carrier (shipping line) can accept cargo for further transportation.

CIF

Kosten, Versicherung und Fracht

The same as CFR, but insurance is added for seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance, can be any.

DAP

Geliefert am Ort

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination, discharging, completed port formalities, and paid land transport to the address of the consignee for subsequent customs procedures.

FOB

Frei am Bord

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities and performed loading on ship’s board.

СNI

Cost and Insurance

Same as the FCA, but insurance is added for seller’s account on a definite part of the route. The shipping section covered by insurance, can be any.

DPU

Delivered Named Place Unloaded

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination, and discharging.

DPP

Delivered at Place Paid

Supplier has organized land delivery, completed port formalities, performed loading on ship’s board, paid freight charges to the port (airport) of destination, discharging, completed port formalities, paid land transport to the address of the consignee, along with import customs duties in consideration of the cargo value, taking into account transport costs

Incoterms regulations

Incoterms regulations, first released by the International Chamber of Commerce in 1936 to coordinate the practice of cross-border cargo shipments. Moreover, some terms (such as FOB and CIF) are quite old, and were used in England in the late XVIII century.
Incoterms® are adopted by States and businesses globally and are under the TM of the ICC. As such, they play an important role in international law (in particular, in the maritime law) and serve as the basis for determining the liability of commercial parties. To date Incoterms necessarily used in procurement, sales and other international trade transactions.

Each condition has a three-letter designation, that conventionally describes, who of two pays each component of the charges (shipping, customs duties, insurance). Typically, for better comprehension, the terms are arranged in ascending order of seller expenditure (first condition FCA — the seller pays nothing, the last condition DPP — the seller undertakes for all the transportation together with import customs charges, in effect, bringing the goods to the buyer’s door and relieving him sfrom all organizational actions).

Also, the terms necessarily appear in the treaties to deliver clear understanding what is included in the invoice amount subject to specified conditions.

At the same time, it is worth noting that Incoterms do not take precedence over local laws of States and the latter have the advantage in the event of disputes. Also, they do not define where exactly the property rights on cargo change from supplier to buyer, do not consider the sum of the agreement, any debt, currency, credit conditions, etc.

The first works with the use of Incoterms have been issued by the ICC in 1923, and the first publication entitled Incoterms was released in 1936. Subsequent changes have been made in and were shown accordingly in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 versions. The ninth, Incoterms 2020 were published on Sep 10, 2019, and came into force on Jan 1, 2020.