Incoterms or International Commercial terms are a series of international sales terms, published by the International Chamber of Commerce and widely used in international commercial transactions. The terms describe conditions of sale and are accepted by governments, legal authorities and practitioners worldwide for the interpretation of most commonly used terms in international trade. The use of Incoterms reduces or removes uncertainties arising from different interpretation by different countries. The scope of Incoterms is limited to matters relating to rights and obligations of the parties to the contract of sale with respect to the delivery of goods sold and the terms are used to divide transaction costs and responsibilities between buyer and seller.
Incoterms 2010 effective January 1, 2011 replaces the former 13 terms with 11 that are separated into the following two groups:
Incoterms 2010 applicable for all modes of transport:
EXW : Ex Works
FCA : Free Carrier
CPT : Carriage Paid To
CIP : Carriage and Insurance Paid to
DAT : Delivered At Terminal
DAP : Delivered at Place
DDP : Delivered Duty Paid
Incoterms 2010 only applicable for sea and inland waterway transport:
FAS : Free Alongside Ship
FOB : Free On Board
CFR : cost and freight
CIF : cost, insurance and freight
Eliminated Incoterms
are Delivered at Frontier (DAF), Delivered Ex-Ship (DES), Delivered Ex-Quay (DEQ) and Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU).
Incoterms 2010 includes two new rules:
Delivered at Terminal (DAT) and Delivered at Place (DAP). DAT replaces DEQ and DAP replaces DAF, DES and DDU.
The DAT and DAP rules should help to simplify issues pertaining to the time and place at which risks are transferred.
DAT:
Under the DAT rule, the seller bears all the risks involved in the movement of the goods until they are delivered. Goods will be considered delivered when they are unloaded at a named terminal and placed at the disposal of the buyer. The seller also has the responsibility to clear the goods for export, but does not have the obligation to deal with import duties or other formalities.
DAP:
Under DAP, the seller retains all the risks involved in the movement of the goods until they are delivered, but, unlike DAT, the unloading of the goods from the arriving means of transport is the responsibility of the buyer. Thus, the goods are considered delivered when they reach the named place and are ready for unloading by the buyer. Like DAT, the seller is responsible for export clearance but is not responsible for import clearance.
Please do not hesitate to contact our technical consulting group for additional information concerning Incoterms 2010.