Delivery terms

The delivery terms of our company are normally ex works. Should delivery be requested in any other form reference is made to INCOTERMS as defined by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) as per the up-dating of the year 2000.  

These are a collection of trading clauses defined by the International Chamber of Commerce of Paris back in 1936 which have been periodically up-dated so as to adapt them to innovations in forms of transport and the new opportunities offered by information technology for the transmission of data and documentation. 

The aim of Incoterms, once adopted by the parties, is to supply a uniform, constant and authentic interpretation of the most commonly used contract terms used in buying and selling. 

Recourse to these clauses is voluntary and they do not substitute the clauses of the sales contract, but integrate the same and give the certainty that whoever applies them can count on a single interpretation. 

Incoterms 2000 (extract from the transport yearbook)) 

These represent the most recent version of the “Official ICC Rules for the interpretation of commercial terms” and bring together the rules relative to the thirteen delivery terms, composed of three-letter initials, taken from English and codified jointly by the ICC and the European Economic Commission of the UNO. 

Only the direct obligations between buyer and seller are codified in the international sales relations and not the relations with third parties intervening in the execution of the contract in question and contracts for accessory services related to the sale such as shipping agents, carriers, insurers etc. 

Incoterms focus their discipline on the delivery and taking delivery of goods, on purpose ignoring problems relative to transfer of ownership and risks connected with loss or damage to the same. 

There are 13 Incoterms clauses and 4 groups into which they can be placed for affinity regarding obligations between the parties: 

1. Group E: departure clauses, transport is not contemplated (EXW) 

2. Group F: clauses with main transport not paid (FCA; FAS, FOB) 

3. Group C: clauses with main transport paid (CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP) 

4. Group D: arrival clauses (DAF, DES, DEQ, DDU, DDP) 

 
In the first three groups delivery usually takes place in the seller’s country whereas in the fourth group it is in the buyer’s country; moreover, the various applicable clauses also depend on the type of transport used, as shown in the table below: 

 Group EGroup FGroup CGroup D
 EXWFCAFASFOBCFRCIFCPTCIPDAFDESDEQDDUDDP
 Ex worksFree CarrierFree along side shipFree on boardCost and freightCost, insurance and freightCarriage paid toCarried and insurance paid toDelivered at frontierDelivered ex shipDdelivered ex quayDelivered duty unpaidDelivered duty paid
All + Multimodal      
Maritime