EXW = Ex Works
The responsibility is in this case on the seller. This delivers as soon as the goods have been provided to the buyer on the production site (warehouse, factory, etc.) without the goods being cleared for export and loaded onto a vehicle. This clause therefore constitutes the minimum obligation for the seller, whereby the buyer must bear all the costs and risks associated with the transport of the goods from the seller’s premises.
FCA = Free Carrier
The duties of the seller go one step further than the EXW clause. Compared to the EXW, the seller undertakes to hand over the goods at a defined cost to a carrier decided by the buyer at an agreed place. From this point on, the buyer bears the transport costs as well as the risk of transportation damages.
FAS = Free Alongside Ship
FAS belong to Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport clauses. The seller delivers when the goods are placed alongside the vessel named by the buyer in the agreed port of shipment. Here, the cost and risk transition takes place.
FOB= Free on board
FOB is also a pure sea freight clause. The contractual obligation of the seller ends when the goods have been loaded in the named port on the ship named by the buyer. From this point on, the buyer bears the additional transport costs as well as the risk that the goods will be damaged during transport.
CFR = Cost & Freight
The clause CFR applies exclusively to maritime transport. Here, the seller bears the freight costs to the contractually agreed port of destination. The transfer of risk takes place as in the FOB clause in the port of shipment or on board of the ship. Neither the seller nor the buyer has an obligation to conclude an insurance contract, but it is in the interest of the buyer to provide insurance coverage.
CIF = Cost, Insurance and Freight
See CFR. In the CIF clause, the seller must also take out maritime transport insurance for the buyer’s risk of loss or damage during transport. Here, the buyer should note that the seller is only obliged to take out insurance with minimum cover.
CPT = Carriage Paid To
CPT has replaced the C&F and CFR terms for all shipping modes outside of non-containerized marine freight. However, it is used for all other types of transport. “Freight-free” here means that the seller bears the transport costs to the agreed destination. The transport risks already pass to the buyer as soon as the goods are handed over by the seller to the first carrier or forwarding agent in the country of dispatch. (For insurance coverage see CFR).
CIP = Carriage and Insurance Paid To
In contrast to the CPT clause, the seller is additionally obliged to take out transport insurance at his expense in favor of the buyer. The minimum cover is sufficient. All other provisions are determined in accordance with the CPT clause.
DAT = Delivered at Terminal
DAT obliges the seller to provide the goods unloaded at a terminal designated by the buyer. A terminal can be a quay, a warehouse, a container depot or a road, rail or air freight terminal. In this case, the information obligation of the buyer is of particular importance, as the terminal or a specific point of the terminal should be as accurate as possible. Only when the goods are unloaded at this point, risk and costs are transferred to the buyer.
DAP = Delivered at Place
The clause DAP means that the seller has to make the goods to be unloaded at the place of destination. Again, it is particularly important that the buyer defines the place as accurately as possible, since costs and risks up to this point are borne by the seller.
DDP = Delivered, Duty paid
This clause, virtually the equivalent of the EXW clause, includes the maximum possible obligation for the seller. The latter is obliged to provide the goods to the buyer at the place specified in the purchase contract (in the importing country). Freight charges, import duties and ancillary charges are borne by the seller. A transport insurance obligation is not included in the clause for sellers or buyers.