Incoterms
Incoterms®
Incoterms® (International Commercial Terms) are the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) rules for the use of domestic and international trade terms.
The Incoterms® rules are an internationally recognized standard and are used worldwide for the sale of goods. First published in 1936, Incoterms® rules provide internationally accepted definitions and rules of interpretation for most common commercial terms.
The rules have been developed and maintained by experts and practitioners brought together by ICC and have become the standard in international business rules setting. They help traders avoid costly misunderstandings by clarifying the tasks, costs and risks involved in the delivery of goods from sellers to buyers. Incoterms® rules are recognized by UNCITRAL as the global standard for the interpretation of the most common terms in foreign trade.
Over the past number of years we at Carramore have applied Incoterms 2000 in our sales contracts. However, in the interim, Incoterms® 2010 were launched coming into effect on January 1, 2011 and now Incoterms® 2020 came into effect on January 1st 2020.
Nevertheless, all contracts made under Incoterms® 2000 still remain valid as parties to a contract for the sale of goods can agree to choose any version of the Incoterms® rules.
Carramore contract documents (quotation/proforma invoices and invoices) will continue to refer to the Incoterms® version 2000 until further notice.
We have chosen to remain with Incoterms® 2000 as this includes the term DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) which has been excluded from both Incoterms® 2010 and Incoterms® 2020.
DDU is the term which has been used for many of our contracts over the years and we believe is self-explanatory. The terms which replaced this were DAP (Delivered At Place) in 2010 and the additional DPU (Delivered At Place Unloaded) in 2020. We believe that DDU is the more appropriate term for the contracts in which we undertake clearance and delivery to our customers where any import duty and tax liability rests with the consignee. Almost invariably we use this term with consignees who have exemption from duty and taxes, in which DDU represents the full cost prior to unloading.