Incoterms 2020

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) will release new Incoterms 2020 around the 10th of September, providing certainty and clarity to businesses trading across borders everywhere. The new Incoterms will be effective as of January 1st, 2020. 

Every 10 years, the International Chamber of Commerce evaluates and revises the International Commercial Terms, better known as Incoterms, as a means of creating greater uniformity and effectiveness across the shipping industry. The latest version, Incoterms 2010, will stay in effect until January 2020.

What does "Incoterms" stand for?

It is an acronym standing for international commercial terms. Incoterms is a trademark of the International Chamber of Commerce, registered in several countries.

The Incoterms rules feature abbreviations for terms, like FOB (“Free on Board”), DAP (“Delivered at Place”) EXW (“Ex Works”), CIP (“Carriage and Insurance Paid To”), which all have very precise meanings for the sale of goods around the world. These terms hold universal meaning for buyers and sellers around the world.

The main Incoterms changes that are being considered are as follows:

The removal of FAS (Free Alongside Ship) as it is being used infrequently, separating FCA (Free Carrier) into two separate Incoterms, one for land delivery and one for maritime delivery and the committee is also considering bringing back the terms FOB (Free on Board) and CIF (Cost, Insurance, Freight), instead of the FCA and CIP (Cost and Insurance Paid to) used for non-container shipments. There is also a debate about the creation of a new Incoterms called CNI (Cost and Insurance) to bridge the gap between FCA and CFR/CIF (Cost and Freight/Cost, Insurance, Freight). Currently, FCA includes the cost of international insurance on account of the seller-exporter, while CFR/CIF does not include the cost of freight. And lastly, to alleviate questions surrounding the party responsible for paying Customs fees, the ICC will evaluate the creation of 2 Incoterms to replace DDP (Delivered Duty Paid).

Other issues and updates being evaluated during this round include:

• Transportation security
• Regulations on transportation insurance
• Relationship between the Incoterms and the International Sale Contract

We will provide another update once the official Incoterms 2020 rules have been announced by the ICC. Please contact us if you have any questions. 

Plan ahead for the Golden Week holidays in China

China celebrates its National Day on October 1, followed by a week-long holiday. During the Golden Week from October 1 to 7, many businesses will be closed; factories and production sites will stop their operations. Some of them may resume work later than the official holidays.

Therefore, the pre-holiday period is busy for logistics and transportation, as factories tend to speed up their production before the holiday starts. In terms of air and sea freight transportation, space will be getting tight; trucking services will also be in a great demand.

It is important to plan ahead in order to keep your supply chain uninterrupted.

• Impact on sea freight

Most of the sea freight carriers have blank sailings not only during the Golden Week period, but also before and after the holidays to adjust their services in accordance with the weak market demand.

Some carriers implement westbound blank sailings as early as week 39. In general, there are blank sailings in week 40 and 41; sailing schedule gradually resumes normal in week 43. It is suggested to place your booking as soon as possible to avoid additional cost and to secure space. Please be aware of the booking cut off time.

You are welcome to get in touch with your DACHSER representative for updates on particular routes and discuss your planning.

• Impact on air freight

During the holiday period, air freight operations in local branches will be either closed or operating with very limited manpower.

For air import, only pre-booked shipment will be handled, please arrange the arrival date as early as September 25 in order to have enough time for customs clearance.

For air export, air freight space will be very tight and shipping equipment will be in great demand during the pre-holiday period. Please confirm with your local DACHSER representative for a precise cut off time.

• DACHSER Branches in China

DACHSER branches in China will be closed from October 1 to 7, and resume work on October 8.

If you have urgent shipment or wish to discuss any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Incoterms 2020

A new version of the Incoterms will take effect on January 1, 2020, and will include a number of changes. The terms of delivery issued by the International Chamber of Commerce regulate essential buyer and seller obligations in international trade, such as transfer of goods to the buyer, transport costs, liability for loss of and damage to goods, and insurance costs.

With the adaptation of the Incoterms 2020 to current global trading practices, the new version is very up-to-date and practice oriented. The aim of the revision was to make the Incoterms clauses more user-friendly. For example, their presentation has been revised to make it easier for users to select the appropriate clause. In addition, the order of the clauses has been changed, and revised user instructions have been added to each clause.

In terms of contents, significant changes have been made to the Intercoms 2010, in particular the following:

• Different coverage levels in CIF and CIP: As in the past, the seller is still obliged in the Incoterms 2020 to take out transport insurance at their own expense in clauses CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) and CIP (Carriage Insurance Paid). In contrast to the Incoterms 2010, however, the two clauses now provide for different minimum coverages. The minimum coverage to be observed when the CIF clause has been agreed remains unchanged. The transport insurance to be taken out by the seller must continue to at least correspond to the coverage in accordance with the (C) clauses of the Institute Cargo Clauses or similar clauses (insurance of named risks). If the CIP clause is agreed, the seller must now provide insurance coverage in accordance with the (A) clauses of the Institute Cargo Clauses (all-risk coverage). Both the CIF clause and the CIP clause allow the parties to the contract to agree on insurance coverage that differs from this.
• Inclusion of security-related requirements: Security-related requirements for the transport of goods have now been included in Rules A 4 and A 7 of each Incoterms 2020 clause. As with other the Incoterms clauses, it should be noted that the Incoterms clauses only directly apply to the parties to the sales contract and are not the subject of the contract of carriage.
• The Incoterms 2020 contain regulations for transporting with one’s own means of transport in FCA, Delivery at Place (DAP), Delivery at Place Unloaded (DPU), and Delivered Duty Paid (DDP).
• For goods sold under the FCA (Free Carrier) clause and intended for sea transport (such as goods in containers), FCA is stipulating a new option in the future. The buyer and seller may agree that the buyer shall instruct its freight carrier to issue an on-board bill of lading to the seller after the goods have been loaded. At the same time, the seller is obliged to hand over this on-board bill of lading to the buyer. This is typically done through participating banks.
• Renaming of DAT to DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded). According to the Incoterms 2010 DAT clause, the seller delivered the goods as soon as they were unloaded from the means of transport at a “terminal.” However, according to the Incoterms 2010 application notes, the term “terminal” was not to be understood from a technical point of view but meant any unloading location. This fact was taken into account in the Incoterms 2020 by renaming the previous DAT clause to DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) for the sake of clarity. That means that in the future, any (agreed) place can be the place of destination.

The Incoterms apply between the parties of a (national or international) sales contract and address – but are not limited to – special rights and obligations within this contractual relationship. On the basis of a uniform definition guaranteed in this way, subsequent problems of interpretation or discrepancies between the parties to the sales contract are to be avoided. It should be noted that the Incoterms, due to their character as GT&C-like provisions, do not constitute statutory provisions and thus only become legally binding if they have been effectively agreed between the parties to the sales contract by means of a corresponding reference (for the Incoterms 2020, this is also possible before 1/1/2020). Irrespective of this, in individual cases conflicting statutory provisions still take precedence over an Incoterm clause.

The Incoterms were revised by 500 experts from more than 40 countries.The clauses are recognized worldwide and are in use in more than 30 different languages.