September 2010 Launch Date for Incoterms 2010 On 27 September 2010 the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Paris, France will be launching the latest version of its International Commercial Terms i.e. Incoterms 2010, which will come into operation on 01 January 2011. If you are not familiar with Incoterms they define the responsibilities of buyers and sellers for the delivery of goods under sales contracts. The reason why they will not be called Incoterms 2011 relates to the fact that since 1980 revised Incoterms have come into effect every 10 years. Incoterms were first published in 1936 with amendments following in 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990, and 2000. So what do we know about the Incoterms 2010? There seems to be a veil of great secrecy surrounding them. Those who are in the know are not saying a word. Publications of Incoterms 2010 are also, as yet, not available to the public. The only available information that could be found is an Index of the Incoterms 2010 publication. 11 Incoterms – Down from 13 A new classification system will divide the 11 Incoterms (there were 13 in the Incoterms 2000 version and Incoterms 1990 version) into two distinct groups, namely: (i) “Rules for Any Mode or Modes of Transport”, and (ii) “Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport”. Seven Incoterms are classifiable under “Rules for Any Mode or Modes of Transport”, and the remaining four under “Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport”. The seven Incoterms in respect of “Rules for Any Mode or Modes of Transport” are (1) Ex Works (EXW), (2) Free Carrier (FCA), (3) Carriage Paid To (CPT), (4) Carriage and Insurance Paid to (CIP), (5) Delivery at Terminal (DAT) [this is a new Incoterm], (6) Delivery at Place (DAP) [this is a new Incoterm], and (7) Delivery Duty Paid (DDP). The four Incoterms in respect of “Rules for Sea and Inland Waterway Transport” are (1) Free Alongside Ship (FAS), (2) Free on Board (FOB), (3) Cost and Freight (CFR), and (4) Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF). Readers familiar with Incoterms 2000 and even Incoterms 1990 will recall that they were divided into four groups, based on the first letter of the Incoterm namely (1) Group E – Departure, (2) Group F – Main Carriage Unpaid, (3) Group C – Main Carriage Paid, and (4) Group D – Arrival. So which Incoterms are no more, and which are new? Well, Delivery at Frontier (DAF), Delivery Ex Ship (DES), Delivery Ex Quay (DEQ), and Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU) are no more while Delivery at Terminal (DAT), and Delivery at Place (DAP) are new. At face value it is evident that the changes were in respect of the Incoterms 2000 “Group D – Arrival terms”. The nature and extent of the changes to the original nine Incoterms i.e. EXW, FCA, FAS, FOB, CFR, CIF, CPT, CIP, and DDP will only be known once the ICC has made the information available.
