Incoterms

Incoterms® are internationally used terms for contracts of sale of goods. The ICC Incoterms® 2020 edition contains eleven terms. By agreeing a term, the seller and buyer allocate particular delivery tasks and costs and identify the agreed delivery point at which the risk passes from seller to buyer.

The term forms part of the contract of sale and must be distinguished from the contract of carriage. Incoterms® allocate tasks between seller and buyer, but do not by themselves determine the carrier’s liability or automatically regulate title, payment terms or every other issue under the sale contract. For liability in international carriage by road, the CMR may apply; Austrian carriage contracts may also be governed by the relevant UGB provisions.

The review should therefore cover the chosen term, the named place, the Incoterms® 2020 version, the contract of sale and the transport order together. The topic on CMR and the transport contract explains the distinction from carriage law. Further context is provided by cross-border carriage of goods, the CMR liability check and the shipment documents checklist.