The Incoterms rules are the world’s essential terms of trade for the sale of goods. Whether you are filing a purchase order, packaging and labelling a shipment for freight transport, or preparing a certificate of origin at a port, the Incoterms rules are there to guide you. The Incoterms rules provide specific guidance to individuals participating in the import and export of global trade on a daily basis.

The Incoterms rules define important responsibilities of buyers and sellers for the delivery of goods under sales contracts. They are the authoritative rules for determining how costs and risks are allocated to the parties. Incoterms rules are regularly incorporated into contracts for the sale of goods worldwide and have become part of the daily language of trade.

Incoterms 2020 contains the ICC rules for use of the 11 Incoterms trade terms. It takes into account the latest developments in commercial practice, and updates the rules to make them more accessible and easier to use.

The new rules will enter into force on 1 January 2020. As of this date, all sales contracts should make reference to the Incoterms 2020 rules as the latest version of the Incoterms rules.