Incoterms
Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) is a set of international rules for the interpretation of the most commonly used commercial clauses in foreign trade.
Incoterms were created in 1936 in Paris and were published by the International chamber of commerce to eliminate the problems connected with the differences of commercial law across various countries. Since international trade went through a lot of changes, in the years 1953, 1967, 1976, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020 changes were made to accommodate current requests. The current ninth edition has been enforced since January 1st 2020.
It deals with the relations resulting from the contract of purchase, obligations during customs clearance, packaging and handover of delivery. Although Incoterms have always been intended for international trade, they are sometimes used within contracts for domestic commercial transactions. The fundamental principle in business practice is the idea of a direct link between the INCOTERMS clause and the transport contract. The error lies in the fact that the inclusion of such clause (i.e. the INCOTERMS clause) is usually the content of the purchase contract and the obligations arising from it bind the seller and the buyer. The role of the INCOTERMS used in a particular purchase contract can therefore be characterised in relation to the contract of transport as a guide for the party obliged to secure the carriage.
