FCA Incoterms: what does it mean?
FCA is a widely used Incoterm in international trade, used for road transport and air freight. FCA is an international trade term (Incoterm) that stands for "Free Carrier" ("Vrije vervoerder" in Dutch). It defines the responsibility and the costs for transporting goods between the seller and the buyer.
So what does FCA mean in practice? It's an important agreement about costs and responsibilities, recorded on the commercial invoice.
Under FCA, the seller is responsible for loading the goods onto the means of transport chosen by the buyer, for example a truck or a ship, at an agreed place, such as the seller's factory or warehouse. Once the goods are loaded, the risk and the costs of transport pass to the buyer. The buyer is then responsible for the onward transport of the goods to the final destination, including any customs procedures and costs.
What are FCA Incoterms 2020?
FCA Incoterms 2020 is the most recent version of the international trade term FCA. The Incoterms 2020 were drawn up by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and have applied since 1 January 2020. These are the main features of FCA Incoterms 2020:
Delivery: under FCA Incoterms 2020 the seller has to deliver the goods to the carrier chosen by the buyer at an agreed place, such as a warehouse, factory, port or airport.
Transfer of risk: the risk of loss of or damage to the goods passes from the seller to the buyer as soon as the goods are delivered to the carrier at the agreed place.
Insurance: it's the buyer's responsibility to insure the goods (in Dutch) during transport from the moment of delivery.
Customs declaration: the seller has to complete the customs formalities needed to export the goods, while the buyer is responsible for the import formalities.
Costs: the seller pays for loading the goods onto the means of transport, while the buyer pays for the transport, insurance and customs formalities.
Packaging: the seller has to pack and label the goods in the usual way, so they can be transported safely and easily.
Communication: it's important that seller and buyer communicate clearly about the details of the delivery, including the agreed place, means of transport, delivery date and any other relevant information.
FCA Incoterms 2020 only cover the delivery of goods, not other parts of the trade deal, such as payment terms or transfer of ownership. So read the sales contract carefully and apply the right Incoterm correctly.
Where do I state the FCA Incoterm?
Sending a parcel and need to state the Incoterm? You do this on the commercial invoice, also called the customs invoice. You make this choice when you book your shipment on our shipping platform.
Do you also include a (correct) commodity code, or HS code, on the customs invoice? That way customs can easily and correctly work out the amount of import duties and other import taxes. By default, import duties are always charged to the recipient of your shipment. We've also built a tool in MyParcelParcel that lets you look up HS codes easily from a description. This page shows how ParcelParcel's new HS code tool works.
Which Incoterms are there?
The Incoterms describe the rights and obligations of buyer and seller in international transport. These agreements set out who pays import duties and how goods are delivered. They're laid down by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). That gives clarity about risks and who arranges what. Since 1 January 2020 there have been 11 Incoterms:
EXW - Ex Works
FCA - Free Carrier
CPT - Carriage Paid To
CIP - Carriage and Insurance Paid
DPU - Delivered at Place Unloaded
DAP - Delivered at Place
FAS - Free Alongside Ship
FOB - Free on Board
CFR - Cost and Freight
CIF - Cost Insurance and Freight
Curious about other Incoterms?
Below you'll find our pages on other popular Incoterms (in Dutch):
- Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)
- Delivered at Terminal (DAT)
- Carriage Paid To (CPT)
- Delivered at Place Unloaded (DPU)
- Ex Works
- Carriage and Insurance Paid To (CIP)
- Free On Board (FOB)
- Cost Insurance & Freight (CIF)
- Free Alongside Ship (FAS)
More information?
Read more about DDP, DAP and the difference between DDP and DAP on our website. Want to know more about international shipping? Have a look at our knowledge base (in Dutch). Would you rather talk to our logistics specialists? Get in touch via the live chat, or call 085 877 16 56 (Netherlands) or 03 808 70 99 (Belgium). We're happy to help!
