Free Carrier and the two delivery points inside one rule

Variant one: the named place is the seller's premises

Here delivery occurs when the goods have been loaded onto the transport provided by the buyer. The seller performs the loading and carries the exposure until it is complete, which removes the ambiguity that troubles factory-gate arrangements. From the moment the vehicle is loaded, anything that happens to the consignment is on the buyer's account.

Variant two: the named place is anywhere else

Where delivery is at a terminal, a depot or a forwarder's warehouse, the goods are delivered when they arrive at that place on the seller's transport, ready for unloading, and the seller does not unload them. The distinction between loaded and ready for unloading is the whole difference between the two variants, and it is why naming the place vaguely leaves the parties genuinely unsure who is holding the exposure at the moment a crate is dropped.

Export formalities sit with the seller

Unlike a factory-gate term, this rule puts the outbound declaration and any export licence with the seller, which is normally the party legally able to perform them. Import formalities remain with the buyer. That allocation is what makes the rule work for genuine cross-border sales in which the buyer has no presence in the seller's country.

The on-board document provision

A long-standing objection to using this rule for container shipments was that sellers financed by a documentary credit needed a transport document showing the goods on board a vessel, which they could not obtain after handing over at an inland point. The current edition addresses this by allowing the parties to agree that the buyer will instruct its carrier to issue such a document to the seller. It is an option that has to be agreed and reflected in the carriage instructions, not something that happens automatically.

Why it fits containers better than a port-side rule

A container is typically handed to a terminal or a consolidator days before it is loaded, and during that period nobody sensibly wants the exposure to sit with a seller who has no access to the box. Delivering to a carrier at a defined point matches what physically happens, and it stops the parties arguing about a moment on a quay that neither of them witnessed.

Frequently asked questions

Does the seller unload at the named terminal?

No. Where the named place is somewhere other than the seller's own premises, the goods are delivered ready for unloading on the arriving means of transport, and unloading is for the buyer's side to arrange. This is the reverse of what happens at the seller's premises, where the seller loads.

Who contracts the main carriage?

The buyer, in principle, because this is a term under which the buyer takes over at an early point. The parties can agree that the seller arranges carriage at the buyer's risk and cost, and where they do, the arrangement should be spelled out so it is clear the seller is acting for the buyer rather than assuming the risk.

Is it suitable for air freight?

Yes. The rule works with any mode, and handing a consignment to an air carrier or its handling agent at a named airport is a straightforward application of the second variant. The named place should identify the specific facility rather than just the airport.