There are no international conventions in force governing contracts for the international sale of goods, so disputes and misunderstandings have often arisen between buyers and sellers, mainly because of different interpretations about the term used in the contracts. In order to avoid such situations which hinder the smooth flow of international trade, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has evolved standardised trade terms known as the “INCOTERMS” (International rules for the interpretation of trade terms).

On 1 January 2011, the ICC has the eighth revision of the Incoterm Rules into force, with the last revision dating back to year 2000. Below the new sets of Incoterms.

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