I TOLD you INCOTERMS were interesting: Reason #1

Published 02/02/2021
by Alpaca
Author image
Ha. That showed you all. For twenty years I've been banging on about how "Incoterms" are super interesting (even though I admit I'm not an expert). Yes, this is another post about "why (or at least WHEN) you should care about legal terms and conditions". But this time it's got jargon too.
Article cover


No idea what Incoterms are - of course you don't - they're the fine print that governs international freight forwarding. Wait, don't flounce off all "pah that's boring". Especially not if you were going to order pants online.

See, I find this stuff interesting because I grew up with a Dad who taught me that Incoterms were interesting and important, because he owned a freight forwarding company. Some would say it's "The" freight forwarding company (mainly my Dad, but still..).

(Indeed it's still a pretty good freight forwarding company and one I'd quite like to have as a client, if you're watching, Future Forwarding.)

Anyway, why is this relevant now ? Because post-Brexit, many people are finding that the knock on the door when their stuff is delivered comes with an unexpected VAT and Duty bill. Because they didn't check their Incoterms (always check your Incoterms, people).

Seriously, this is a thing. If you're an online retailer, or an online retailee (shopping for those pants), it suddenly matters whether YOU are responsible for the VAT and duty or whether the seller is. Delivery Duty Paid - and your pants are yours for the price you paid.

If it was DAP (Delivery At Place), then the driver from DPD (wait, now this is just getting confusing) might drop off your stuff with an invoice for some customs duty and VAT.

I'm sure it'll sort itself out eventually, but it just shows you, always listen to your Dad.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/jan/21/britons-buying-from-eu-websites-face-more-than-100-import-duties
Get the best content from Converge direct to your inbox every month.
Author image

About The Author

Since 2014 Alpaca has been pushing clients to innovate, think laterally, challenge assumptions and disrupt. Now the world is forcing every business owner to consider doing just that – and within an accelerated period of time. We want to help. We love joining dots, creating opportunity and facilitating collaboration.

Related Story