“Carriage Paid to...” means that the seller delivers the goods to the carrier nominated by him but the seller must in addition pay the cost of carriage necessary to bring the goods to the named destination. This means that the buyer bears all risks and any other costs occurring after the goods have been so delivered.
“Carrier” means any person who, in a contract of carriage, undertakes to perform or to procure the performance of transport, by rail, road, air, sea, inland waterway or by a combination of such modes. If subsequent carriers are used for the carriage to the agreed destination, the risk passes when the goods have been delivered to the first carrier.
The CPT term requires the seller to clear the goods for export. This term may be used irrespective of the mode of transport including multimodal transport.
A The seller’s obligations
A1 Provision of goods in conformity with the contract
The seller must provide the goods and the commercial invoice, or its equivalent electronic message, in conformity with the contract of sale and any other evidence of conformity which may be required by the contract.
A2 Licences, authorizations and formalities
The seller must obtain at his own risk and expense any export licence or other official authorization and carry out, where applicable, 46 all customs formalities necessary for the export of the goods.
A3 Contracts of carriage and insurance
(a) Contract of carriage
The seller must contract on usual terms at his own expense for the carriage of the goods to the agreed point at the named place of destination by a usual route and in a customary manner. If a point is not agreed or is not determined by practice, the seller may select the point at the named place of destination which best suits his purpose.
(b) Contract of insurance
No obligation
A4 Delivery
The seller must deliver the goods to the carrier contracted in accordance with A3 or, if there are subsequent carriers to the first carrier, for transport to the agreed point at the named place on the date or within the agreed period.
A5 Transfer of risks
The seller must, subject to the provisions of B5, bear all risks of loss of or damage to the goods until such time as they have been delivered in accordance with A4.
A6 Division of costs
The seller must, subject to the provisions of B6, pay
- all costs relating to the goods until such time as they have been delivered in accordance with A4 as well as the freight and all other costs resulting from A3 (a), including the costs of loading the goods and any charges for unloading at the place of destination which were for the seller’s account under the contract of carriage;
- where applicable,51 the costs of customs formalities necessary for export as well as all duties, taxes or other charges payable upon export, and for their transit through any country if they were for the seller’s account under the contract of carriage.
A7 Notice to the buyer
The seller must give the buyer sufficient notice that the goods have been delivered in accordance with A4 as well as any other notice required in order to allow the buyer to take measures which are normally necessary to enable him to take the goods.
A8 Proof of delivery, transport document or equivalent electronic message
The seller must provide the buyer at the seller’s expense, if customary, with the usual transport document or documents (for example a negotiable bill of lading, a non-negotiable sea waybill, an inland waterway document, an air waybill, a railway consignment note, a road consignment note, or a multimodal transport document) for the transport contracted in accordance with A3. Where the seller and the buyer have agreed to communicate electronically, the document referred to in the preceding paragraph may be replaced by an equivalent electronic data interchange (EDI) message.
A9 Checking—packaging—marking
The seller must pay the costs of those checking operations (such as checking quality, measuring, weighing, counting) which are necessary for the purpose of delivering the goods in accordance with A4.
The seller must provide at his own expense packaging (unless it is usual for the particular trade to send the goods of the contract description unpacked) which is required for the transport of the goods arranged by him. Packaging is to be marked appropriately.
A10 Other obligations
The seller must render the buyer at the latter’s request, risk and expense, every assistance in obtaining any documents or equivalent electronic messages (other than those mentioned in A8) issued or transmitted in the country of dispatch and/or of origin which the buyer may require for the import of the goods and for their transit
through any country. The seller must provide the buyer, upon request, with the necessary information for procuring insurance.
B The buyer’s obligations
B1 Payment of the price
The buyer must pay the price as provided in the contract of sale.
B2 Licences, authorizations and formalities
The buyer must obtain at his own risk and expense any import licence or other official authorization and carry out, where applicable, 47 all customs formalities for the import of the goods and for their transit through any country.
B3 Contracts of carriage and insurance
(a) Contract of carriage
No obligation
(b) Contract of insurance
No obligation
B4 Taking delivery
The buyer must accept delivery of the goods when they have been delivered in accordance with A4 and receive them from the carrier at the named place.
B5 Transfer of risks
The buyer must bear all risks of loss of or damage to the goods from the time they have been delivered in accordance with A4. The buyer must, should he fail to give notice in accordance with B7, bear all risks of the goods from the agreed date or the expiry date of the period fixed for delivery provided, however, that the goods have been duly appropriated to the contract, that is to say, clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods.
B6 Division of costs
The buyer must, subject to the provisions of A3 (a), pay — all costs relating to the goods from the time they have been delivered in accordance with A4;
- all costs and charges relating to the goods whilst in transit until their arrival at the agreed place of destination, unless such costs and charges were for the seller’s account under the contract of carriage;
- unloading costs unless such costs and charges were for the seller’s account under the contract of carriage;
- all additional costs incurred if he fails to give notice in accordance with B7, for the goods from the agreed date or
- the expiry date of the period fixed for dispatch, provided, however, that the goods have been duly appropriated to the contract, that is to say, clearly set aside or otherwise identified as the contract goods;
- where applicable,52 all duties, taxes and other charges as well as the costs of carrying out customs formalities payable upon import of the goods and for their transit through any country unless included within the cost of the contract of carriage.
B7 Notice to the seller
The buyer must, whenever he is entitled to determine the time for dispatching the goods and/or the destination, give the seller sufficient notice thereof.
B8 Proof of delivery, transport document or equivalent electronic message
The buyer must accept the transport document in accordance with A8 if it is in conformity with the contract.
B9 Inspection of goods
The buyer must pay the costs of any pre-shipment inspection except when such inspection is mandated by the authorities of the country of export.
B10 Other obligations
The buyer must pay all costs and charges incurred in obtaining the documents or equivalent electronic messages mentioned in A10 and reimburse those incurred by the seller in rendering his assistance in accordance therewith.