The condition of delivery is FCA. Delivery on FCA terms

Logistics is a complex, but very profitable business. Beginners in it have to be difficult, since most of the entire industry is already occupied by "veterans" who have long established a name known to their clients. The only way to achieve this success is strict adherence to contracts and rules, so that all potential customers can see the reliability of your company.

Particularly important in this respect is the FCA delivery condition, in terms of the quality of which can be concluded with certainty about the company's business qualities. If you do not know what this is all about, it's time to consider this issue in all its details.

What it is?

FCA (Free Carrier) - this is a condition of delivery, in which the buyer is responsible for the entire transportation. He can choose transport, use his delivery channels, conclude contracts for the supply of goods. This delivery under FCA conditions differs from all standard methods of transportation accepted both in our country and around the world.

Seller fully fulfills its obligations, if the following conditions were fulfilled:

• As soon as the customs clearance of the goods was carried out.
• If the goods were delivered to the next carrier, which was specified by the buyer.
• Upon delivery to the place specified in the contract.

That's what the FCA delivery condition is. Theoretically, the main responsibility lies with the buyer, but in practice everything turns out a little differently.

This place is very important, since the obligations of the parties largely depend on this point in the contract. So, if it is planned to begin loading on the territory of the supplier, the latter bears full responsibility for it. On the contrary, if the goods are loaded in any other place, the seller himself does not bear any responsibility. But! This is only true if any other conditions for the delivery of goods (FCA) have not been previously stipulated in the contract.

Specific Conditions

As a rule, in practice all these conditions are considerably specified. It is necessary to specify the type of vehicle, its load capacity, other characteristics. In the event that the initial loading point of the goods is not sufficient to fully load the vehicle, the buyer has the right to negotiate with the supplier about the change of the route with the purpose of arriving in some other locality, calling at another port to work out cargo consolidation and minimize losses from the empty flight .

This is especially important in terms of shipping, when each unplanned entry into the port is fraught with serious costs. However, in our country no less strict and the conditions for rail deliveries.

That's what FCA terms of delivery are, in practical terms.

As a person who is responsible for the acceptance of the goods, the buyer can appoint any of his representatives. Please note that when delivering the goods to the intermediary, which was assigned by the buyer, all the obligations of the supplier are considered to be fully executed. Again, if other provisions have not been made in advance in the contract. At this point, you should pay special attention, since this loophole is often used by unscrupulous suppliers and buyers.

Other options

Almost every FCA delivery condition can be fulfilled regardless of the mode of transport and in the form of international transportation, in which case it is necessary to find in advance in the agreement on international transport the answers to the following questions:

• How and on what grounds will the goods be shipped to the buyer?
• What will be the responsibility of the carrier in case he has to cross the borders of other states?
• To what specific boundary will the responsibility be imposed directly on the carrier?

Important nuances

There are some points that it is extremely important to specify in advance from the seller or his forwarder. Especially it concerns the direct characteristics of the goods transported. In addition, the amount of cargo transported, its weight characteristics and exacting requirements for transportation conditions often need clarification. This delivery under FCA conditions is practically no different from other logistics operations.

Of course, the seller must provide, on time and on demand, information about where and when the loading will be carried out. It is extremely important for the parties to timely agree on the type of vehicle used, as well as the weight of one consignment (which is especially important when deliveries are delivered in batches). The time for submission of transport is better coordinated not only for a specific day, but also with an indication of the exact time of the start of loading.

As a rule, a condition is entered into the contract whereby in the event of failure to fulfill the accuracy of the transport submission the agreement can be terminated by any of the participants unilaterally.

For the transfer of all the data necessary for the correct registration of customs inspections and other documents, both parties are in charge, in proportion to their participation in the transportation.

What should be in a real delivery contract ?

To make the article as informative as possible, let's give an example of those items that must necessarily be in a standard supply contract. Of course, we should also consider the standard conditions on which all this will be based. Such a supply contract under FCA terms is concluded in most percentages of cases if the parties act in a generally accepted manner.

Immediate delivery conditions

First, at this point there should be an indication of when and under what conditions the liability for the cargo passes to the buyer (usually when transferring it to a representative or loading it into its transport). As of the date of such delivery or acceptance, a stamp is accepted in the railway, ship (or other) waybill, certified by the seal and / or signature of the buyer's authorized representative.

The period in which the goods are sent to the buyer must be specified. Typically, this period is approximately five calendar days from the date of transfer of funds to the account or transfer of cash to the seller.

If the goods must be delivered in lots, it is necessary to schedule the delivery schedule, specifying also the type of vehicle for each (if the goods are of different types). The buyer must send the certified schedule to the supplier not earlier than 20 days before the start of delivery (the deadline may be different). In addition, as agreed by the parties, the schedule can be changed at any stage.

If this is the buyer's desire, then the supplier himself can agree on the schedule and route, but the responsibility is entirely borne by the customer himself. This delivery of goods on FCA terms differs from standard types of contracts.

What data is the buyer obliged to provide?

As a rule, the buyer must provide the supplier with a list of the following required data at least 10 days before the delivery begins:

• The name and volume of cargo to be shipped.
• Full and abbreviated names of consignees.
• Their full addresses. Attention! If the house has no apartments, this must be said additionally.
• Codes of consignees are also required.
• If scheduled delivery to railway stations, their codes should also be specified separately.
• Again, for rail deliveries, you need to specify access numbers.
• Other information that will help the carrier in time to deliver the paid goods.

If the buyer does not provide such information?

In this case, the contract should contain an item providing for suspension of deliveries until all necessary information is received. If you have to return the transport, all costs also fall on the buyer. If the customer did not provide a quality certificate when handing over the goods , the shipment is given up to five calendar days.

The order of delivery of the delivered cargo

Most often, a waybill is used to receive the received cargo in the form #TORG-12. It must necessarily be signed by the financially responsible persons of both sides of the treaty, and also certified by their seals. In addition, representatives of the buyer and the supplier must be present at the time of acceptance. If this does not happen, all the shortcomings will be paid by the party whose representatives were not.

Some information on the satisfaction of claims

Claims for the discrepancy between the quantity of the paid goods and the actual volume at the point of unloading are not accepted if the losses are within the limits of the natural loss fixed for this load in the GOST. In this case, the receiving documents indicate the number of goods, which was originally paid.

The same is said by the creator of the FCA, Incoterms 2000. The terms of delivery are such that both parties must keep an independent record of the shipped goods. If you plan a multi-month delivery, the reports are often checked on the first day of each month.

Reconciliation acts must be accepted by the parties no later than within five days from the established date of verification. If the delivery data does not match, it is possible to completely stop deliveries to find out all the details. In the event that disagreements can not be resolved, the parties can agree on a premature breach of the contract.

Information about possible termination

If payment is not received at the time that was prescribed in the contract, the supplier is entitled not to deliver, having previously notified the customer about it. When the latter receives a notice, the contract must be officially terminated.

In the event that such an item exists in the contract, the buyer can not use the goods for other purposes. If so, the supplier must again send an official notification. As in the previous case, from the moment the document is received by the buyer, the contract will be deemed terminated. In the event that the full volume of the goods is not delivered for reasons that depend on the buyer, the supplier can again terminate the contract unilaterally. Again, you need a special notice for the customer. These are the obligatory conditions for the delivery of FCA (what is it, we have already found out).

Any of the parties, whose fault the delivery has failed, is obligated to fully reimburse all costs. If such is established by the contract, it is possible to collect interest for each day of the penalty after the expiration of the period to which the party to the contract was obliged to pay. Important! Payment of the forfeit and interest on it does not release the contractor from the provision of the goods or their acceptance with subsequent payment.

Situations of force majeure

Please note that any FCA delivery condition may not be fulfilled if the contracting party proves that the failure was caused by factors beyond its competence that could not be foreseen (force majeure).

To such cases, all natural disasters and epidemics (as well as epizootics) are equated, a suddenly changed political situation, accidents or terrorist attacks on the objects of transport infrastructure; Decisions of regional authorities that make it impossible to fulfill contractual obligations.

If we give a concrete example, then many agricultural producers once violated FCA's terms of delivery: the year 2010 turned out to be extremely unsuccessful, and so the losses were multimillion.

Any party that refers to force majeure is obliged to notify this no more than two days after the occurrence of such obligations, having previously certified the documents in any territorial branch of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation. If these circumstances continue for more than three months, either party to the contract may refuse to fulfill its obligations, having previously notified the partner about it and paid for the delivered goods.

How are disputes between the parties resolved?

If there are disputes between supply parties, then they should be negotiated. If they can not reach an agreement, they should seek the help of the Arbitration Court. All disputes should be considered there in compliance with the claim procedure.

So we reviewed the FCA delivery terms. This means that from now on you have the most important ideas about this method of delivery, which every year becomes more popular.