Carriage Paid To, abbreviated as CPT, is one of the 11 international recognised incoterms. It can be used for any transport mode; land, sea or air and can also be used where there is more than one transport mode.
This ruling means that the seller delivers the goods themselves to the end destination. Either this, or another person nominated by the seller completes the delivery. The named place needs to be fully accurate with a complete address, not just the town or city. This should be determined in advance between the buyer and the seller. Costs are also all paid for by the seller to bring the goods to its destination.
This makes it very straightforward for the buyer in theory; as the shipper is responsible for arranging the transportation to the agreed point, however, there are a couple of points that you should be aware of if choosing to utilise this incoterm.
What is not included with the incoterm Carriage Paid To?
Terminal Handling Charges (THC)
Terminal handling charges will more than likely be payable on goods arriving into a country via air, sea or road. Sometime the seller will not include this service and associated charges when arranging the transportation of goods from one country to another. Therefore, it is the responsibility of the buyer, to check whether THC have been covered by the seller. If not you could be whacked with an unpleasant surprise.
Insurance Cover
The seller has no requirement to provide insurance cover if transporting goods under the incoterm Carriage Paid To. The buyer may wish to purchase their own insurance cover if the risk is deemed sufficiently high. However, you should note that this won’t be referred to within the incoterms ruling and should be specified elsewhere within the specific commercial agreement between the buyer and seller.
CPT Overview
Carriage Paid To is an international trade term denoting that the seller delivers the goods at their own expense to a carrier or another person nominated by the seller.
As soon as the goods are delivered to the carrier, the liability and risk of said goods is transferred over to the buyer. The seller does not need to include terminal handling charges when using this incoterm and there is no requirement for the seller to insure the cargo during transit.
If you have any questions regarding the use of “Carriage Paid To (CPT)” or any other incoterm, please feel free to contact our team on 0113 250 1155 or email [email protected]