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It is important to understand that for the FCA rule “delivery” does not equal “shipment”.

The seller has no obligation to arrange when the goods are actually shipped. The seller must deliver on the agreed date or within the agreed period or by a latest date, but actual shipment date is entirely separate to the delivery date and of no concern to the seller.

For transport by road and rail the two are very likely to coincide, but that is unlikely to be the case for transport by air or sea. For transport by air, the seller delivers the goods to the buyer’s carrier, whether the carrier collects the goods from the seller’s premises:

  • [A2 option (a) loaded on the means of transport]or the seller delivers them to the carrier’s premises
  • [A2 option (b) not unloaded from the seller’s transport]. Even if that carrier is the airline itself, in most cases the actual flight departure date is very likely to be one or more days after delivery.

The possible exception to this is perishable goods. The seller has no obligation regarding this shipment, when it departs, on what flight it departs, or even if it departs the airport.

international sea freight station by large cargo containers ship

For transport by sea in a container, the seller delivers the goods to the buyer’s carrier, whether the carrier collects the goods from the seller’s premises:

  • [A2 option (a) loaded on the means of transport or loaded securely into the container if FCL] or the seller delivers them to the carrier’s premises
  • [A2 option (b) not unloaded from the seller’s means of transport]. The date on which the container is loaded on board the vessel is likely to be several days after delivery.

The seller has no obligation regarding this shipment, when it departs, on what vessel it departs, or even if it departs the port.

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