EXW: Ex Works (Incoterms® 2020)
Under EXW the seller's only job is to have the goods ready at its own premises or another named place. The buyer does everything else, starting with loading.
Quick facts
How to write it
EXW + the exact pickup address + Incoterms 2020, for example: EXW Seller's warehouse, 12 Harbour Road, Incheon, Korea Incoterms 2020.
What the seller does
- Packs the goods for transport and marks them.
- Makes them available at the named place on the agreed date, not loaded on the collecting vehicle.
- Tells the buyer when and where the goods can be collected.
- Helps, at the buyer's request and cost, with information the buyer needs for export and import.
What the buyer does
- Loads the goods, or pays for the seller's help to load, at the buyer's risk.
- Handles export clearance in the seller's country and pays any export duties.
- Books and pays all transport and any insurance it wants.
- Clears the goods for import and pays duties and taxes.
When to use it
EXW suits domestic sales, or buyers who have their own freight forwarder and customs agent in the seller's country. For most international sales FCA is the safer choice, because the seller then clears export, which a foreign buyer often cannot do.
Common mistakes
- Using EXW when the buyer cannot act as exporter in the seller's country. The export then gets declared in the wrong name, and the seller may struggle to prove the export for VAT.
- Assuming the seller will load the truck. Under EXW it does not have to; if it does load, it does so at the buyer's risk unless the contract says otherwise.
- Writing just "EXW Korea" instead of a precise address.
EXW vs FCA
Under FCA at the seller's premises, the seller also loads the goods onto the buyer's truck and clears them for export. That small difference removes the two biggest problems with EXW, which is why the ICC points international traders towards FCA.
A plain-language summary of Incoterms® 2020 for everyday use. The full rules are published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), and your contract wording decides. Incoterms® is a registered trademark of the ICC.
All 11 Incoterms 2020 rules
Common questions
Who pays for loading under EXW?
The buyer. The seller is not obliged to load. If the seller's staff do load the truck, the risk of damage during loading stays with the buyer unless the contract says otherwise.
Does the seller clear export customs under EXW?
No. Export clearance is the buyer's job under EXW. The seller only has to provide information and documents the buyer asks for, at the buyer's cost.