EXW: Ex Works (Incoterms® 2020)
EXW (Ex Works) means the seller delivers by placing the goods at the buyer's disposal at its own premises or another named place, not loaded on any collecting vehicle and not cleared for export. The buyer does everything else, starting with loading.
Quick facts
Where risk and costs pass from the seller to the buyer
SellerBuyer
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.
Seller and buyer obligations, article by article (A1–A10 / B1–B10)
Incoterms 2020 gives each side ten matching articles. Here they are in plain language; the ICC text and your contract decide.
| Seller (A) | Buyer (B) | |
|---|---|---|
| A1/B1 General obligations | Provide the goods and the commercial invoice as the contract requires, plus any other proof of conformity it asks for. Documents may be paper or electronic if agreed or customary. | Pay the price as the contract requires. Documents may be paper or electronic if agreed or customary. |
| A2/B2 Delivery and taking delivery | Place the goods at the buyer's disposal at the agreed point, if any, at the named place, not loaded on any collecting vehicle, on the agreed date or within the agreed period. | Take delivery when the goods have been made available and the seller has given notice. |
| A3/B3 Transfer of risks | Bears all risk of loss or damage until the goods are made available. | Bears all risk from that moment, and from the agreed date if it fails to give a needed notice, once the goods are clearly identified as the contract goods. |
| A4/B4 Carriage | No obligation to arrange transport. At the buyer's request, risk and cost, give any information the buyer needs to arrange it, including security requirements. | Contract or arrange, at its own cost, the carriage from the named place. |
| A5/B5 Insurance | No obligation to insure. At the buyer's request, risk and cost, give the information the buyer needs to buy insurance. | No obligation to insure. The buyer bears the risk from delivery, so it usually buys cargo insurance for itself. |
| A6/B6 Delivery or transport document | No obligation to the buyer. | Provide the seller with appropriate evidence of having taken delivery. |
| A7/B7 Export and import clearance | No export clearance duty. Where applicable, help the buyer, at its request, risk and cost, with documents and information for export, transit and import clearance. | Carry out and pay for all export, transit and import formalities, including licences, security clearances and pre-shipment inspections. |
| A8/B8 Checking, packaging, marking | Pay for the checks (quality, measuring, weighing, counting) needed to deliver, and pack and mark the goods for the transport, unless the trade customarily ships them unpacked or the parties agreed specific packing. | No obligation to the seller. |
| A9/B9 Allocation of costs | Pay all costs until the goods are made available, except those the buyer pays. | Pay all costs from delivery, including loading, export and import formalities and duties, the seller's costs of helping, and extra costs if it fails to take delivery or give notice. |
| A10/B10 Notices | Give the buyer any notice it needs to take delivery. | If entitled to choose the time or the point of collection, give the seller sufficient notice. |
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
Guides on this topic
Common questions
What is the full form and meaning of EXW?
EXW stands for Ex Works, one of the 11 Incoterms® 2020 rules. Transport: Any mode. Delivery and risk pass to the buyer: At the seller's premises, goods made available, not loaded. Main freight paid by: Buyer. Insurance: Not required. Export clearance: Buyer. Import clearance and duties: Buyer.
What does an EXW price include?
Only the goods, packed and ready for collection at the named place. Loading, export clearance, freight, insurance, import clearance, duties and taxes are extra costs for the buyer, so add them before comparing an EXW price with an FCA or FOB quote.
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.
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