An Incoterm on a quote for hotel furniture from Turkey tells you three things: who books the freight, who clears customs at each end, and the point where loss or damage stops being the seller’s problem. The rules are published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The current set is Incoterms® 2020, in force since 1 January 2020.
The eight terms side by side
“Risk passes” is the moment the goods become the buyer’s to insure. “Main freight” is the sea or road leg from Turkey to your country.
| Term | Main freight booked by | Export clearance (Turkey) | Import clearance and duty | Risk passes to the buyer | Transport |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXW Ex Works | Buyer | Buyer | Buyer | At the factory, before loading | Any |
| FCA Free Carrier | Buyer | Seller | Buyer | When handed to the buyer’s carrier at the named place (factory or terminal) | Any |
| FOB Free on Board | Buyer | Seller | Buyer | When on board the ship at the Turkish port | Sea only |
| CFR Cost and Freight | Seller | Seller | Buyer | On board the ship at the Turkish port (seller still pays freight to your port) | Sea only |
| CIF Cost, Insurance and Freight | Seller | Seller | Buyer | On board at the Turkish port; seller buys minimum insurance, Institute Cargo Clauses (C) | Sea only |
| DAP Delivered at Place | Seller | Seller | Buyer | At the named place, on the truck, ready to unload | Any |
| DPU Delivered at Place Unloaded | Seller | Seller | Buyer | At the named place, once unloaded | Any |
| DDP Delivered Duty Paid | Seller | Seller | Seller | At the named place, ready to unload, duty and taxes paid | Any |
Two rules not in the table, CPT and CIP, work like CFR and CIF for any mode of transport. CIP now requires the higher Institute Cargo Clauses (A) cover; CIF keeps (C) as the default (ICC).
What to ask for on a hotel job
The Incoterms chooser asks three questions and gives the term to write on your RFQ.
FCA factory or FCA port: when you have a forwarder. The seller clears export in Turkey and hands the goods to your carrier. You control the freight rate, the sailing and the insurance. ICC points to FCA in place of FOB for container cargo, because a container is handed over at the terminal or the factory, not lifted onto the ship by the seller.
DAP site: when you want one number to the door. The seller books freight to your address and carries the risk until the truck arrives. You (or your contractor) clear import, pay duty and VAT, and unload. If you are VAT-registered in the UK, for example, import VAT on goods you own and import can be reclaimed as input tax (HMRC). For a hotel opening on a fixed date, DAP also puts the transit problem on the party who booked the transit.
DPU: when the seller’s team unloads. Same as DAP, but risk stays with the seller until the goods are off the truck. Useful when the delivery and the installation crew are the same people.
DDP: only when it really fits. The seller becomes the importer in your country, pays duty and import taxes, and needs to be able to do that legally. In the US, a foreign company named as importer of record needs a US surety bond and a resident agent in the state of the port of entry (CBP). Import VAT paid by the seller is built into your price, and you may not be able to reclaim it. Ask who is importer of record before you sign a DDP quote.
EXW: rarely, for a hotel package. Under EXW the buyer must clear export in Turkey, which is hard for a foreign company without a Turkish entity. Ask for FCA factory instead; the price is the same idea, and export paperwork stays with the seller.
FOB, CFR, CIF: fine for loose cargo, weak for containers. All three pass risk only when goods are on board. A container full of wardrobes sits at the terminal for days before that, in a gap neither side clearly insures (Trade Finance Global). If a seller quotes FOB Ambarlı or CIF Jeddah, ask for the FCA or CPT/CIP version, or confirm in writing who insures the terminal leg.
What an Incoterm does not cover
Incoterms set tasks, costs and risk for delivery. They do not set when you own the goods, how and when you pay, or what happens in a dispute (International Trade Administration). Those go in the contract: payment stages, title, warranty, and the installation scope.
Also check the named place. “DAP Dubai” is not an address. “DAP, site gate, [street], Dubai, unloaded by buyer” is. For a project with phased deliveries, name the place per phase.
How one hotel order can mix terms
A single FF&E package often ships under more than one term:
| Lot | Common choice | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Casegoods and joinery from a Turkish factory | FCA factory or DAP site | Full containers or trucks from one loading point |
| Upholstery and beds | Same term as casegoods, consolidated | One booking, one set of documents |
| Owner-supplied items (lighting, art, OS&E) | Their own supplier’s term | Often by others; delivered to site separately |
| Samples and mock-up room pieces | Courier or DAP | Small, urgent, outside the main booking |
What to send us
Send the drawings or BOQ, the site address and the opening date, and say which term your quote should be on. If you have a forwarder, tell us and we price FCA. If you don’t, we price DAP to site, and outside the US we can carry it through to installation. For the US, we price delivered, not installed. Our shipping guide covers routes, transit times and documents from Turkey.
- ICC, Incoterms® 2020 rules (official summary of the 11 rules) · accessed 2026-10-04
- International Trade Administration (US), Know Your Incoterms · accessed 2026-10-04
- Trade Finance Global, FOB (Free on Board) under Incoterms® 2020 · accessed 2026-10-04
- HMRC, Paying VAT on imports from outside the UK (input tax reclaim, postponed VAT accounting) · accessed 2026-10-04
- U.S. CBP, Importing into the United States: A Guide for Commercial Importers (importer of record) · accessed 2026-10-04