Export Promotion Manual for Nepalese Missions Abroad - ANNEXE XIII


IMPORTANT INCO-TERMS/GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TRADE

Ad Val Orem duty According to the value of the article, an assessment at a certain percentage rate on the actual value.

Advertisement Paid-for presentation in a medium of information.

Advertising Using of advertisements to promote a produce, service, country, cause, etc.

Agency Agreement An agreement made between an exporter and his agent which includes enumeration of the agent, the division of promotional and administrative costs between exporter and agent, responsibilities of each of the parties and the territory covered by the agency.

Analysis In market research, the process of identifying trends.

Bill of Entry A shipper's detailed statement of the nature and value of the goods in a consignment for customs purposes.

Bill of Lading Multiple-copy document on sea transport of goods. It acknowledges receipt of the goods for shipment and is a certificate of ownership which must be produced before goods may be release for delivery.

Bonded-Warehouse A guarded facility where imported goods may by deposited under the supervision of custom officers without payment of duties or relevant taxes, often because the goods are intended for re-export. Similar conditions apply in a free port.

Brand Image The characteristics of a product which distinguish it from competing products in the eyes of purchasers or potential purchasers.

Break-even Price Total cost of producing and selling any given quantity of a product divided by the number of units produced and sold.

Certificate of Origin A document to attest to the place of growth, production or manufacture of goods specified thereon. The signature of the Consul of the country of destination is sometimes required.

CIF Terms of sale, "cost, insurance and freight". In quoting a CIF price an exporter undertakes to pay costs of transporting the goods and for insurance in transit to a port of entry in the importer's country.

Containerization Packing cargo in a standard sized, lockable or seal able container so that they can be handled quickly and easily by standardized equipment and transferred between modes of transport (such as from truck to cargo space to ships hold).

Costing Calculating the costs of production, selling, delivery and other miscellaneous costs of products.

Customs Cooperation Council Nomenclature (CCCN) An internationally agreed system of classifications of goods in international commerce, used by most countries for their tariff classification and foreign trade statistics, See also HS & SITC.

Customs Declaration Description of value and net weight of goods sent to an overseas country.

Customs Tariff A duty or tax imposed by a government on imports/exports. An ad Val Orem tariff is levied as a percentage of the CIF price. A specific tariff is a flat rate charge per physical unit. A mixed or combined tariff is composed of both ad Val Orem and specific elements.

Demurrage The charge made for delays to barges, ships, warehouses etc, after a stated period.

Discount Deduction made from an amount owed or from the price of goods, often when payment is made on due date or at the time of, or in advance of delivery.

Distributor Person or company that buys products from a manufacturer for re-sale, usually with a preferential or exclusive right for a particular geographic area. Distributor often import products and sell them to wholesalers.

Embargo 1. Prohibition on the import and export of particular goods. 2. In a press release an embargo is a restriction banning publication of the information it contains before a specified time.

End user The final buyer of a product such as a consumer, or a factory, office, restaurant or other institution. Exclusive right Right to sell particular product in a particular area or market without competition from other suppliers of the same product from the same manufacturer. Exclusive right may be granted, for example, by a manufacturer to a distributor in return for the latter stocking his goods. Exclusive rights may also be granted for the use of a trade name a manufacturing process, etc.

Exclusivity 1. As exclusive rights. 2. The characteristics of products making them clearly different from competitor's product.

Export Merchant One who buys in his home market for resale in foreign markets.

Ex-works price A quoted price which does not include the cost of transportation of goods from the factory on-words.

Fixed costs of doing business which (within the limits of the present production capacity and administrative organization) do not vary with the amount of goods produced and sold. Include, rent, staff salaries, cost of machinery and equipment.

FOB "Free on Board." When an FOB price is quoted, the exporter undertakes to pay all charges involved in getting the goods actually to the carrier. His responsibility ends when the goods are loaded on board.

Forwarding Agent A specialist in the carriage of products to or from a port. Usually known as shipping and forwarding agent.

Free Port A port where goods can enter and leave the country without incurring import duty as long as they remain in the port area. A free port may include facilities for processing or assembling goods from imported duty-free materials.

Freight Payment for carriage and transport of goods, or passengers.

Guarantee Formal pledge that the contract conditions will be carried out : a manufacturer's or seller's undertaking to repair or replace defective products or undertake servicing in certain conditions.

Harmonized System Harmonized system of product code, which is used internationally for the customs purpose.

Health Regulations Rules intended to ensure that materials or products do not endanger the health of the users.

In Bond Dutiable goods warehouse under Customs control pending deferred payment of duties.

Import house A merchant importer, in other words, a firm which imports on its own account for resale and which is a direct customer of an exporter.

Invoice A document issued by a seller stating the nature and quantity of the goods, the name of the buyer, the price of goods, etc. Export invoices also include a description of marks on cases or packages.

Letter of Credit A letter issued by a bank on the instructions of a buyer in favour of an exporter. The advising bank undertakes to pay the exporter a certain amount of money against delivery of specified documents within a stated period of time.

As used in international trade, a letter of credit, or " documentary" letter of credit, is a means of financing imports and of guaranteeing to the exporter that he will be paid. The importer establishes his credit with his bank and instructs it to open a credit in favour of the exporter, through an advising bank in the exporter's country, against presentation of specified documents (such as the invoice and bill of lading) within a specified period.

The most common type is the irrevocable letter of credit, which cannot be revoked or changed without the consent of all parties. A ' confirmed irrevocable credit' is one of which the advising bank in the exporter's country undertakes to pay him. A 'revocable credit' can be revoked at any time, since it gives the exporter no guarantee of payment; it is rarely used.

Mail-order Selling Goods against orders received by mail, the goods usually being sent to the buyer by the same medium. Order may be obtained through print, broadcast or direct mail advertising.

Market 1. Total demand or sales potential for a product or service. 2. A place where goods are bought and sold.

Marketing The range of management activities concerned with identifying sales opportunities and attempting to take advantage of them (in other words, to sell at a profit) by controlling or influencing the various factors involved in the flow of goods or services from producer to consumer or user. In general, marketing is trying to provide the right product, in the right place, at the right price, at the right time.

Marginal costing Calculating the cost of producing an extra quantity of goods already being produced. This involves separating out fixed costs and variable costs, the former remaining more or less constant when the production quantity is increased.

Marketing Mix Manner in which the different parts and techniques of a company's marketing efforts are combined.

Mark-up The amount which a merchant adds to the price at which he bought the product before sale.

Marketing Channel The sales agents, middlemen, retail outlets, and other types of business through which sales are made and product distributed.

Marine Insurance The insurance policy taken to cover probable risk of losses or damages of the export goods en route to the buyer.

Measurement Ton For general cargo, 40 cubic feet is a ton measurement, and is regarded as equal to 20 cwt.

Modular Transportation A method of cargo handling, in which individual packets of cargo are combined into larger units so that they can be treated as bulk cargo and pass smoothly from one medium of transport to another with a minimum of handling. Also called unitization.

Multilateral Trade Regulations Agreement on special trade regulations among more than two countries.

Packaging Materials used to contain a product safely, in prescribed quantity and in many cases, in a manner designed to attract customers. Techniques of designing and producing packages.

Palletization Stacking of goods on platforms (pallets), to which they are strapped or otherwise fastened, for ease of transportation and warehousing, particularly for handling with fork-lift trucks.

Patent The sole right to make or sell a product or to use a process invented by the person granted the patent. Patents are issued by governments.

Personal selling or creating a desire for a product by personal contact.

Product Adaptation A modification of the design or specification of a particular product to suit a particular market. It also refers to certain combinations of raw materials which have been utilized before, to produce a new item.

Product Development The entire process or network of activities by which companies bring new or improved product to the market and include the period from conception of new product ideas to where the new product is launched commercially. Many companies consider the commercialization activities in the market as part of the product development process.

Pro Forma A specimen, such as a Pro Forma Invoice, which is a specimen or example invoice.

Purchasing Power The capacity to purchase possessed by an individual buyer, a group of buyers, or the aggregate of the buyers in an area or market.

Rate of Exchange The price, or the indication of a price, at which buying and selling of domestic currency for a unit of foreign exchange takes place.

Remittance Money sent back to his home country by a person working abroad.

Repatriation of capital Return of money invested abroad to its home country.

Retailer Person or firm selling goods directly to consumers.

Retail outlet A shop selling directly to the consumers.

Safety Regulations Official rules intended to ensure that materials or products do not injure the users.

Sales Agent An individual or organization which sells its clients products or services, in return for receiving a commission on the invoice value.

Sales Literature Printed material containing information about a product or company. It may be leaflets, catalogues or price lists.

Sales Promotion The stimulating of potential customer's interest to buy a product through such activities as demonstrations, exhibitions, competitions, special offers etc. Sales promotion may be coordinated with normal selling activities and with advertising and public relations.

Sample A product or portion of a product offered to prospective users as a means of introducing the product.

Shell Stand A standard booth provided by the organizer of a trade fair or exhibition to exhibitors, it is rented at a charge additional to the cost of the space and includes basic furnishings and side and back walls or dividers.

Specific Duty An assessment on the weight or quantity of goods, being traded without reference to monetary value or market price.

Standard International Trade Classification (SITC) This is a numerical basis for a systematic analysis of world trade and reporting of trade statistics as used by the UN and other international organizations and by many countries. This Classification ranges from raw materials to manufactured products. (from 0-9).

Target Market The market for a company's or country's products, which has been identified and is a target of marketing efforts.

Target Buyer The end consumer or buyer for products identified after completion of a series of elimination processes. For example, shawls are used by women, from age 45 and above, in country X, but used by men and women from age 25 and above, in country Y.

Trade Barriers Restrictions or prohibitions on the flow of goods across a national border.

Trade Missions A group of people from one country visiting another for the purposes of promoting trade. Composed of businessmen, representatives of trade and industry associations, government representatives, etc. "Outward" mission goes abroad, an "Inward" mission visits a country from abroad.

Trademark A name, word, symbol or other device used to identify a product and distinguish it from competing products. A company must register a trademark with the government of each country in which exclusive rights for its use are required.

Unit Cost A company's total manufacturing and selling costs for the products, divided by the number of products (that is, by the number of units produced).

Value added Increase in the price of product created by further processing.

Variable costs That vary with the volume of production or sales. An example is raw material and fuel costs.

Weight or measurement (W/M) Freight rates are often quoted on a weight over measurement ratio.

Wholesaler A person or firm who buys goods from manufacturers or other merchants with the intention of reselling them to retailers or industry, but not directly to consumers.

Source : Various publications of International Trade Center, UNCTAD/GATT.