EXW - Ex Works

EXW (Ex Works) is the Incoterms® clause with the minimum obligations for the seller and thus the counterpart to DDP. It applies to all modes of transport. The seller only has to make the goods available at the agreed place — usually factory or warehouse — at the agreed time; packed and identified, but without loading onto a means of transport and without export formalities. From that moment costs and risk pass to the buyer.

EXW is legally simple but operationally tricky: while it lets sellers avoid logistics work, in practice shippers are often asked to load goods even under EXW — which is formally beyond the seller's duties. In addition, the buyer takes responsibility for export formalities, which can be difficult for foreign buyers in the producing country (e.g. Bangladesh, China) — customs and tax authorities usually require domestic tax IDs. For EU intra-community business EXW may be tax-risky for the seller because they no longer control the proof of intra-community movement of goods. ICC recommendation: for containers use FCA instead of EXW.