1. Shipping Period and Delivery Period
(1) Shipping Period (Time of Shipment): refers to the period specified in the sales contract for the seller to ship the goods at the place of shipment. Under the symbolic delivery method, such as trade terms such as FOB, CFR, CIF, FCA, CPT and CIP, “Shipping Period” can also be called “Delivery Period”.
(2) Delivery Period (Time of Delivery): refers to ① the deadline for the seller to hand over the contract goods to the carrier and transfer the freight risk to the buyer at the same time. This refers to “delivery” under the “symbolic delivery” method; ② the deadline for the seller to actually hand over the contract goods to the buyer’s control, and at the same time, the risk responsibility of the goods is transferred to the buyer together with the ownership of the goods when the goods are delivered. This refers to “delivery” under the “actual delivery” method.
2. Methods for stipulating shipping time
There are mainly the following methods for stipulating shipping time in sales contracts.
(1) Clearly specify the specific shipment period
①"Latest date of shipment: Sept.30,2010."(latest shipment period: September 3, 2010).
②"Shipment: On Or before May.31, 2010."(shipment period: on or before May 31, 2010). This stipulation method actually has the same meaning as the first stipulation, but the wording is slightly different.
③"Shipment: During Dec,2009 and Jan,2010."(shipment period: between December 2009 and January 2010). This stipulation method is different from the previous two methods, and it also limits the seller’s earliest shipment period.
(2) Stipulating that the goods shall be shipped within a certain number of days after receipt of the letter of credit
For example: “Shipment to be effected within 45 days upon receipt of the relative L/C.” (The seller shall ship the goods within 45 days after receipt of the letter of credit).