Specialist Assistance For International Trade & Export

Competition law is designed to stop companies in a dominant position in a market from abusing that position and to prevent anti-competitive behaviour that distorts, restricts or prevents competition/trade.

In the UK, anti-competitive behaviour which affects trade (in the UK) is prohibited by both the Competition Act 1998 and the Enterprise Act 2002. In addition, if either party is situated in an EU member state, then the EU competition policy set out in Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (formerly Articles 81 and 82 of the treaty establishing the European Community) will apply. However, it is often possible to draft international trade agreements in a way which falls within an exemption (known as a vertical block exemption) so that a specific exemption for the agreement/relationship is not required from the relevant competition authorities. 

Incoterms (or International Commercial Terms) are an internationally recognised set of trade terms, developed by the International Chamber of Commerce (or ICC). The terms define the responsibilities and liabilities between an international buyer and a seller. They cover terms on responsibility for payment of freight costs, of insuring goods and any import/export duties. 

There are 11 sets of Incoterm rules and these are:

• FOB (Free on Board);
• FCA (Free Carrier);
• EXW (Ex Works);
• FAS (Free Alongside Ship);
• DAP (Delivered at Place);
• DAT (Delivered at Terminal);
• CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight);
• CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid to);
• CFR (Cost and Freight);
• DDP (Delivery Duty Paid); and
• CPT (Carriage paid to).

The sale of music or software overseas is considered an export of a service, rather than of goods. Software may take a tangible form (i.e. on a hard drive or CD), be downloadable and accessed via the cloud. The form in which the software is delivered to the consumer may have potential tax implications and so it will be necessary to take specialist tax advice if you are considering selling your software outside of the UK.