Trade glossary
Terms used in contracts, shipping documents and customs between Iran and China, with the Chinese for each.
Incoterms
- EXW (Ex Works)EXW（工厂交货）
- The seller makes the goods available at its premises or another named place, not loaded and not cleared for export. The buyer bears all costs and risks from that point, by any mode of transport.
- FCA (Free Carrier)FCA（货交承运人）
- The seller delivers the goods, cleared for export, to the carrier or other person the buyer nominates at a named place, and risk passes there. It suits any mode, including rail, and ICC suggests it instead of FOB for containers.
- FOB (Free On Board)FOB（船上交货）
- The seller places the goods on board the vessel the buyer nominates at the named port of shipment, and risk passes once they are on board. Sea and inland waterway only, not for containers handed over at a terminal.
- CFR (Cost and Freight)CFR（成本加运费）
- The seller arranges carriage to the named port of destination at its cost, but risk passes when the goods are on board at the port of shipment. Sea and inland waterway only; CPT suits containers handed over at a terminal.
- CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight)CIF（成本、保险费加运费）
- The seller arranges carriage and insurance to the destination port at its cost, with Institute Cargo Clauses (C) cover by default; risk passes once the goods are loaded on board. Sea and inland waterway only; CIP suits containers.
- CPT (Carriage Paid To)CPT（运费付至）
- The seller arranges carriage to the named destination at its cost, but risk passes when the goods are handed to the first carrier, unless the contract names a later point. It suits any mode, including container and rail moves.
- CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To)CIP（运费和保险费付至）
- The seller arranges carriage to the named destination at its cost and insures the goods, by default to Institute Cargo Clauses (A), the widest standard cover. Risk passes on handover to the first carrier; any mode.
- DAP (Delivered at Place)DAP（目的地交货）
- The seller handles export and transit formalities and bears costs and risk until the goods reach the named destination, ready for unloading. The buyer unloads and clears them for import; any mode.
- DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded)DPU（卸货地交货）
- The seller bears costs and risk until the goods are unloaded at the named destination, which can be any place. It is the only Incoterms rule in which the seller unloads; the buyer clears the goods for import.
- DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)DDP（完税后交货）
- The seller delivers the goods at the named destination ready for unloading, cleared for import with duties and taxes paid. It is the seller’s maximum obligation and is often impractical where the seller cannot act as importer.
- Incoterms 2020《国际贸易术语解释通则2020》（Incoterms 2020）
- The International Chamber of Commerce’s current rules, in force since 1 January 2020, defining the seller’s and buyer’s delivery, risk and cost obligations under 11 terms. ICC is revising the rules; Incoterms 2030 is planned for late 2029 and has not been published.
Documents
- Commercial invoice商业发票
- The seller’s invoice describing the parties, the goods, their quantities and value. Customs use it to check and value the goods, and every Incoterms 2020 rule obliges the seller to provide it.
- Packing list装箱单
- A list of each package in the shipment, with its contents, marks, weights and dimensions. Customs, carriers and the buyer use it to check the cargo against the invoice.
- Certificate of origin (CO)原产地证书
- A certificate stating the country in which the goods originate. With no preferential agreement between China and Iran, a non-preferential certificate is used, issued by customs or CCPIT in China and by chambers of commerce in Iran.
- Bill of lading (B/L)海运提单
- The ocean carrier’s receipt for the goods and evidence of the contract of carriage. An order or bearer bill is also a document of title, so its lawful holder can claim the goods.
- Sea waybill海运单
- A non-transferable sea transport document naming the consignee, who can take delivery without presenting it. It is a receipt and evidence of the contract of carriage, but not a document of title.
- SMGS consignment note国际货协运单
- The rail consignment note under the SMGS agreement, covering a through journey such as China–Central Asia–Iran on one document. It evidences the contract of carriage and names the consignee; SMGS makes no provision for endorsing it, so it is not a document of title.
- CMR consignment noteCMR运单
- The road consignment note under the CMR Convention on international road haulage. Iran and the Central Asian states are parties and China is not; the note evidences the contract of carriage but is not a document of title.
- TIR carnetTIR证
- The customs transit document under the TIR Convention, used mainly by road. Goods in sealed vehicles or containers cross borders without routine customs checks on the way; China and Iran are both parties.
- Insurance certificate保险凭证
- A document showing that cargo insurance covers a particular shipment, usually issued under an open cargo policy. Under CIF and CIP the seller must give the buyer this, the policy or other evidence of cover.
- Phytosanitary certificate植物检疫证书
- An official certificate from the exporting country’s plant protection organisation that plant products meet the importing country’s quarantine requirements. For China, each product’s protocol sets any additional declarations.
- Health certificate卫生证书
- An official certificate from the exporting country’s competent authority that food or animal-origin products meet the importing country’s health requirements. For animal products it is often a veterinary health certificate; China agrees the form per product.
- COI (Certificate of Inspection)COI（装运前检验证书）
- A pre-shipment inspection certificate issued at origin by an inspection body approved by the Iranian National Standards Organization (INSO). INSO requires it for listed goods subject to Iran’s mandatory standards.
- COC (Certificate of Conformity)COC（符合性证书）
- The certificate that goods under Iran’s mandatory standards need to enter Iran, issued by INSO after conformity assessment. The assessment may rely on pre-shipment inspection (COI), inspection at destination or a registration certificate.
- Import order registration (Iran)进口订单登记（伊朗）
- Iran’s registration of an import order on its National Trade Single Window, which the Iranian importer completes before shipment. Iranian customs will not clear the goods without it.
Customs and inspection
- HS codeHS编码
- The six-digit Harmonized System code that classifies goods worldwide; China and Iran add national digits. Duties, licences, inspection and registration requirements are all looked up by it.
- Customs declaration报关单
- The formal statement to customs of the goods, their HS code, value, origin and intended procedure, filed electronically for import or export. China and Iran both select declarations for document or physical checks based on risk.
- GACC (General Administration of Customs of China)海关总署（GACC）
- China’s customs authority. Since 2018 it has also run import inspection and quarantine, so it registers overseas food producers, sets import requirements for food and agricultural goods and inspects them on arrival.
- CIFER (China Import Food Enterprise Registration)进口食品境外生产企业注册管理系统（CIFER）
- GACC’s online system, on the China International Trade Single Window, for registering overseas food producers under Decree 280. Producers apply, amend and renew there; GACC warns producers to avoid imitation sites.
- Overseas producer registration进口食品境外生产企业注册
- Every overseas plant making or processing food for China, and every overseas cold store holding food of land-animal or aquatic origin, must register with GACC, with the exporting country’s recommendation for listed categories. Decree 280 has governed this since 1 June 2026, replacing Decree 248.
- Market access市场准入（输华准入）
- China admits food and agricultural products per country and per product. When a country first applies to export a category, GACC may evaluate its system, and the two governments agree requirements, often in a protocol; GACC publishes the admitted list.
- Chinese label中文标签
- Prepackaged food imported into China needs a Chinese label meeting national standard GB 7718, showing the importer’s details, country of origin and producer registration number. A revised standard, GB 7718-2025, applies from 16 March 2027.
- Inspection on arrival入境检验检疫
- On arrival in China, customs checks documents and, based on risk, may inspect and sample the goods, including their labels. Goods that fail may be treated under supervision, returned or destroyed.
- Importer filing进口商备案
- Food importers in China must file with the customs office where they are based, and overseas food exporters or their agents file with GACC. Filing is done online, and GACC publishes the lists.
Rail, sea and containers
- Gauge change换装（轨距转换）
- The change between 1,435 mm track in China and Iran and 1,520 mm track in Central Asia. Containers are lifted between wagons at the China–Kazakhstan border; at Sarakhs, on the Turkmenistan–Iran border, wagons can change bogies.
- Bogie exchange更换转向架（换轮）
- Replacing a rail wagon’s bogies (wheel-set frames) with ones for the other gauge, so the goods stay in the same wagon. Iran’s Sarakhs station exchanges bogies between 1,520 mm and 1,435 mm gauge.
- Transshipment转运（中转）
- Moving cargo from one vessel, train or vehicle to another during a journey, for example at a hub port or a gauge-change station. Each transfer adds handling, time and a point where delays can occur.
- Block train整列直达班列（整列直达货物列车）
- A freight train that runs as one unit from origin to destination, without being split up or recombined at marshalling yards on the way. It is usually faster and more predictable than single-wagon traffic.
- Dry port陆港（内陆港）
- An inland terminal, linked to seaports or borders by rail or road, where containers are handled, stored and cleared by customs. Aprin dry port near Tehran has received container trains from China.
- FCL (full container load)FCL（整箱货）
- A container used by one shipper for one consignment, packed at origin and normally kept sealed until it reaches the consignee. Compare LCL, where cargo shares a container.
- LCL (less than container load)LCL（拼箱货）
- A shipment too small to fill a container, packed with other shippers’ cargo at a freight station and unpacked again at destination. It suits small lots but adds handling and time.
- TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit)TEU（标准箱）
- The standard measure of container capacity: one 20-foot container is 1 TEU and a 40-foot container is 2 TEU. Ports, ships and rail terminals state capacity and throughput in TEU.
- Demurrage滞港费（集装箱超期堆存费）
- A charge for a container or other equipment that stays in the port or terminal beyond the free time allowed by the carrier or terminal. It usually accrues daily until the container is collected.
- Detention滞箱费
- A charge for keeping a carrier’s container or other equipment outside the port or terminal beyond the free time, for example while it is being unpacked. It runs until the empty container is returned.
- Transit time运输时效（在途时间）
- The time goods spend in transport, from handover at origin to arrival at destination. Reported rail times from China to Iran via Central Asia were about 14–18 days in 2024–2026.
- Feeder (vessel or service)支线船（支线运输）
- A smaller vessel that carries containers between a hub port and smaller ports that large ocean ships do not call at. Cargo is transshipped between the feeder and the mainline ship at the hub.
- Break bulk件杂货
- Cargo loaded piece by piece, such as bagged, palletised, crated or oversized items, rather than in containers or as loose bulk. It needs more handling at the port and suits loads that do not fit a container.
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