On the operations desk, CPT tells a freight forwarder that cost and risk part company: the seller arranges and funds the main carriage all the way to the named place, yet the buyer carries the risk of loss or damage from the moment the goods reach the first carrier at origin. The decision the term drives is twofold, who books and pays carriage to destination and who should insure the goods in transit, since cover is not part of the seller's duties under this rule. The clean line against CFR is the handover point: CPT is the any-mode counterpart to CFR, but where CFR applies to sea and inland-waterway transport and passes risk once the goods are on board the vessel, CPT passes risk earlier, when the goods are given to the first carrier. CIP is the same rule as CPT with the addition of insurance bought by the seller.
Glossary
CPT (Carriage Paid To)
Carriage Paid To (CPT) is the any-mode Incoterm under which the seller contracts and pays for carriage to bring the goods to the named destination, but risk passes to the buyer when the goods are handed over to the first carrier, not at that destination.