Shipping Terms

Delivered Duty Paid means that the seller delivers the goods when the goods are placed at the disposal of the buyer, cleared for import on the arriving means of transport ready for unloading at the named place of destination. The seller bears all the costs and risks involved in bringing the goods to the place of destination and has an obligation to clear the goods not only for export but also for import, to pay any duty for both export and import, and to carry out all customs formalities.

This term is often used in place of the non-Incoterm "Free In Store (FIS)." This term places the maximum obligations on the seller and minimum obligations on the buyer. No risk or responsibility is transferred to the buyer until the delivery of the goods at the named place of destination.

The most important consideration for DDP terms is that the seller is responsible for clearing the goods through customs in the buyer's country, including both paying the duties and taxes and obtaining the necessary authorizations and registrations from the authorities in that country. DDP terms can be a very big risk both in terms of delays and in unforeseen extra costs and should be used with caution unless the rules and regulations in the buyer's country are very well understood.