Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)

Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) is the Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller does the most: delivery to the buyer's named place, cleared for import, duties paid. It is the only Incoterm under which the seller, not the buyer, clears the goods for import, and it works for any mode of transport.

Who does what under DDP

What the seller takes on

Under DDP the seller arranges and pays for export clearance, main carriage, import clearance, duties, taxes and delivery to the agreed address, and carries the risk the whole way. Delivery happens when the goods are placed at the buyer's disposal on the arriving vehicle, ready for unloading; unloading itself is the buyer's job unless the contract says otherwise. Agree that point in writing: a container that needs a forklift or a dock is not "delivered" the same way a pallet on a liftgate is.

The importer-of-record problem

DDP only works if the seller can legally be the importer of record in the destination country. To import into the United States a foreign seller needs a CBP-assigned importer number (filed on CBP Form 5106), a customs bond, and, as a nonresident corporation, a resident agent in the state of the port of entry authorized to accept service of process. Other countries have their own rules on non-resident importers, and the ICC itself warns that a foreign seller may find import clearance difficult. Sellers who cannot act as importer sometimes propose a variant such as "DDP, VAT unpaid" or "DDP excluding duty"; any such variation must be spelled out in the contract and on the documents, not assumed.

DDP on a tariff-exposed lane

Under DDP the seller is the importer of record, which means the seller, or the broker it hires, decides the HTS classification, the country of origin claimed and the value declared to CBP, and pays whatever duty results. The buyer sees none of it.

On lanes where Section 301, Section 232 or IEEPA duties sit on top of the general rate, that is the risk the China to USA and Vietnam to USA lane pages flag: a DDP price that undercuts an FOB-plus-duty calculation may rest on an undervalued entry or an origin claim that will not survive a CBP review. The goods are still yours once delivered, and a seller that has priced its duty wrong has every incentive to renegotiate or to stop shipping. Before accepting a DDP price, run the same goods through the tariff simulator and ask the seller which rate it assumed.

DDP versus DAP

The only difference is import clearance and duty. Under DAP the seller still delivers to your door but you clear the goods and pay the duty; under DDP the seller does. That matters when tariffs move: a DDP price quoted before a rate change leaves the seller carrying the increase, so DDP quotes are often short-dated or carry a duty-adjustment clause. The Incoterms explainer compares the D rules line by line.

Buying DDP through Airlift

If you are the US buyer, ask what duty rate the seller assumed and check it yourself in the tariff simulator before you accept the price. Airlift quotes door-to-door with the freight, customs clearance through its licensed broker network, the ISF and final delivery priced as separate lines, so you can see what a DDP figure is actually covering. When you book with Airlift, the bill of lading is issued in your name.

Want a delivered price but would rather stay importer of record? DAP with Airlift handling the entry is usually the cleaner structure. DDP does not oblige either party to insure, so if the seller's own policy does not cover your interest, add cargo insurance for the move.