DDP vs DAP vs DDU: Who Pays Duties on a Cross-Border Order

All three terms answer one question on a cross-border order: who gets the goods through customs at the destination, and who pays the duty and tax charged there. The answer sets what your customer pays at checkout, whether a carrier asks them for money before delivery, and what your 3PL and its carriers need from you. Our glossary defines DDP shipping on its own; this guide compares the terms, shows when each fits, and lists what to ask a 3PL before you choose.

How do DDP, DAP and DDU compare?

DDP and DAP are two of the seven Incoterms 2020 rules for any mode of transport, a list that runs from EXW (Ex Works) to DDP, according to the International Trade Administration. The Incoterms rules are the trade terms the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) publishes for sales contracts.

An ICC Academy article on DAP and DDP, by an ICC-certified Incoterms trainer, says the two rules have several features in common. Under both, the seller arranges and pays for transport to the agreed destination, carries the risk of loss or damage on the way, and completes and pays for export customs formalities. Under both, the buyer unloads the goods at the destination. The key difference is import clearance: under DAP the buyer carries it out and pays for it, and under DDP the seller does.

What happened to DDU?

DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) was an Incoterms 2000 rule. ICC's 2010 revision cut the number of rules from 13 to 11 by replacing four of them, DAF, DES, DEQ and DDU, with two new rules, DAT and DAP. Under DAP, ICC explained, the goods are placed at the buyer's disposal ready for unloading, as under the former DDU rule.

The duty split carried over too. FedEx's shipping glossary describes DDU the same way: once the goods arrive in the destination country, the buyer is responsible for import duties, taxes and customs clearance. The older name lives on in glossaries like that one, and a contract can still name an older version of the rules if the parties agree and say which version they mean, according to the International Trade Administration. For a new contract, the cleaner choice is DAP with the Incoterms 2020 version named. Our DDU shipping entry covers the older term on its own.

Why does the choice matter more for US imports now?

Until August 2025, most imports valued at $800 or less could enter the US under the de minimis administrative exemption from duty and certain tax (goods from China lost it on May 2, 2025), so the term mattered less on a small US-bound order. An executive order of July 30, 2025 suspended the exemption for goods of all countries from August 29, 2025, and a CBP notice of August 28, 2025 told filers to submit a formal or informal entry, with payment of all applicable duties, taxes and fees, for shipments outside the international postal network.

A CBP interim final rule in the Federal Register, effective June 24, 2026, made the suspension indefinite for imports valued at $800 or less arriving by every mode other than the international postal network. CBP's e-commerce FAQ says the suspension covers mail too, with a new mail informal entry process from July 24, 2026. Our Section 321 guide follows the rule history.

The practical result: a US-bound order now needs an entry and payment of any customs duty owed, so the term decides who pays. CBP's e-commerce FAQ says the duty on these low-value shipments turns on each product's HTSUS classification, country of origin and dutiable value, at the rates in effect when the entry is made. Under DDP the seller has to know the amount before checkout; under DAP the customer learns it from the bill.

What does the customer see at the door?

Under DAP, the bill goes to the customer. The UK government's guidance shows how that works there: Royal Mail, Parcelforce or the courier contacts the buyer if any VAT, duty or delivery charges are due and sends a bill stating which fees to pay. The carrier normally holds the parcel for about 3 weeks, and if the bill is still unpaid then, the parcel goes back to the sender.

That is the risk a DAP order carries for a seller who never pays the duty: a customer who did not expect a bill can leave it unpaid, and the sale ends in a parcel on its way back. A destination can narrow the gap. In the UK, for non-excise goods worth £135 or less, the seller will already have included VAT in the total the buyer paid, so a low-value DAP parcel there can arrive with the VAT settled.

Under DDP, the customer pays one price at checkout and nothing at the door. That price has to cover the duty and tax, which is why the ICC Academy article says DDP suits a buyer who agrees to pay a higher price for the goods, covering transport, customs formalities and the tariffs and taxes customs authorities require. For an online store, DDP means building the checkout price on landed cost, not on the product price alone.

When does DDP fit, and when does DAP?

The ICC Academy article sets out the trade-off from both sides:

• DDP fits when the buyer prefers not to handle transport or customs and wants the goods delivered to their door, and the seller is prepared to handle all customs formalities, including those of the country of import.
• DAP fits when the seller does not want to manage import clearance or is prevented by local rules in the destination country. Some customs authorities require the local importer to clear the goods, and DDP cannot be used there.
• DDP is harder for a foreign seller, because carrying out import clearance in the destination country can be difficult from abroad.
• DAP leaves risk with the buyer during import clearance, and the article suggests DDP when the buyer is unwilling to assume that risk.

A consumer usually has no customs broker and may not expect a bill, and FedEx's glossary notes that DDP may be preferred in ecommerce, where buyers expect a frictionless experience. For consumer orders, that points toward DDP. DAP keeps its place for business buyers who know their own country's customs rules, for countries where a foreign seller cannot act as the importer, and for low-value parcels where the destination already collects tax at checkout.

Who acts as the importer under DDP?

DDP needs someone at the destination to make entry for the seller. In the US, entry can be made by the owner or purchaser of the merchandise or, when the owner, purchaser or consignee designates one, by a licensed customs broker, and the importer of record must be one of the parties eligible to file, under 19 U.S.C. 1484.

A seller based abroad has one more step. Under 19 CFR 141.18, a nonresident corporation may not enter merchandise for consumption unless it has a resident agent authorized to accept service of process against it, in the state where the port of entry is located (or, for a remote location filing, the state the filing comes from), and files a bond. A foreign brand that acts as the importer of record on its own US entries needs both in place, and a licensed customs broker it designates can file the entries.

Fulfill.com partner Kuehne+Nagel is one option for the broker role. Its US site offers customs clearance whether or not you book transport with it.

What do 3PL profiles show about import services?

Of the 2,701 active 3PL profiles on Fulfill.com on November 2, 2026, 415 (15.4%) list international trade services, 269 (10.0%) a bonded warehouse, 258 (9.6%) end-to-end import logistics and 85 (3.1%) C-TPAT certification.

Taken together, 564 profiles (20.9%) list international trade services, end-to-end import logistics or both. By headquarters, 876 profiles (32.4%) are based outside the US, led by the UK with 329, Canada with 190 and Australia with 123.

The counts reflect what each profile lists, and many of those listings were drawn from the 3PL's own website rather than entered by the 3PL, so a profile can miss a service a 3PL offers. The profile tags behind these counts name a service or certification, not the trade terms a 3PL ships on. Treat a listing as a reason to ask, not an answer. To start a list, browse our international fulfillment and end-to-end import logistics 3PL pages. Those pages draw on separate directory data, so their totals can differ from the counts above.

What should you ask your 3PL before you pick a term?

The term is your sales decision, but your 3PL ships it, through the carrier services and settings it uses. Before you change the term on a lane, ask:

• Which carrier services can it book on DDP terms, to which countries, and who is the importer of record on each?
• Who files the entry on a DDP shipment, the carrier or a broker you designate, and how does the duty and tax bill reach you?
• Can its system pass each product's HTSUS classification, country of origin and value to the carrier, since duty turns on all three?
• What happens to a DAP parcel the customer will not pay for: does it come back to the 3PL, and how is it received and restocked?
• Can it hold stock in the destination country, or work with a 3PL there, so orders ship as domestic parcels after one bulk import? Our guide to going global with your 3PL covers selling abroad more broadly.
• Where does its role end and a freight forwarder's begin on that bulk import? See 3PL vs freight forwarder.

DDP vs DAP FAQ

Is DAP the same as DDU?

Close to it. ICC replaced DDU with DAP in its 2010 revision, and under both the buyer handles import clearance, duty and tax. DAP is the current term, so name DAP and the Incoterms version in a new contract.

Is DDP more expensive than DAP?

Not because of the duty, which is owed either way. DDP moves the duty and tax into the checkout price and adds whatever the seller pays a broker or carrier to clear the goods. DAP leaves them for the customer to pay on delivery.

Who pays import VAT under DAP?

The buyer, as part of import clearance. A destination can change that: in the UK, for non-excise goods worth £135 or less, the seller includes VAT in the total the buyer pays at checkout.

Can a 3PL ship DDP for me?

It can ship on DDP terms when the carrier service it books supports them, but someone still has to act as the importer and pay the duty. Ask who is the importer of record and how the duty bill reaches you before the first shipment.

What happens if a customer will not pay the duty on a DAP parcel?

In the UK, the carrier normally holds the parcel for about 3 weeks and then returns it to the sender; other countries and carriers set their own terms, so ask yours. Plan for the return trip and the restock in your 3PL's returns process.

Find a 3PL that ships across borders

If you are choosing a 3PL for cross-border orders, start with how it ships DDP and DAP, not with the warehouse. Find a 3PL on Fulfill.com and ask each one the questions above.

How we researched this

We read each source on November 2, 2026:

• International Chamber of Commerce, Incoterms rules 2010, and ICC Academy's article on choosing DAP or DDP under Incoterms 2020
• International Trade Administration, Know Your Incoterms
• U.S. Customs and Border Protection: CSMS 66065494 (August 28, 2025), the interim final rule in the Federal Register (document 2026-12670, June 24, 2026), and CBP's e-commerce FAQs
• 19 U.S.C. 1484 and 19 CFR 141.18, from Cornell's Legal Information Institute
• GOV.UK, tax and duty on goods sent from abroad
• FedEx's glossary entry What is Delivered Duty Unpaid (DDU)?

The network figures read the active 3PL profiles in the Fulfill.com network on November 2, 2026: the value-added services and certifications each profile lists and the headquarters country it shows when that is outside the US, many of them drawn from the 3PL's own website. The partner card's description comes from Kuehne+Nagel's own US website.