DDU means Delivered Duty Unpaid. DDP means Delivered Duty Paid.
In a DDU shipment, except duty or taxes of importing country, all other charges hasDifference between DDP and DDU terms of delivery copy to be paid by the seller of goods. In other words, the selling cost of goods included all charges to deliver goods up to the door of consignee except duty or tax of importing country. In a DDU shipment, the seller takes care all necessary transportation, customs clearance charges, and shipping charges etc. at load port and destination port inclusive of handling charges at port of loading and port of discharge.
Who pays for DDP shipments?
DDP means the sender is responsible for paying the duties. Often, the eCommerce seller includes these fees at checkout, directly collecting the payment from the customer.
Who pays for DDU shipments?
DDU (delivery duty unpaid) means that the customer is responsible for paying the taxes and duties. They will be contacted by customs once their shipment arrives to settle any charges in order for the shipment to be released and delivered.
Who Pays Customs Duties?
Both DDU and DDP require the seller to take full responsibility for damage or loss during any transportation route until the agreed-upon destination. However, DDU terms place the responsibility for paying customs clearance duties or taxes solely on the buyer. While the seller pays shipping charges, insurance costs, and other international shipping fees, the buyer must pay the destination country’s actual duties.
DDP terms require the seller to pay for the duties and taxes in addition to all other fees and costs associated with shipping. All the buyer has to do is wait for the shipment to arrive.
With DDP shipments, sellers may charge slightly more to recoup the cost of duties and other fees. However, they are still responsible for paying the appropriate parties on-time and with no delays.
The seller also has to absorb any unexpected costs, even if the duties are much higher than expected. If there are paperwork-related delays at customs, the seller is also responsible for any storage or additional administrative fees.
Using a Freight Forwarder
Freight forwarders help sellers navigate the intricacies and occasional changes to DDP and DDU shipping. They take care of the logistics required for DDP shipping, including working with customs brokers to ensure all duties and taxes are paid as quickly as possible. Using a freight forwarder makes subsequent connections to drayage and intermodal shipping hubs as seamless as possible.
Freight forwarders can also help with DDU shipping. The seller’s freight forwarder is responsible for everything up to the customs clearance process, where the buyer’s freight forwarder or customs broker takes over. In many cases, the responsibility for the goods transfers back to the seller’s freight forwarder if further transportation over land is required.
