DDP vs DAP: Who Pays the Import Duties in International Shipping?
A customer orders from your webshop. Price seen, paid, done. Three days later the delivery driver rings the bell: "There's €18.50 in import duties to pay." The customer refuses. The parcel goes back. You pay outbound and return shipping plus a surcharge for not being able to deliver the shipment.
This scenario plays out daily for webshops that ship DAP to non-EU countries. The solution: DDP.
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What is DDP?
DDP = Delivered Duty Paid
You as the seller pay all import duties and taxes upfront. The customer pays nothing extra at the door. The price they see in your webshop is the price they pay. There are various IT solutions that allow you to add the import duty amount in your checkout.
Advantages:
- No surprises for the customer
- Fewer refusals and returns
- Higher conversion (customer knows exactly what they pay)
- Professional impression
Disadvantages:
- You must pre-finance import duties
- You must factor costs into your selling price or shipping costs
- More complex to calculate
What is DAP?
DAP = Delivered At Place
The customer pays import duties and VAT upon delivery. The carrier collects this at the door (or the parcel is held until paid). Note: some carriers like DPD always deliver. If the recipient doesn't pay the import duties, the costs are charged to the sender.
Advantages:
- Lower upfront costs for you as seller
- Simpler: you don't need to calculate import duties upfront
Disadvantages:
- Customer is surprised with extra costs
- Higher refusal and return rates
- Poor customer experience and reviews
When to choose DDP vs DAP?
Choose DDP when:
- You sell to consumers (B2C)
- Your product margin is high enough to absorb import duties
- Customer experience and conversion are priorities
- You ship to countries with high refusal rates (US, Brazil)
Choose DAP when:
- You sell to businesses (B2B) that handle import duties themselves
- The customer explicitly requests DAP (e.g. large enterprise orders)
- The duty percentage is unknown or highly variable
These brands deliver a perfect delivery experience with Wuunder
How Wuunder supports DDP
- Automatic invoicing: import duties are handled via the carrier and charged back to you
- Carriers that support DDP: DPD, DHL Ecommerce, DHL Express, FedEx, UPS (most express carriers)
DDP and the US (new situation)
Since August 2025, 15% import duties apply to all EU products to the US, without minimum threshold. DDP to the US is now essential for every B2C webshop delivering there. Without DDP, a large portion of American consumers refuse the parcel.
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Frequently asked questions
Q: What's the difference between DDP and DAP?
A: With DDP, you as the shipper pay all import duties upfront. Your customer gets no surprise. With DAP, the customer pays upon delivery, leading to refusals and bad reviews.
Q: Is DDP more expensive than DAP?
A: You pay import duties upfront, but you prevent refusals and double shipping costs (outbound + return + surcharge). Net, DDP is almost always cheaper for B2C.
Q: Which carriers support DDP?
A: DHL Express, FedEx and UPS offer DDP as a standard option. With standard parcel carriers (road transport), DDP is usually not available. Exception in the Netherlands is DPD and DHL eCommerce.
Q: Should I offer DDP to the US?
A: Strongly recommended. Since August 2025, 15% import duties apply to all EU products to the US. Without DDP, a large portion of consumers refuse the parcel at the door.
Q: Can I pass on import duties to my customer?
A: Yes. Many webshops include estimated import duties in shipping costs or product price. This way the customer experiences an all-in price without surprises.
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