DDU
Category: trade
Delivered Duty Unpaid — seller delivers goods but buyer pays import duties and taxes.
DDU (Delivered Duty Unpaid) is an Incoterm where the seller delivers goods to the buyer's country but the buyer is responsible for paying import duties, taxes, and completing customs clearance. DDU is being replaced by DAP (Delivered at Place) in Incoterms 2020 but remains commonly used in e-commerce shipping terminology. With DDU, buyers may face unexpected charges at delivery.
Examples
- • A seller shipping DDU to a German consumer means the consumer must pay German import VAT (19%) and any customs duty when the package arrives.
- • DDU shipments often result in delivery refusal when buyers are unaware they must pay customs charges, leading to return shipping costs for the seller.
- • Many e-commerce platforms recommend DDP over DDU to avoid customer complaints about unexpected customs charges.