DAP and DDP look like neighbouring terms on a quotation. The difference between them is who acts as importer — and that is a legal role, not a matter of convenience. Choose the wrong one and the shipment can sit at the destination port while nobody is entitled to clear it.
The one question that separates them
DAP (Delivered At Place): the seller delivers to the named place, ready for unloading. The buyer clears import customs and pays duty and import VAT.
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid): the seller delivers to the named place having cleared import customs and paid duty and import VAT. The seller is the importer of record.
Everything else — packing, freight, insurance, the delivery address — can be identical. The difference is the customs declaration at destination, and who is named on it.
| DAP | DDP | |
|---|---|---|
| Freight to destination | Seller | Seller |
| Import customs clearance | Buyer | Seller |
| Duty and import VAT | Buyer | Seller, then recovered or built into the price |
| Importer of record | Buyer | Seller, or an agent acting for them |
| Buyer needs an EORI / importer number | Yes | No — but the seller does |
Why DDP is not always available
A seller can only act as importer of record in a market where they are established or have a fiscal representative. That is why DDP is routine into some countries and genuinely impossible into others, and why a supplier who offers DDP everywhere without asking questions is worth a second look.
DDP also requires the seller to know the duty rate and the VAT treatment before quoting. Where a product’s tariff classification is uncertain — packaging is not always straightforward — a DDP price carries a classification risk that has to sit somewhere.
Where buyers get caught
- Assuming DAP includes duty. It does not. The invoice arrives from the courier at delivery, and it is often larger than expected because it includes a disbursement fee on top of the duty.
- Not having an importer number. On DAP, a buyer without an EORI number cannot clear the goods. The shipment waits, and storage accrues.
- Comparing a DDP price with a DAP price. They are not the same scope. A DDP quote that looks 15% higher may still be the cheaper landed cost.
- Forgetting import VAT. Recoverable for a VAT-registered business, a real cost for one that is not — and it is charged on the duty-inclusive value, not the goods value alone.
How we quote
Samples go by express air on DAP — FedEx, UPS or DHL — because a sample that spends a week in customs has not done its job. For bulk, the term is stated on the quotation according to what was agreed: EXW, FOB, DAP or DDP, shipped by air or by sea. The term is never assumed on the buyer’s behalf.
If you need DDP, say so at enquiry stage and give the destination country and postcode. Whether it can be offered depends on the market, and it changes the price — so it is a question to settle before comparing quotations, not after.