Glossary term

Delivered Duty Paid (DDP)

Definition

An Incoterm where the seller bears all costs and risk of delivering goods to the buyer's named destination, including import duties, taxes, and customs clearance. It places the maximum obligation on the seller and gives the buyer a fully landed price.

Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) is an Incoterm under which the seller takes on all costs and risk of getting goods to a named destination in the buyer’s country. That includes export and import clearance, duties, and taxes, so the buyer receives a single fully landed price and does nothing at the border. Of the eleven Incoterms, DDP places the maximum obligation on the seller and the minimum on the buyer.

How it works

The seller arranges freight, handles both export and import customs, pays any duties and import taxes (such as VAT or GST), and delivers to the agreed address. Risk of loss or damage stays with the seller until the goods are made available at that destination. The buyer’s only real job is to unload. Because the seller must clear customs in a country where it may not be registered, DDP can be operationally heavy, which is why many sellers cap it at specific destinations.

Why it matters

For B2B buyers, DDP removes surprise charges. There is no separate customs invoice, no broker fee, and no held shipment. That predictability often wins deals, but the seller has to price those duties and taxes into the quote accurately or absorb the loss. The named place and the responsible party for import VAT should always be spelled out in writing.

Example on Shopify

Say a US supplier quotes a UK trade customer 40 units. Under DDP, the quote line total already includes shipping, UK import duty, and import VAT to the buyer’s warehouse. When you build that quote on Shopify, you would fold those landed costs into your line items or a shipping and duties line so the accepted total matches what the buyer actually pays at checkout, with nothing owed on delivery.

See related terms in the B2B quoting glossary.

Frequently asked

How is DDP different from DAP?

Under DAP (Delivered at Place), the seller delivers to the destination but the buyer clears import customs and pays the duties and taxes. Under DDP, the seller handles import clearance and pays those charges too.

Who pays import VAT under DDP?

By default the seller, since DDP means the seller covers all import charges. If you intend the buyer to reclaim or handle VAT, state that explicitly, because unrecoverable import VAT can quietly erode your margin.

Should I quote DDP prices on a Shopify quote?

You can, as long as you calculate the destination duties and taxes accurately and build them into the quote total. The buyer then accepts and pays one landed figure with no charges due at delivery.

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