# Incoterms DDP

Delivered Duty Paid under Incoterms 2020: destination delivery, customs responsibility, unloading and territorial limits.

Reviewed: 2026-10-30

Tags: commercial, incoterms, delivery

## Meaning and edition

**DDP** means **Delivered Duty Paid**, here under **Incoterms® 2020**, for any transport mode. Delivery means import-cleared goods at the agreed destination, available to the buyer on the arriving vehicle, ready for unloading. The seller handles applicable import clearance, duties and taxes. [ICC, DDP explanatory notes 1–2 and A7/A9](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm).

The edition matters: ICC describes incorporation using the rule, named place or point and edition year. An illustrative expression is `DDP [destination address and delivery point] Incoterms® 2020`; it supplies neither an actual destination nor an agreement. Omitting the year leaves edition uncertainty. [ICC-published introduction, paragraphs 9–13](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_03_Introduction.htm).

## Delivery, risk and costs

The seller arranges and pays carriage to the destination point and bears transport risk until delivery. The buyer normally bears unloading risk. Under [DAP](incoterms-dap.md), the buyer handles applicable import clearance. [ICC Academy, DAP/DDP comparison, 25 February 2025](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-dap-or-ddp/).

The seller handles applicable export/transit/import formalities, duties, taxes and takeover documentation. The buyer pays and takes delivery; clearance assistance is at seller request, risk and cost. Neither party owes the other an insurance contract. [ICC, DDP A5–A9 and B1–B7](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm).

Buyer normally pays unloading; seller-paid carriage-contract unloading charges stay with the seller unless otherwise agreed. B3/B9 qualify risk/cost allocation when buyer assistance/notices fail. A4 permits seller selection where no destination point is agreed or customary. [ICC, DDP note 6, A4/A9 and B3/B9](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm).

**Explanatory synthesis:** a precise receiving point reduces destination uncertainty. Seller-paid unloading charges do not themselves change the delivery event.

## DDP, DAP and DPU

| Incoterms 2020 rule | Import clearance responsibility | Delivery state at destination |
| --- | --- | --- |
| DDP — Delivered Duty Paid | Seller | Ready for unloading |
| DAP — Delivered at Place | Buyer | Ready for unloading |
| DPU — Delivered at Place Unloaded | Buyer | Unloaded |

Sources: [ICC Academy, DAP/DDP comparison](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-dap-or-ddp/) and [ICC, DAP/DPU explanatory notes](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_04_RulesAny.htm). These are normal allocations, subject to each rule's exceptions. DPU is the 2020 name replacing DAT; its destination need not be a terminal. [ICC, 2020 key changes](https://iccwbo.org/business-solutions/incoterms-rules/incoterms-2020/).

## Territorial and contractual limits

A foreign seller may be prevented by destination rules from performing import clearance. The DDP allocation cannot establish the seller's legal ability to act there. DAP leaves that responsibility with the buyer; it is a different contractual allocation, not an automatic fallback after a DDP difficulty. [ICC Academy, import-clearance discussion](https://academy.iccwbo.org/incoterms/article/incoterms-2020-dap-or-ddp/).

Incoterms allocate responsibilities between seller and buyer; they do not determine title transfer, payment timing, breach remedies, governing law, sanctions or tariff imposition. Contractual variations can alter costs without clearly altering risk; the intended effect is a separate contractual question. [ICC-published introduction, paragraphs 6–8 and 78](https://library.iccwbo.org/content/tfb/BOOKS/BK_0049/BK_0049_03_Introduction.htm).

## Evidence and coverage

Reviewed 30 October 2026 (PDT). The selected 2020 rule text and introduction were publicly readable in ICC Digital Library HTML; this is a paraphrased reference, not a reproduction or a claim to have reviewed the complete paid publication. The introduction is Charles Debattista's guidance, distinguished there from the rules themselves. The Academy article is author commentary with an explicit views disclaimer.

No customer contract, destination jurisdiction, importer eligibility, tax recovery, tariff classification, duty rate or landed price is established here. Country-specific law and contract interpretation remain outside this generic reference; it supplies no legal or tax advice.

Related: [Commercial terms](index.md).