What does DDP mean under Incoterms 2020?
DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) is the Incoterms 2020 rule under which the seller delivers the goods to a named address in the buyer's country. The seller clears the goods for import and pays the duty and taxes. Risk passes to the buyer only when the goods sit at the destination, ready for unloading.
The ICC Academy, training arm of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), describes the rule this way. According to an ICC guidance note from April 2025, DDP is the only rule under which the seller pays the duty. Unloading at the place of delivery is the buyer's job.
The ICC also notes that a foreign seller cannot always legally clear goods in the buyer's country. In that case it recommends DAP (Delivered at Place): the seller delivers, and the buyer handles clearance and duty.
Who is the importer in a legitimate DDP?
In a legitimate DDP, the customs declaration is lodged by the seller or by someone acting on its behalf. As a rule the declarant must be established in the EU, so a Chinese supplier needs an EU company or an indirect customs representative. You do not appear on the declaration; you receive the goods and an invoice.
The declarant is the person who lodges a customs declaration in its own name, or the person in whose name it is lodged. That is the definition in Article 5(15) of the Union Customs Code (UCC). Article 170(2) requires the declarant to be established in the customs territory of the Union.
An indirect customs representative acts in its own name but on behalf of another person (Article 18 UCC). The declarant is the debtor of the customs debt. Under indirect representation, the person on whose behalf the declaration is made is also a debtor (Article 77(3) UCC).
Who deducts import VAT under DDP?
Import VAT is deducted by the taxpayer for the import, meaning the person liable to pay the customs duty. When the seller is the importer, its sale to you takes place in Poland. A seller registered for VAT in Poland then invoices you with Polish VAT, and you deduct the tax from that invoice.
That follows from the Polish VAT Act (ustawa o podatku od towarów i usług). The taxpayer for an import is the person liable to pay the customs duty (Art. 17(1)(1)). A supply by the taxpayer who imported the goods is treated as made in Poland (Art. 22(4)).
If a foreign seller is not registered for VAT in Poland, you account for the VAT on that supply as the buyer (Art. 17(1)(5)). This is the reverse charge (odwrotne obciążenie).
You deduct VAT from the customs document only when you are the importer (Art. 86(2)(2)). Only an active VAT taxpayer (czynny podatnik VAT) may deduct (Art. 88(4)).
| Set-up | Who is the importer | What you deduct VAT from |
|---|---|---|
| DDP, the seller imports | the seller, its EU company or its indirect representative | an invoice with Polish VAT, or the reverse charge |
| DAP, cleared in your name | you, with a customs broker acting in your name | the customs document |
| Grey clearance | an unknown party or a firm with no real address | nothing you can deduct from |
Is DDP from China legal?
Yes, DDP is a legitimate Incoterms 2020 rule. The risk sits in some "DDP shipping from China" offers, where the carrier undervalues the goods or declares them through a front company. Duty and VAT are then not paid in your favour, and customs can assess the missing duty later.
EU authorities know the pattern. In 2007 OLAF, the EU anti-fraud office, warned of gross undervaluation of textiles and footwear imported from China. Most of it came through "shell companies": firms registered for appearance only, often with no place of business at the declared address.
Declared values were well below USD 0.50 per kilogram, and even below USD 0.10. The Court of Justice judgment in C‑213/19 of 8 March 2022 records this (paragraph 52).
The consequences for a buyer follow from the UCC:
- if a broker declared the goods in your name, you are the declarant and the debtor (Articles 5(15) and 77(3));
- whoever supplied data for the declaration knowing it was false is also a debtor (Article 77(3));
- customs can notify the debt for 3 years from when it arose, or for 5–10 years where the act could lead to criminal proceedings (Article 103).
Warning signs: an "all-in price per kilo" with no named importer, no invoice with Polish VAT, or a request to understate the invoice.
How do FOB, CIF and DDP differ?
FOB, CIF and DDP differ in where the seller's responsibility ends. Under FOB and CIF, risk passes to you at the port of loading, and clearance and duty in Poland are yours. Under DDP, the seller carries the risk and cost all the way to your address, duty included.
FOB (Free On Board) and CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) are for sea and inland waterway transport only. Under FOB, risk passes once the goods are on board at the port of loading. Under CIF it passes at the same point, although the seller pays freight and minimum insurance, Clauses (C), to the port of destination.
| FOB Yantian | CIF Gdańsk | DDP at your address | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seller covers | goods, haulage to port, export clearance, loading | everything under FOB plus freight and insurance to Gdańsk | the whole chain: freight, import clearance, duty, VAT and delivery |
| Buyer covers | freight, insurance, clearance, duty, VAT and delivery | clearance, duty, VAT and delivery from Gdańsk | unloading at your site |
| Risk passes | on board at Yantian | on board at Yantian | at your address, before unloading |
When does DDP make sense, and when does it not?
DDP makes sense when you want one price for the whole chain and lack your own customs broker or experience with CN codes. It does not pay off when you control freight yourself, import the same goods regularly, or the seller cannot legally act as importer in Poland.
A CN code is the product's code in the EU Combined Nomenclature, and the duty rate depends on it. Under DDP, a wrong CN code or a delay at the port lands on the seller, not on you. Under FOB or CIF, you see every cost line separately and can negotiate freight yourself.
You can estimate duty and VAT for your goods with the China import duty calculator. We work through the full landed cost in import from China to Poland: the landed cost.
What does importing from China "without a company" really mean?
"Importing without a company" usually means someone else is the importer: the seller, the carrier or a Polish supplier. That is legal when that party declares the true value and invoices you. If you want to import yourself, you need an EORI number, and to deduct VAT you must be registered as an active VAT taxpayer.
EORI (Economic Operators' Registration and Identification) is the EU number businesses use with customs authorities. According to podatki.gov.pl, it is required for all customs operations in the EU. Polish companies apply through PUESC, the tax and customs e-services platform, to the Director of the Revenue Administration Regional Office in Poznań.
Persons who are not economic operators do not, as a rule, register with customs (Article 9(3) UCC). Buying for your own use therefore needs no EORI number.
Without registration as an active VAT taxpayer, you cannot deduct import VAT (Art. 88(4) of the VAT Act). At the 23% rate (Art. 146ef(1)(1)), the tax then becomes your cost. The registration form goes to the head of the tax office before your first taxable transaction (Art. 96(1)).
How does DDP work at Global Trade Group?
At Global Trade Group, DDP means one price for delivery from Yantian via Gdańsk to your door, cleared and with duty paid. Clearance is handled by the MEYİS group's own customs team, not an outside broker. We come back with a price and a date within one working day.
We deliver to addresses in Poland and the EU. The MEYİS team classifies the goods, lodges the customs declaration, and calculates duty and import VAT.
Typical sailing time from Yantian to Gdańsk is 30–38 days, depending on carrier, service and season. Production and inland haulage come on top.
In a DDP quote, we agree who acts as importer and declarant, and which document you will deduct VAT from.
Read more about customs clearance in Poland and shipping from China to Poland. Wholesale prices for goods in our catalogue, such as dining tables, are quoted on request, together with the delivery terms.
Legal position checked: September 2026.