Containers and shipping
DDP meaning: Delivered Duty Paid
Independent site, not a government service. General information, not customs advice.
Under DDP, the price is meant to include everything up to the named place, duty included. Check the duty inside the price using the tools here.
Does your invoice price cover freight and insurance?
Starting customs value
₹5,00,000
| Freight added | No, in the price |
| Insurance added | No, in the price |
| What to look at: The price also contains Indian duty and tax. These do not belong in the customs value, so ask for a split. | |
Our summary of how each rule splits costs, for customs value only. Check your contract.
DDP stands for Delivered Duty Paid, a rule of the Incoterms® Rules for any mode of transport. HMRC, in its UK guidance, describes it this way: the seller delivers when the goods are at the buyer's disposal, cleared for import, on the arriving transport and ready for unloading at the named place. The seller bears all costs and risks to that place, must clear the goods for export and import, pay any duty on both, and carry out all customs formalities. When the destination is India, that promise meets Indian law. Section 46 of the Customs Act says the importer makes entry by presenting a bill of entry, and section 2(26) says the importer includes an owner, a beneficial owner or anyone holding himself out to be the importer. The Chennai Customs guide says an Importer Exporter Code is required for commercial imports. So before you accept a DDP price, ask whose name and whose code will appear on the bill of entry. We read no Indian text on how the rule works in practice.
Quick duty estimate on a customs value
Duty and IGST
₹30,980
| Basic Customs Duty | ₹10,000 |
| Surcharge, 10% of BCD | ₹1,000 |
| IGST | ₹19,980 |
| Share of the value | 31.0% |
Tariff rate and 10% surcharge assumed; exemptions change them. General information, not customs advice.
Tariff and rules read by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
How much tax sits inside a delivered price?
If goods have a customs value of ₹1,00,000 with 10% duty and 18% IGST, then ₹30,980 of the delivered price is tax, on the arithmetic of the calculator, before any service fee. That's why a DDP price should be well above a CIF price for the same goods. If it isn't, ask why. The second tool on this page does the sum with your rates.
Customs value still needs a split
A DDP price contains duty and IGST that don't belong in the customs value: under rule 10, value runs to the place of importation, and the duties are worked out on that value. HMRC says, for the UK, that goods delivered duty paid can still be valued under the first valuation method; we read no Indian text in those words. In our reading, an invoice that shows goods, freight, insurance, inland delivery, duty and tax separately gives you what you need for the sum.
What the Indian texts we read say
| Text | What it says |
|---|---|
| Customs Act, section 46 | The importer makes entry by presenting a bill of entry electronically |
| Customs Act, section 2(26) | Importer includes an owner, a beneficial owner or a person holding himself out to be the importer |
| Chennai Customs guide | An Importer Exporter Code is required for commercial imports; individuals give KYC papers such as Aadhaar, passport, PAN or voter ID |
Alternatives for a business buyer
Under DAP, the guidance does not place import clearance on the seller, and CIF stops at a named port. Whichever you use, make sure that you know who holds the IEC and that the bill of entry reflects the actual deal. For a personal order, personal imports gives you the rates, so you can test whether the price adds up. The rule is from the HMRC guidance, the Indian texts from the Customs Act and the Chennai Customs guide, and everything here is our reading, not advice.