Incoterms & trade contracts DPU

Delivered at Place Unloaded

The only Incoterms rule that obliges the seller to unload the goods at destination; it replaced the former DAT in Incoterms 2020. The seller bears all risks and costs up to and including unloading at the named place, while import clearance and duties remain with the buyer. If the seller has no control over unloading equipment at destination, the rule is risky and DAP is usually safer.

Related terms

Delivered at Place DAP

The seller places the goods at the buyer’s disposal on the arriving means of transport, ready for unloading, at the named destination, bearing all costs and risks up to that point. Unloading, import clearance, duties and VAT are for the buyer. Widely used for delivered truck sales; the contract should say who pays waiting charges if import formalities cause delays.

Delivered Duty Paid DDP

The Incoterm with the greatest obligation for the seller: the goods are delivered in the buyer’s country, cleared for import with duties and import taxes paid, ready for unloading. It is hard to apply if the seller has no tax registration or authorised representative in the importing country, and costs such as non-recoverable import VAT can arise. Because of these risks, raw material trade usually prefers DAP with the buyer handling import clearance.

Incoterms 2020

The eleven standard delivery terms published by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) that define where the seller delivers, when risk passes to the buyer and who pays for freight, insurance and customs formalities. Incoterms do not set the price, the payment method or the transfer of ownership; those must be written separately in the contract. A rule should always be quoted with a named place and the version, e.g. “FOB Mersin Port, Incoterms 2020”.

Explained in the trade handbook

Trade handbook