DDP and DAP are the most confused pair in the Incoterms 2020 rules, and the confusion costs money, because the two terms are identical up to the border and different at it. Under both, the seller arranges and pays all transport to the named place, clears the goods for export, and carries the risk of loss or damage until they arrive there on the arriving vehicle, ready for unloading. The buyer unloads under both. The only difference is import clearance: under DAP the buyer clears the goods for import and pays the import duties and taxes, plus any storage or delay costs if clearance is not ready. Under DDP the seller also clears them for import and pays the duties, VAT, or other import taxes.
DDP gives the buyer one price. DAP gives the buyer a lower freight quote plus a separate customs and duty bill that they manage themselves. Neither is cheaper in itself. DDP is simpler, but the price includes the seller's or forwarder's margin and, in VAT countries, VAT the buyer may not recover, because the VAT is paid in the seller's name. DAP is cheaper on paper and more work in practice, because the buyer needs a customs broker, a customs bond where required, and an importer identification number.
The importer of record declares the goods to customs, pays the duties and import taxes, and answers for the classification, value, and origin declared. Under DAP, the importer of record is the buyer. Under DDP, it is the seller or the seller's agent. That single fact decides three things. First, who controls the declaration: under DAP the buyer or their broker chooses the HTS code and the declared value. Under DDP the seller's forwarder does, and the buyer may never see the entry. Second, who can reclaim import VAT: usually the buyer under DAP, if VAT-registered, and usually not under DDP, because the VAT was paid in the seller's name. Third, who bears the risk of an under-declared duty: under DDP, the seller's forwarder may under-declare the duty to win the freight, and the consequences can reach the buyer.
There is also a legal constraint that surprises first-time DDP buyers. A non-resident seller can make entry only after appointing a U.S. resident agent and posting a customs bond, under 19 CFR 141.18, and every importer of record needs an importer identification number. A seller who quotes DDP without that apparatus is quoting a price they cannot legally deliver, and the shipment will stop at the border while the paperwork catches up.
Choose DAP if you have a customs broker, are VAT-registered, or want to control the declaration. The control is worth the work when the duty is material, the classification is contested, or the VAT recovery matters to the margin. Choose DDP if you have no import setup and want one delivered price with nothing to pay at import, and accept that the seller controls the entry and the VAT is probably not recoverable. And never accept DDU, Delivered Duty Unpaid, in a contract: it was retired in the 2010 edition and replaced by DAP, and it has no official standing in Incoterms 2020. A supplier who quotes DDU in 2026 is quoting a term that does not exist, and the shipment will be priced on an understanding nobody shares.
The practical takeaway is the one the TriplicateDocs DDP versus DAP guide states plainly: quote DAP unless you, or a party you appoint, can legally act as importer in the destination and pay its duties and import VAT or GST, including any tax you cannot recover. Then DDP gives the buyer one delivered price with nothing to pay at import. For the costs that sit underneath either term, freight surcharges, quote versus invoice shows where the freight quote and the freight bill diverge, and landed cost per SKU covers how to spread the freight across the shipment.
Under both, the seller delivers to the named place and the buyer unloads. The difference is import clearance: under DAP the buyer clears the goods and pays duties and taxes. Under DDP the seller also clears them and pays the duties and taxes. DDP is the only Incoterm under which the seller pays import duty.
The seller or the seller's agent. Under DAP it is the buyer. The importer of record declares the goods, pays the duties, and answers for the classification, value, and origin, so the term decides who controls the declaration.
Usually not, because the VAT is paid in the seller's name. Under DAP, a VAT-registered buyer can usually reclaim it, because they are the importer of record. That is one of the real costs of DDP's simplicity.
Delivered Duty Unpaid was retired in the 2010 edition and replaced by DAP. It has no official standing in Incoterms 2020. A supplier quoting DDU in 2026 is quoting a term that does not exist.