Any transport mode · Incoterms 2020
DAP Incoterm: Delivered at Place (Incoterms 2020)
Seller delivers to the named destination, ready for unloading — buyer clears import and unloads.
DAP at a glance
Under DAP the seller bears all costs and risks of bringing the goods to the named destination, ready for unloading on the arriving transport. The buyer unloads, clears import and pays duties and taxes.
- Full term
- DAP — Delivered at Place
- Transport mode
- Any transport mode
- Delivery point
- Named destination — on the arriving means of transport, ready for unloading
- Risk transfers
- When the goods arrive at the named place, ready for unloading
- Export clearance
- Seller
- Import clearance
- Buyer
What DAP means in practice
DAP is the "delivered, but you handle customs" rule. The seller organises and pays the entire journey — export clearance, main carriage, final leg — and carries risk the whole way. The handover happens at the named destination with the goods still on the truck, container chassis or railcar, ready for unloading.
Two things stay with the buyer: unloading at the destination, and the import side — clearance, duties, VAT. That split makes DAP the workhorse for B2B delivered pricing: sellers can quote door-delivered prices without touching the legal and fiscal minefield of importing into someone else's country.
The rule's friction point is customs delay. If the goods sit at the border because the buyer's import paperwork isn't ready, the delay costs (storage, demurrage, re-delivery) belong to the buyer — but in practice the seller's carrier is on the clock, invoices fly, and the finger-pointing begins. DAP contracts work best when the import-readiness of the buyer is verified before the goods ship, not after they arrive.
Buyer vs seller responsibilities
| Task | Responsible |
|---|---|
| Packaging & export marking | Seller |
| Loading at origin | Seller |
| Pre-carriage (inland transport, origin) | Seller |
| Export clearance | Seller |
| Origin terminal handling | Seller |
| Main international transport | Seller |
| Cargo insurance | Seller — No obligation on either party. The seller bears transit risk to destination and typically insures its own exposure. |
| Import clearance | Buyer |
| Import duties & taxes | Buyer |
| Delivery to final destination | Seller |
| Unloading at destination | Buyer |
If the parties want the seller to unload as well, the rule for that is DPU — or a DAP contract with an explicit unloading clause. Silence plus a helpful driver is how unloading damage disputes are born.
Where costs transfer — and where risk transfers
Cost transfer
The seller pays everything to the named destination: origin costs, export clearance, main carriage, final delivery leg. The buyer pays unloading, import clearance, duties, VAT and anything beyond the named place.
Costs caused by the buyer's import failures — border storage, container demurrage, truck waiting time — shift to the buyer even though the seller booked the transport. Contracts should say how such costs are evidenced and passed through, because the carrier will invoice the seller first.
Risk transfer
Risk stays with the seller across the entire journey and transfers only when the goods are at the named place, on the arriving transport, ready for unloading. A mid-ocean loss or a motorway accident en route is the seller's problem — a genuine difference from every E-, F- and C-rule.
Cost and risk travel together under DAP, which is why buyers like it: one party (the seller) owns the journey. The exceptions are import-side costs and unloading, which cut back to the buyer at the destination.
When DAP works well
- B2B delivered pricing where the buyer is import-capable: the buyer clears customs in its own country while the seller handles the physical journey.
- Sellers with strong logistics capability using delivered service as a competitive differentiator.
- Buyers who want a single accountable party for transit damage and delay — the seller owns the journey until arrival.
- Intra-regional road and rail flows where import formalities are light and the named place is a plant or warehouse.
When to think twice about DAP
- Buyers who cannot handle import clearance — under DDP the seller takes that too, if the seller legally can.
- Destinations where the buyer expects the seller to unload — that is DPU's defining feature.
- Sellers without reliable destination-side logistics: bearing risk to a place you cannot operationally reach is priced blind.
- Buyers who want transport control or hold better freight rates than the seller — an F-rule keeps carriage on the buyer's side.
DAP in the real world
Italian machinery DAP to a US plant — and a customs stand-off
A US manufacturer buys a packaging line from an Italian builder at "DAP Cleveland plant (Incoterms 2020)". The builder manages export, ocean freight to New York, and trucking to Ohio; risk rides with the builder the whole way.
The container reaches the US port, but the buyer's customs broker is missing a revised commercial invoice and the entry stalls for six days. Storage and per-diem charges accrue — invoiced to the ocean carrier's account, which lands on the seller's freight forwarder. Under DAP those delay costs belong to the buyer, whose import obligation caused them; after some friction, they are re-billed with documentation.
Delivery completes when the truck arrives at the Cleveland plant ready for unloading. The buyer's rigging crew unloads the crates — at the buyer's cost and risk — and the buyer's broker has already paid duty and filed the entry. Both sides now pre-clear paperwork ten days before vessel arrival on every repeat order.
Common mistakes with DAP
Assuming DAP includes unloading
It doesn't — the goods are delivered ready for unloading, and the lift is the buyer's cost and risk. Where the seller's driver "helps", damage sits in a grey zone unless the contract allocates it.
Confusing DAP with DDP on duties
Under DAP the buyer pays import duties and VAT. Buyers budgeting a DAP price as fully landed discover the tax line at the border, at the worst possible moment.
Shipping before the import side is ready
Buyer-side clearance failures at destination generate storage and demurrage that legally belong to the buyer but operationally land on the seller's carrier account. Verify import readiness before departure.
Naming a vague destination
"DAP Chicago" doesn't say which facility, which gate, or what delivery windows apply. The named place defines where risk ends — treat it with street-address precision.
TradeIntel insight
DAP quality is decided at the named place. In supplier contracts we push for three details next to the address: delivery window and booking procedure, who provides unloading equipment, and how buyer-caused delay costs are evidenced and re-billed. Sellers price DAP risk on lane familiarity — if a seller quotes DAP into a destination they have never served, expect either a heavy risk premium or an underpriced journey that becomes your delivery problem in practice.
Is DAP right for your shipment?
Answer eight questions about your shipment and capability profile — the TradeIntel Incoterms Assessment explains which rules fit and why.
Frequently asked questions
Who pays import duties and taxes under DAP?
The buyer. DAP leaves the entire import side — clearance, duties, VAT — with the buyer. If you want the seller to handle those too, the rule to discuss is DDP.
Who unloads the goods at the destination under DAP?
The buyer, at its own cost and risk. The seller delivers the goods on the arriving transport ready for unloading. If seller unloading is wanted, use DPU or write an explicit unloading clause.
When does risk pass from seller to buyer under DAP?
On arrival at the named place, with the goods ready for unloading. Everything before — loading, ocean or air leg, final trucking — is at the seller's risk.
What happens if goods are stuck in customs under DAP?
If the hold-up stems from the buyer's import obligations, resulting costs (storage, demurrage) and the associated risk sit with the buyer, even though delivery hasn't formally occurred. Clean documentation and pre-arrival clearance planning prevent most of these disputes.
Does the seller have to insure the goods under DAP?
No — neither party has an insurance obligation. Because the seller bears risk to the destination, prudent sellers insure their own exposure, but the buyer cannot demand a policy under the rule itself.
Related Incoterms guidance
Reviewed for practical procurement and logistics relevance by TradeIntel.
TradeIntel provides educational decision support and does not provide legal, tax, customs or contractual advice. Incoterms should be incorporated into a complete sales contract with a precisely named place or port.