Who pays customs duty under DAP?

The buyer. DAP's seller obligation ends at delivery to the named destination — import clearance, duties, and taxes remain the buyer's responsibility.

Is DAP more protective for the buyer than CIP?

Yes, in terms of risk transfer — DAP keeps risk with the seller all the way to the named destination, later than CIP's first-carrier transfer point. CIP does add insurance coverage during its earlier risk-transfer window, which DAP doesn't require.

What happens if the buyer isn't ready to clear customs when a DAP shipment arrives?

The shipment can sit at the destination awaiting clearance, potentially incurring storage or demurrage charges — a cost that falls to the buyer, not the seller, since the seller's delivery obligation was already satisfied on arrival.

Air Freight Fundamentals

DAP (Delivered at Place) Explained

The seller carries risk all the way to the named destination, ready for unloading — but import clearance and duty are still the buyer's job, unlike DDP.

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Named destination

Where risk transfers — not earlier

Buyer

Still responsible for import clearance

Ready to unload

Seller's delivery obligation, not unloaded

Delivered-at rules in Incoterms 2020: DAP, DPU, DDP

Delivered, ready to unload — but not through customs yet

Under DAP (Delivered at Place), the seller bears all risk and cost of bringing the goods to the named destination, made available to the buyer ready for unloading from the arriving means of transport. Risk transfers at that point — not earlier, at a carrier handover, the way it does under CPT or CIP. This is meaningfully more protective for the buyer than the C-terms.

What DAP does not cover: import clearance, duties, and taxes at destination remain the buyer's responsibility. The seller's obligation stops at delivering the goods, ready to unload, at the named place — getting them through Canadian customs and paying any CBSA duty owed is on the buyer, which is the key distinction from DDP, where the seller takes on that burden too.

When to use it: DAP suits a seller willing to bear full transit risk and arrange the whole routing, paired with a buyer who has their own established customs clearance process at destination — a buyer that already imports regularly and has a broker or CBSA relationship in place, rather than needing the seller to handle that too.

DAP vs DDP — Don't Confuse the Two

Under DAP, the buyer still clears customs and pays duty. Under DDP, the seller does

Both terms have the seller deliver at destination bearing full transit risk. The line between them is entirely about who handles import clearance and duty from that point forward — DAP leaves it with the buyer, DDP puts it on the seller.

See what DDP adds on top of DAP →

Source: ICC Incoterms 2020 rules — DAP (buyer handles import clearance, B7) vs DDP (seller handles import clearance and duty, A7).

Worked example

DAP Toronto — delivered, ready to unload, customs still to come

The same corridor once more — Kuala Lumpur to Toronto on Emirates SkyCargo's KUL–DXB–YYZ routing — this time under DAP Toronto Pearson.

The seller bears the full transit risk and cost across the KUL–DXB–YYZ routing on Emirates SkyCargo. Risk transfers to the buyer only once the goods arrive at Toronto Pearson, made available ready for unloading — a materially later, safer point for the buyer than CPT or CIP's first-carrier transfer.

From that point, though, the buyer still has to clear the shipment through CBSA — filing the customs entry, presenting the commercial invoice and any Certificate of Origin for a duty claim, and paying whatever duty is owed. The seller's involvement ends at delivery; getting the goods released from customs is on the buyer's own broker or agent, same as it would be on almost any other term short of DDP.

What UAL handles for you

On a DAP shipment, we confirm the buyer has their own CBSA clearance process (a broker or an agent, and the documents that process needs) lined up before the aircraft lands — since DAP's protective transit terms don't extend to import clearance, and a buyer without that in place can find their cargo delivered but stuck at the border.

Import-clearance readiness confirmed before arrival

IATA Accredited Cargo Agent

ASEAN-Canada Specialist

Frequently asked questions

No — the seller's obligation is to make the goods available at the named destination, ready for unloading, not to actually unload them. If the seller does unload, that's DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) instead, a distinct term.

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CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To)

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid)

DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded)

Incoterms 2020 rules, DAP obligations A1–A10/B1–B10: International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), Incoterms 2020. Last verified: August 2026.