Shipping from China is a difficult but rewarding process. It can be difficult to choose a shipping partner and even more difficult to ensure that your products are delivered safely. But before that, you have to understand the incoterm you are using. DDU shipping from China is an incoterm that decides the responsibilities of sellers and buyers.

DDU or Delivery Duty Unpaid means the buyer will pay the customs duty, VAT, and Taxes. This guide is dedicated to DDP shipping from China, and we will try to help you learn everything you should know before using this shipping incoterm.

NOTE: One thing we should remind you before diving into the main article. It would be best if you use your own freight forwarder in DDU shipping. In most cases, suppliers or sellers will not let you use your own freight forwarder. In that case, EXW or FOB shipping.

Delivery Duty Unpaid or DDU Shipping is a term used to describe an importer who has not paid the delivery duty on an order. DDU shipping from China means the supplier in China will bear all the bills except customs duty and other bills.

In this incoterm, the seller has very few responsibilities. The seller will only pay the customs duty and arrange inland transportation in his/her own country.

The DDU incoterm has recently changed, and according to the new rule, the seller must deliver the goods to the provided destination by the seller.

Costs such as delivery to the final destination and insurance fall on the customer from this point forward. The Seller is responsible for everything prior to the import procedure, save for those processes.

Buyers in this situation are responsible for the “taxes and fees” as well as the costs and dangers associated with delayed import or export of products. There are, however, ways in which this can be worked out so that both parties go through customs.

NOTE: In the sales contract, be sure that everything you agree on is clearly mentioned.

While using DDU shipping from China, here are the steps you should follow:

• The buyer selects a supplier and selects the DDU incoterm with that vendor over the precise quantity of products to be sent. As a buyer, you have to pay the prices in advance.
• Seller and Buyer agree upon the destination point where you want your product to be delivered.
• Then the seller chooses a freight forwarder or carrier and pays all the costs of loading the product from the warehouse to the shipping method you choose. But here, you can try to tell them the freight forwarder you prefer.
• The supplier delivers the product to the agreed destination. The risk of any loss or damage belongs to the supplier.
• After the consignment arrives at the final destination, the seller will be responsible for the next procedures. He or she must additionally pay import duties and taxes. Don’t worry; you can hire a customs broker to assist you with all the paperwork and pay customs duty, VAT, and Taxes.
• Then you are responsible for the inland transportation and delivering the goods to your warehouse.

By far, you must learn that the supplier has the most obligations in DDU shipping from China. Let’s discover the seller’s responsibilities.

The seller or manufacturer must ensure the product quality and make proper packages. You should ask for the final inspection report if you are bringing manufactured items. Packaging is another important factor. Bad packaging can damage your goods. Packaging also plays an important role in the price of your shipment.

Another important thing is the packaging information. The packaging level must provide what is inside the package. For dangerous products, they have to use respective signs.

You can also arrange your own inspection from a third party. In that case, if you pay all the bills in advance.

According to the conditions of the contract, the vendor is responsible for providing a digital copy of all commercial and goods invoices or their equivalent. Additionally, he or she is obligated to deliver any and all other documentation that the contract may demand in order to verify that the items comply with the terms of the contract.

Documentation is the most important part of international shipping. It’s the seller’s responsibility to provide an export license, packaging documents, and other necessary documents. The seller must take responsibility for port formalities and export customs-related issues in China.

The seller will arrange the shipment to deliver the goods to your desired destination. If the buyer has not specified a specific location, the supplier can send the product to a suitable destination from their part.

The supplier is bound to deliver the consignment at the designated location. If the buyer has assigned someone to receive the goods, the seller must hand over the goods to the assigned person. The seller will take all the risks before handing over the consignment.

You must remember all the risks of loss or damage to the goods will be transferred to you after you receive the goods. Before they hand over the goods, the risks will stay upon them.

The seller will be responsible for all the costing of transporting goods from the warehouse to the final destination.

The seller must inform the seller of everything before handing over the consignment. The seller is bound to provide the shipment status and notify the buyer when the consignment will arrive. After arrival, the seller must confirm to the buyer that his/her products have reached the agreed location.

You must provide proper documents to clear your consignment from your country’s customs department. The seller is obliged to provide you with all the necessary documentation. The buyer will provide you with the bill of lading.

The seller is also obliged to deliver you other documents. The other documents include:

• Non-negotiable sea waybills
• Negotiable bills of lading
• Railway bills
• Air waybills
• Road Permits

NOTE: In the event that all parties concur that the documents should be delivered digitally, then every single one of the preceding items must be replaced with the appropriate EDI.

• The buyer can take the seller’s help in case any special documentation is needed in a specific country.
• The seller MUST provide all the shipping documents to the buyer at their risk and bear all the costs.
• If there is any insurance, the seller is bound to provide insurance-related documents so that the buyer can get the insurance in case of an accident. This can be done electronically also.

As we stated earlier, buyers have very few obligations if they select DDU shipping from China. Let’s find the what responsibility a buyer has:

If you are importing manufactured products, you should inspect goods before the final delivery. You can use your own manpower or hire a third-party inspection team from China. We will highly recommend you inspect your goods before delivery.

If the seller arranges any inspection for you, you have to pay all the costs.

The buyer must pay DDU payments for the goods in advance per the contract. The seller will start the proceeding after receiving the payment.

Every country has its own special requirements and procedures for giving import licenses. So it’s your duty to manage your import license and deliver that document to the seller. If you fail to deliver the documentation, the seller will not be able to deliver the consignment at your desired location.

NOTE: if you don’t own an import license, you can still import from China. But in that case, you have to use a door to door shipping method. For small amounts of goods, you can use the express shipping method.  Winsky freight offers both services at a competitive rate.

While using DDU shipping from China, the seller is responsible for delivering the goods at the desired location (i.e., seaport, airport, rail station.) But as a buyer, it’s your duty to receive the goods upon arrival. You can assign a person or any broker agency to clear all the customs-related procedures in your country.

Once the products have been delivered to the specified address, the buyer is responsible for any damage or loss that may have occurred. The buyer is responsible for notifying the seller of an appropriate delivery location and time.

If this isn’t done, the buyer is responsible for shipping dangers and responsibilities as of the agreed-upon delivery date or the expiration delivery time. In addition, the buyer is responsible for the repercussions of not obtaining the required papers.

The customer is responsible for paying any and all charges that arise after the products have been delivered to the location specified as the final destination.

In addition, he or she is responsible for paying any and all fees associated with the shipment beginning with the delivery time, including those associated with clearing customs in the country of importation.

As a buyer, you always have the right to choose the most convenient time and location for the delivery of the purchased items.

But bear in mind that DDU shipping from China requires the buyer to provide adequate notification to the seller regarding this matter within the allotted amount of time.

Though it’s the duty of the seller to prepare all the documentation, the buyer must receive the documentation and use them to clear his or her goods from the customs department. If the buyer agrees to electronic documentation, he will be responsible for notifying the seller that he/she has the papers.

We should give the answer to this question in two sections—first, the shipping time from China.

You must know China is the global leader in terms of exporting goods. The country has 34 main seaports and 500 smaller ports to support them. The country has 234 international airports, the majority of which have high-quality shipping facilities.

China has been working to improve rail transportation to Europe and most of Asia in order to provide a better shipping experience at a lower cost.

In general, shipping from China to anywhere in the world takes 1-5 days if express shipping is used. Air shipment takes 5-15 days, depending on the distance between nations. Sea shipment takes between 12 and 65 days, depending on the distance between the two ports.

Shipping time can be prolonged depending on the country you are shipping to. If the country to which you are sending lacks unloading infrastructure, warehouses, or a weak customs policy, the entire shipping process may be delayed.

Now come to the DDU shipping from China part.

In most cases, shipping time prolongs in DDU shipping for lengthy customs clearance procedures. As the buyer is responsible for the customs clearance freight forwarder or the seller, nobody takes care of this.

The wait may be extended if you lack the necessary papers and knowledge to complete the clearance process. Therefore, you MUST hire a reputable customs broker agency while using DDU shipping from China.

Sometimes, delays can occur for slow packaging or inspection processes. It would be best if you gave a proper deadline to your supplier so that they can deliver your consignment at the given time.

But, bear in mind that international shipping is a complicated world, and nobody can assure you a proper deadline. So, always add some additional time to the delivery time to smoothly operate your supply chain.

DDU shipping by sea freight is the most cost-effective and flexible method for transporting goods as sea freight is the cheapest shipping you have to pay less. Moreover, there are two available shipping methods in sea shipping.

There is a common perception that ocean shipping is only good when you are importing a huge amount of goods from China. But that is not entirely true. With the LCL shipping method, you can import a low amount of goods from China.

The best thing about LCL shipping is that you will only pay for the amount of space you will use. Therefore, it is used by most medium and large companies or business individuals.

Obviously, you have to take responsibility for the customs clearance as you are using DDU shipping. Hire an expert customs broker before your product reaches your country, and you will be all set.

Winsky Freight offers the best LCL shipping service from China to around the world. We offer the most competitive price and handle your goods with expert people. If you have anything to ship using LCL with the DDU incoterm, please ask for a quotation and see the difference.

If there is rail transport between the countries, you will ship your goods from China; you can use the DDU shipping method. China has rail communication in many European countries. Rail freight from China to Europe is a very good and safe way to import goods.

Rail freights are not as expensive as Air freight. On the other hand, they are not as slow as ocean freight. Therefore, many importers prefer rail freight to import from China.

You can use DDU shipping incoterm for rail freight. You have to contact a local customs broker to release your goods from the station.

Air freight is the most expensive shipping method from China. But many businesses prefer air freight from China because it is fast and reliable. There are two types of air freight – standard air freight and express shipping.

One important note is express shipping is a door to door service. Hence, you can not use DDU shipping incoterm for express shipping.

But you can use DDU incoterm to import from China using DDU incoterm. The main advantage of air shipping is it is fast. You can get your consignment in under 5-10 days from China to any part of the world.

If your products weigh less than 500 Kg, air freight is a cost-effective shipping method. But, we should warn you about the chargeable weight of air freight. Air freight companies do not use our conventional weight system to apply a charge on your import. They use two variables to apply a charge on your import – Volumetric weight and Gross weight.

If your volumetric weight is greater than your gross weight, then you have to pay for the volumetric weight and vice versa. We have a dedicated article on How to calculate the chargeable weight for your goods. If you are a new importer, we will highly recommend you to read this blog before choosing air freight for your DDU shipping from China.

NO! The seller is not obliged to include insurance in DDU shipping from China. Though in DDU incoterm the seller takes all the risks to transport your goods to the desired destination, it does not include the insurance.

But don’t worry, that doesn’t mean you can not take insurance. You can take insurance from the seller or any other third party. But, in that case, you have to pay for the insurance.

As we mentioned earlier, DDU shipping from China is an incoterms with 12 others. These incoterms were established to reduce the negotiation between the seller and the buyer. Without specific incoterms, international shipping would have been more complicated.

Every incoterm has its pros and cons. Therefore, you have to have a 100% clear concept of this incoterm to avoid any future conflict or economic loss. Here are some issues you should consider before using DDU shipping from China.

• Suppose the purchaser does not get an import license or any other relevant official documentation and does not handle the necessary customs formalities for the importation of the products. In that case, the purchaser is responsible for any additional risks of damage or loss that may be caused by the items.
• The risk will be transferred once the consignment reaches the destination.
• DDU relates to transactions that take place between nations that are members of either a free trade zone or a customs union.

DDP refers to Delivery Duty Paid. So, you can understand that in this incoterm the seller is responsible for paying the customs duty, VAT and Taxes. This is a more flexible option than the DDU incoterm, as you don’t have to hire a customs broker to help you with customs clearance.

But in DDU shipping from China, you must use your own customs broker to help you with customs clearance.

At Winsky Freight, we offer a customs clearance service for DDP clients. We ensure you receive the goods at the earliest possible time.

EXW and DDU are totally opposite incoterms. In EXW (Ex Works) incoterm, the seller has the minimum obligations. The only responsibility of the seller is to make the products ready in the warehouse.

The seller will collect the products from the supplier’s warehouse and arrange everything to send the imported products to his or her destination. If you are a new importer, EXW is not a very good option.

But experienced importers can save their costs using EXW incoterm.

Winsky has been operating in the shipping industry for over a decade. We are experts in air, rail, and ocean methods of shipping. Our expert and skilled workers can process your shipment without any hassle.

We have a dedicated team to help our clients all over the world. Moreover, if you need any suggestions about which ingredients you should choose, we can also help you to choose the best for your goods.

We hope this guide on DDU shipping from China will help you with everything to learn before agreeing with the supplier. If you want to learn more or anything to ship under DDU incoterm, please send us a message. One of our experts will be in touch soon.