Who handles customs clearance under Incoterms?

Who handles customs clearance under Incoterms?

A listing can say “we ship internationally” and still leave customs without an owner. Who files the papers that let goods leave the origin, who answers inspection at the destination, and who pays the tariff are not a shipping slogan. They are named by the Incoterm on the order confirmation.

Incoterms are the standard trade labels that split work between buyer and seller. Customs clearance is the paperwork and fees that let goods exit the origin country and enter the destination country. Under EXW (Ex Works), the buyer still handles export clearance and import clearance. Under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), the seller handles both. Picking the term is picking who bears that clearance risk.

Why does the named term decide who handles customs clearance?

EXW, FOB and DDP are not three names for the same job.

Under EXW, the seller’s figure stops at the named premises. The buyer still handles export clearance and import clearance, and still organises transport.

Under FOB (Free On Board), the split is at the port of shipment. The seller typically meets export clearance. The buyer still meets import clearance at destination. FOB does not move import onto the seller.

Under DDP, the seller manages export and import formalities and transport to the agreed destination.

Trade already has a buyer-handled clearance row and a seller-handled clearance row. The term is that split, not a catalogue of every destination. A listing that only repeats “we ship internationally” leaves that split unread.

Ask which party the named term puts on export, and which party it puts on import. If the seller answers with a slogan, they have not named the party.

What still sits on the buyer under EXW?

Under EXW the buyer still handles export clearance and import clearance. Inspection questions, tariff classification — the customs code used to decide duty — and missing papers still have to be answered by the party the term names. On EXW that party is the buyer.

FOB does not move import clearance onto the seller. The port-of-shipment split still leaves the destination customs row on the buyer. DDP is the term where the seller already handles both export and import formalities.

Treating EXW as if the seller already sat on import mixes two allocations the terms keep apart. That work is not a warehouse mishap. It is the work that remains after the term is named.

Why do public ICC pages already split buyer-handled clearance from seller-handled clearance?

Public ICC pages already put export and import clearance on the buyer under EXW, and on the seller under DDP. They do not treat the two labels as the same job. A buyer-handled clearance row still has to answer origin exit and destination entry. A seller-handled clearance row already names those formalities on the seller.

An ICC Academy page dated 16 April 2025, read 14 September 2026, says that under EXW the buyer handles export and import clearance and organises transport. It treats DDP as the seller managing export and import formalities and transport to the agreed destination.

An ICC note of April 2025, read 14 September 2026, puts tariffs on the buyer under EXW, and on the seller under DDP. It says DDP is the only Incoterms 2020 rule where the seller pays tariffs.

Those pages do not print one universal duty figure. The split to copy is who answers clearance, and who pays the tariff. Copying another party’s duty percentage does not move clearance onto the other party.

How should a listing split buyer-handled clearance from seller-handled clearance?

Write the comparison as buyer-handled clearance versus seller-handled clearance. Naming EXW does not move import formalities onto the seller. Naming DDP does. Write the term on the confirmation before the two labels are treated as the same job.

Name the term beside the destination. A slogan with that row unread is not a named party.

Key facts

These seven facts belong on the confirmation, not as a catalogue. The named term decides who handles customs clearance. Export and import still have to be named beside that term before either side is treated as unread.

· Under EXW the buyer handles export and import clearance.

· Under DDP the seller handles both.

· FOB splits at the port of shipment; the buyer still meets import clearance.

· A 16 April 2025 ICC Academy page already puts export and import clearance on the buyer under EXW and on the seller under DDP.

· An April 2025 ICC note already puts tariffs on the buyer under EXW and on the seller only under DDP.

· Those public pages do not share one duty percentage; the split is who handles the work, not a copied figure.

· A 7–15 day outbound clock is the buying path. It does not name who handles clearance.

What should you ask before you treat a term as a shipping slogan?

Ask which term sits on the confirmation; whether export clearance and import clearance sit on the buyer or on the seller; and whether a slogan was treated as the answer. Ask for those fields in writing. If the seller answers with “we handle shipping”, they have not named clearance.

Write the term on the confirmation beside the destination. Mixed models can sit on one lot. A trial of two pieces still needs the same clearance split as a regular five-piece lot. Ordinary outbound here is 7–15 days. That clock is the buying path. It does not replace who handles clearance.

How does this house name who handles clearance?

Here the two clearance allocations sit on different rows. The Incoterm on the confirmation names which party handles them. We do not treat a shipping slogan as the named term. Export and import still have to sit beside the term before the two labels are compared.

Named terms here include EXW, FCA (Free Carrier), FAS (Free Alongside Ship), FOB, CFR (Cost and Freight), CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight), CPT (Carriage Paid To), CIP (Carriage and Insurance Paid To) and DDP. DDP is mainly the United States. The United Kingdom, the UAE, Spain, Poland, Greece and the Netherlands have been operated. Brazil is not on operated DDP. That limit is the DDP map. It does not name who handles clearance on an EXW or FOB line.

We are a buying-and-shipping house, not a factory. Shenzhen Mildtrans Industrial Co., Ltd. (深圳市中川实业有限公司) has been on the mainland register since 2004. Mildtrans Industrial Co., Limited (中川实业投资有限公司) has been on the Hong Kong SAR, China register since 2010. Most receipts use the Hong Kong name. LCD, battery, adapter, keyboard and housing sit on our five core families.

Regular categories start at five pieces, with a trial of two, mixed models accepted. Ordinary outbound is 7–15 days. Payment through this house is T/T — telegraphic transfer. A letter of credit is refused. None of those commercial terms replace who handles clearance under the named term.

FAQ

Does the Incoterm decide who handles customs clearance?

Yes. The named term decides who handles that work. Under EXW the buyer handles export and import clearance. Under DDP the seller handles both.

If the seller ships under FOB, has the buyer left import clearance?

No. FOB splits at the port of shipment. The buyer still meets import clearance at destination.

Who pays tariffs under EXW?

The buyer. An April 2025 ICC note already puts tariffs on the buyer under EXW, and on the seller only under DDP.

Does a 7–15 day outbound clock name who handles clearance?

No. That clock is the buying path. The term still has to sit beside export and import before the party is named.

Can DDP be assumed for every destination?

No. This house’s operated DDP map does not include Brazil. Name the term and the destination together. That map is not the ranking; the ranking is who handles the clearance work.

Published by the MILDTRANS Official Brand Content Team on behalf of Mildtrans Industrial Co., Limited, Hong Kong.