How to set up DDP shipping from the EU to the UK

What DDP means for a UK lane

DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) means your customer pays one price at checkout and nothing at the door. Since Brexit, every parcel from the EU to Great Britain is an export from the EU and an import into the UK. DDP doesn't remove those steps; it moves them, and the cost, from your customer to you and your partners.

The alternative, DAP (sometimes still called DDU), leaves duties, VAT and the carrier's handling fee to the customer on delivery. It's cheaper to set up, but many UK customers refuse parcels with a surprise bill, and you pay for the return. For most brands selling to consumers, DDP is the better customer experience. The real question is how to run it without losing margin or getting parcels stuck.

Two UK rules decide the setup: £135 or less, and above £135

The UK treats low-value and higher-value consignments differently. The value is the consignment value of the goods, excluding shipping and insurance (see the HMRC guidance below for the exact definition).

	Consignment of £135 or less	Consignment above £135
VAT	Charged by the seller (or online marketplace) at the point of sale, at UK rates. Seller registers for UK VAT.	Import VAT paid at import, by whoever is the importer.
Customs duty	Currently relieved for most goods (not excise goods).	Payable depending on the commodity code and origin.
Who imports with DDP	Customs declaration still needed, usually handled by the carrier or broker; VAT already accounted for.	The consumer is the importer for B2C; your carrier or broker clears and pays duty and import VAT on their behalf and invoices you.

Two things to watch. First, Northern Ireland follows EU rules for goods, so treat it as a separate lane. Second, the UK has announced it will end the customs-duty relief for consignments of £135 or less, with a new regime expected by 2028 at the latest. It is not in force yet; watch gov.uk and plan for duty on low-value parcels.

The setup, step by step

Decide the customer promise. DDP for all orders, or DDP only up to a value? Which delivery options (home, parcel shop, locker) and what delivery time?
Get the registrations right. EU EORI for the export declaration; UK VAT registration for low-value B2C sales; GB EORI only if you import B2B in your own name (for example stock into a UK warehouse); check whether you need a UK fiscal representative. Your tax adviser confirms this; I make sure the process matches it.
Choose the clearance model. For B2C, a carrier or broker usually clears each parcel and pays duty and import VAT for the consumer, then invoices you. For B2B stock imports, you import in your own name with a GB EORI. This decides who pays HMRC and how it's invoiced back to you.
Fix the item data. Every SKU needs a proper description, a UK commodity code (10 digits on import), country of origin, value and weight. This is where most launches break.
Pick partners that really do DDP on your lane. Ask how they handle the export declaration in the EU, the import in the UK, who advances duties, how you're invoiced, and what happens to held parcels.
Connect the data. Your shop or OMS sends item data with the label request. Manual spreadsheets work for a test; they don't scale.
Design returns. A UK return address and consolidated return shipments usually beat individual cross-border returns. Link each return to the original export so you can use returned-goods relief when the goods come back into the EU.
Test end to end. Test labels, a real test shipment, a return, and a reconciliation of duties and VAT against what customers paid.

Where UK DDP launches usually go wrong

Missing or vague item data. "Clothing" or "gift" gets parcels held. So do missing origins.
Nobody owns the import. The brand thinks the carrier handles the import, the carrier thinks the brand does. Write down who clears, who pays duty and VAT, and how it's invoiced.
DDP on paper only. Some services are DDP for some countries or values but not others. Check the lane and your product categories.
Same-day consignments added together. Several orders to the same customer can be treated as one consignment and cross the £135 line. Agree how your partner handles this.
Returns that pay twice. Without the original references, returned goods can be treated as a new import into the EU.

Who this is for, and who it isn't

A good fit

EU e-commerce brands launching or fixing a UK lane
Brands moving from DAP to DDP because of refused parcels
Carriers and consolidators building a UK DDP product for merchants

Not a good fit

You need someone to file declarations or register you for VAT (that's a broker or tax adviser)
You ship a handful of parcels a month and just need a label tool with DDP built in
You need day-to-day shipping coordination

How I help

In the Cross-Border Customs & DDP Setup I design the whole UK lane with you: customer promise, importer model, registrations to confirm, item-data specification, broker and carrier responsibilities, returns, and the test and launch plan. The single-lane blueprint starts from €2,950; with me leading the launch it starts from €6,500.

I have built this before. As an external consultant leading international product development at Hermes, I took a DDP B2C customs product for Germany → Great Britain, Switzerland and Liechtenstein from concept to live production with merchants. Earlier, at BorderGuru, I ran cross-border e-commerce operations with landed-cost and duty processes at checkout.

Questions

Do I need a GB EORI to ship DDP to the UK?

Not for B2C parcels to consumers: you need an EU EORI to export, UK VAT registration for consignments of £135 or less, and a carrier or broker that clears the import. You need a GB EORI only if you import B2B in your own name, for example stock into a UK warehouse.

Is DDP more expensive than DAP?

You pay duties, taxes and service fees up front instead of the customer, so your cost per parcel goes up. Fewer refused parcels and better conversion often make up for it. Price it into your checkout or shipping fee.

Can my carrier handle everything?

Many carriers offer a DDP product, but you still own the data quality, VAT registration and returns decisions. Ask exactly which steps they take on and which they don't.

Does Northern Ireland work the same way?

No. Northern Ireland follows EU rules for goods, so an EU → Northern Ireland parcel isn't a UK import in the same way. Treat it as a separate lane.

Sources

HMRC, VAT and overseas goods sold directly to customers in the UK: gov.uk
HMRC, check which EORI number you need: gov.uk/eori
HMRC, returned goods relief: gov.uk
UK trade tariff (commodity codes and duty rates): trade-tariff.service.gov.uk

This is operational guidance, not legal or tax advice. Customs filings and tax registrations are done by licensed brokers and advisers; I design and coordinate the process with them.

How do I set up DDP shipping from the EU to the UK?