Courier DDP Vs DDU: Who Pays
DDP and DDU are the two labels eBay and AliExpress use for who pays import charges. Delivered duty paid means the sender pays. Delivered duty unpaid means you pay when the parcel reaches New Zealand.
Those letters are a deal with the seller and the courier. They are not a New Zealand Customs Service tax code. If the duty is not actually paid, Customs still treats the importer as the person who owes it.
Christchurch, eBay, DDU
A buyer wins a parcel marked delivered duty unpaid, and the item cost more than NZ$1000. The courier, not Customs, writes when it lands. The buyer pays the invoice before delivery. If they wait, many couriers hold for a maximum of 20 days and then send the parcel back.
Dunedin, AliExpress, under NZ$1000
Checkout already added GST. Customs says you do not pay Customs on an item of NZ$1000 or less, unless it is alcohol or tobacco, because GST is collected when you buy. That checkout line is not duty. A later courier email for a few dollars is a different charge.
Seller ticked DDP, bill still arrives
A Hamilton seller paid the courier to send duty paid. The broker did not pass the money to Customs. The import declaration rules say the importer is still liable. Keep the checkout receipt and ask the sender for proof the duty was paid.
How a courier clearance fits the rest of the border is on import duty and customs. If you already know a duty rate, run it on the import duty calculator. GST on the import, separate from a checkout charge, is on GST on imports NZ.
DDP does not rename you out of the entry. Customs import declaration guidance says the importer is responsible for the payment of Customs duty. The importer code is the New Zealand person or company importing the goods, not the carrier, the freight forwarder, or the agent. If you give a broker the money and it is not forwarded, you are still liable.
What do the letters mean on a listing?
Couriers and shop software use the same shorthand. A New Zealand shipping tool updated 16 September 2026 calls DDP sender pays duty, and DDU the setting where the receiver pays. You tick duties and taxes paid when the sender is covering the bill. That tick tells the courier. It does not change who Customs invoices.
A June 2026 parcel guide, and a July 2026 cross border guide, say DDU is an older label and that delivered at place, DAP, is the closer current name for the buyer paying on arrival. New Zealand Customs Service does not collect under DDP, DDU, or DAP. It collects duty and GST from the importer when the item costs more than NZ$1000, and on alcohol and tobacco at any value.
What is on the Customs invoice?
For an online item over NZ$1000, Customs collects GST and duty if required, and you need a Customs Number. The transport company contacts you. You send NZCS 263, photo ID, proof of purchase, the shipping document, and the arrival notice, or you pay a broker to do it. The invoice uses the Customs value: the item in New Zealand dollars, plus shipping and any insurance. The charge is 15% GST, duty if the goods and origin require it, plus the goods levies on the Customs goods levies page, and the biosecurity levy on the MPI site.
If the price was duty paid and the freight is buried in that price, the May 2025 Customs valuation guide groups DDP with CIF. International freight and insurance are not part of the transaction value. If that freight is in the price and you can show the actual cost, it is deducted. If you cannot prove the cost, it cannot be deducted. The consumer invoice on the receive items page still starts from the item, the shipping, and any insurance.
Customs exchange rates run for two weeks and are published 11 days ahead. The rate applies on the day the electronic clearance is submitted, not on the day you paid eBay and not on the day the plane landed. An import entry, when one is required, must be completed within 20 days of arrival. Storage sites often allow three to four free days, then demurrage. Customs does not pay those storage fees. Customs also does not track the parcel. Ask NZ Post or the courier.
What if the declared value is wrong?
You are responsible for the declaration being correct. Some sites offer to write a lower value so you avoid GST or duty. If the sender gives the wrong information, the item can be delayed or seized, and you can pay extra charges. Knowingly making a false declaration can be a criminal charge. A contents list that does not match the parcel can also be fined. Importing prohibited goods can draw a $400 fine.
A commercial import, including stock you will sell, is a broker job, not the private NZCS 263 path. The same day rule still matters: several orders from one supplier that arrive together can be treated as one shipment.
What people mix up
eBay and AliExpress threads treat DDP as a promise that nothing else can be charged in New Zealand, and DDU as a surprise duty percentage. Customs splits the charges. Under NZ$1000, GST is usually taken at purchase, and you do not pay Customs unless the goods are alcohol or tobacco. Over NZ$1000, the courier bill can include 15% GST, duty only if the tariff says so, and the goods levy. A seller guide that adds a European low value VAT scheme, or a United States duty free parcel limit, is not this border.
Two DHL explainers of DDP and DDU did not load this run. An Amazon seller thread on the same letters did not return readable text. The readable pattern, from the June and July 2026 shipping guides and from the Starshipit settings page, is the same: DDP is prepaid, DDU is pay on arrival. The New Zealand rule on top of that pattern is the receive items page: the importer pays Customs when the threshold is crossed, even if the listing said the sender would.