UPU Delivered Duty Paid solution

UPU Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) is a product:

  • • for the shipping of goods
  • • that are subject to taxes and duties at destination
  • • and for which the taxes and duties are collected at origin (before shipment).

DDP (an international commercial term, or Incoterm) is particularly suited to e‑commerce shipments by Posts. It is designed to accelerate customs clearance at destination and, for a customer buying online, DDP means that all relevant information (full shipping costs including postal delivery and taxes and duties) is available at the time of purchase.

However, DDP entails additional tasks and responsibilities for the origin Post. Specifically, the origin Post must inform the shipper of the applicable taxes and duties, collect the corresponding amounts and transfer these amounts to the customs authority at destination.

 

To help designated operators adopt this model quickly, the UPU’s Postal Technology Centre (PTC) is rolling out a DDP solution that leverages existing UPU technologies and services:

  • • For data flows, the Customs Declaration System (CDS) and POST*Net are at the core of the solution. UPU DDP APIs are also available for non-CDS users, through the PTC API Gateway;

  • • For financial flows and international settlement, it is envisaged that UPU*Clearing will be used. This part of the solution will follow at a later stage, pending approval by the UPU*Clearing User Group.

The various sections on this page provide updates on the different components of the UPU DDP solution.

Please refer to the DDP Implementation Guide for guidance and to prepare for roll-out of the solution and IT integration.

Regulatory changes for US-bound flows


Since 29 August 2025, the duty-free de-minimis threshold for mail items containing goods entering the United States of America has been suspended. Only goods with a value under 100 USD and declared as gifts remain exempt.

These changes have accelerated the agenda for the UPU DDP solution. The information on this page, and in the DDP Implementation Guide available below, covers both the global UPU DDP solution and, when applicable, the specific case of US-bound flows.

US regulations require that a US qualified party (QP) be used to file declarations with the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) and for the financial settlement of the applicable taxes and duties with the CBP. Although the PTC has designed a solution open to any QP, the UPU DDP solution is currently powered by the only QP that has a contract with the UPU: Zonos. Additional QPs will be added on demand, according to market needs and Posts’ requirements.

 

Key features of UPU DDP

Available as a turnkey solution in CDS software

All versions (CDS.post, Cloud, local instances) and via all interfaces (CDS UI, Kiosk, EAD Customs Declarations (mobile application) and CDS.API)

Available as APIs for non-CDS users

The solution is accessible to any Post via APIs.

Settlement and EAD features

Scalability and security for international settlement flows

To follow at a later stage through UPU*Clearing

EAD compliance requirements embedded in the solution:
  • Harmonized System (HS) codes: look-up or verification checks
  • Prohibitions and restrictions checks
  • Denied parties checks
EAD quality checks embedded in the solution:
  • UPU SAVE

Label/S10 and licence


Supports two scenarios for label/S10 creation:
  • S10 is unknown at the time when landed cost calculations (LCC) are conducted. UPU DDP uses a declaration ID – a temporary ID for tracking the draft declaration and associated landed costs until the mail item label/S10 is created
     
  • S10 is known at the time of LCC.  This is typically the case when the shipper is provided with S10 ranges by the origin Post. In this case, UPU DDP still uses a declaration ID as above, but the associated S10–declaration ID is created immediately after LCC.

Available as an option to your CDS licence

No separate contract required with any third-party provider

 

For US-bound flows

UPU DDP can be powered by any QP


Each origin Post can select its QP


An origin Post can decide to use more than one QP 
This is made possible with coding in ITMATT to specify which QP is used for the mail item.


Data copied from POST*Net to the QP
Only the data required for the CBP filing is uploaded to the QP; no personally identifiable information is copied. For the filing, the item ID (S10), declared value and country of origin, as well as the transport information, are provided.
Copies are activated upon formal authorization by the Post.


Two scenarios supported for the payment of taxes and duties  (landed costs) by the shipper:
  • Landed costs are paid to the origin Post (in this case, the international settlement mechanism – eventually through UPU*Clearing – will apply later in the process)
  • Landed costs are paid directly to the QP
In progress:  embedding of the QP terms and conditions as a technical annex to the CDS licence (to avoid a separate agreement between the Post and QP)


 

Features and project updates

Some components of the UPU DDP solution are ready. This section provides the status of each component and will be regularly updated by the PTC. For information to select the components that are right for you, as well as guidelines for implementation, please refer to the UPU DDP Implementation Guide available below.

APIs on the PTC API Gateway

Last update: 5 Sep 2025
Name
Landed Cost Calculator - Get HS Codes
Posted on
5 sep. 2025
status
API available
Name
Landed Cost Calculator - Calculate Landed Cost
Posted on
5 sep.2025
status
API available
Name
Landed Cost Calculator - Link S10 IDs to Declaration IDs
Posted on
9 sep.2025
status
API available
Name
UPU SAVE - Search for addresses (part of EAD compliance)
Posted on
5 sep. 2025
status
API available

CDS solution

Last update: 18 Sep 2025
Name
CDS
Posted on
18 sep. 2025
status
Release timeline to be confirmed before the end of September 2025.

Data copies to US qualified parties

Last update: 22 Sep 2025
Name
Data copies to US qualified parties
Posted on
22 sep. 2025
status
Available - Functionality completed

For the procedure to authorize data copies, see section of the DDP Implementation Guide.

Financial settlement solution

Last update: 5 Sep 2025
  • For direct invoicing by the QP: see section of the DDP Implementation Guide
  • For invoicing through UPU*Clearing: updates to be provided at a later stage

 

Documentation

DDP Implementation Guide

09.09.2025 - downloadable PDF

Access the developer APIs portal

sandbox access

Presentation "UPU Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) solution"

10.09.2025 - downloadable PDF
UPU side event: UPU Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) Solution
28th Universal Postal Congress – Dubai 2025 (UPU side-event)

Presentation "UPU Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) solution - Powered by Zonos"

10.09.2025 - downloadable PDF
UPU side event: UPU Delivered Duty Paid (DDP) Solution
28th Universal Postal Congress – Dubai 2025 (UPU side-event)

Solution powered by Zonos

 

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