China to Germany DDU DDP Door to Door Shipping Service

The Short Answer

Shipping to Germany door to door ends with one question: who is the importer of record. Under DDP, Sunny Worldwide Logistics (SZ) Limited carries the entry, pays duty and import VAT, and hands the goods over with nothing left to pay. Under DDU, now written DAP, your company clears the entry on its own EORI number and settles the charges.

DDP and DDU Are Two Different Roles, Not Two Prices

Treating these as two freight rates is where German imports go wrong. Both terms move your cargo to the same address; what differs is who stands in front of German customs and who carries the tax cost.

Under DDP — Delivered Duty Paid — the seller or its forwarder is the importer of record. The entry is lodged in that party's name, duty and import VAT are paid or accounted for at importation, and the buyer receives goods with no further customs exposure and no German VAT registration of its own.

Under DDU — Delivered Duty Unpaid — the buyer is the importer of record. Your German entity, or your fiscal representative, lodges the entry, pays the duty and import VAT, and can then deduct that VAT as input tax. Note that Incoterms 2020 retired the DDU abbreviation and replaced it with DAP, Delivered at Place, which carries the same duty-unpaid logic.

The practical consequence: DDP suits buyers without a German VAT footprint or without appetite for customs administration, while DDU suits registered businesses that want the input tax deduction and control of the entry.

Term by Term: What Actually Changes

German and EU Rules That Follow From the Term You Choose

Declarations run through ATLAS, and EORI comes first. German import entries are filed electronically in the ATLAS system, and an EORI number is part of the participant master data. From 1 October 2026, EORI applications and amendments must be made through the Zoll-Portal. Whoever is named as importer of record needs that number before the first entry can be lodged.

Import VAT is 19 per cent, 7 per cent on reduced-rate goods. It is charged at importation on top of any duty. A VAT-registered business can deduct it as input tax, but only when the person claiming the deduction is the person named on the customs evidence — which is exactly why the DDP and DDU choice cannot be treated as a price question.

The €150 duty exemption ended on 1 July 2026. A temporary flat duty of €3 per item, by customs code, now applies to low-value distance sales into the EU until 1 July 2028. Business-to-business consignments to a VAT-registered recipient are declared at standard duty rates instead, and a preferential rate under a trade agreement survives only where the goods are declared on a standard entry rather than through the import one-stop shop.

CBAM applies to carbon-intensive goods. Since 1 January 2026 the definitive regime has been running: importers of steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser, electricity and hydrogen report embedded emissions and surrender CBAM certificates, which changes the landed cost of metal components.

Producer responsibility registrations sit with the producer. Packaging placed on the German market must be registered under the packaging act and licensed through the LUCID register; electrical equipment falls under ElektroG and the WEEE regime; batteries and accumulators under the battery act. Registration is not the forwarder's to make on the buyer's behalf.

Consumer products need an EU responsible person. Since 13 December 2024, the General Product Safety Regulation requires a responsible economic operator established in the EU to be named on the product or its packaging, so the nameplate and label artwork has to be right before production, not after arrival.

Three Ways Your Cargo Reaches Germany

Sea into Hamburg and Bremerhaven. Weekly sailings from South China carry full containers and groupage into the two main German gateways. Plan on roughly 30 to 45 days door-to-door, including clearance and inland delivery to anywhere in the country.

China–Europe rail through Duisburg. Block trains run from Chinese inland hubs to the Duisburg rail hub in about 18 to 25 days, which sits between sea and air on both cost and speed and works well for mid-weight consignments that cannot wait for a vessel.

Air into Frankfurt. Freight lands in 5 to 8 days and reaches most German addresses within 8 to 12 days door-to-door. German entries on clean documentation are typically released within one to two working days.

What We Need Before Booking

• Commodity description and, where you have one, the TARIC code you want the entry filed under
• The declared value basis you intend to use, and whether freight and insurance are to be included
• Whether you hold a German EORI and USt-IdNr., or whether the entry should be made in our name
• The status of your LUCID, ElektroG or battery registrations, where your product triggers them
• The name and address of the EU responsible person for consumer goods under the product safety regulation
• Pallet specification and whether the delivery point is a dock, a ramp or a residential address
• Your election between DDP and DDU/DAP, confirmed in writing before the vessel sails

The Forwarder Standing Behind the Entry

When the term is DDP, the duty and import VAT liability lands on Sunny Worldwide Logistics (SZ) Limited, not on the buyer. That is a real balance-sheet commitment, which is why the company runs the file in-house from its Shenzhen base rather than passing it down a chain. Trading since 1998, with a Class A office of 1,800 square metres and its own trucking company at Shenzhen sea port, its documentation desk holds originals, weight and packing evidence from the moment a container is loaded — the same evidence a German entry rests on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between DDP and DDU for German imports? DDP makes the seller or forwarder the importer of record, so duty and import VAT sit with them and the buyer receives goods cleared and paid. DDU, now called DAP under Incoterms 2020, leaves the entry with the buyer, who pays the charges and can deduct the import VAT.

Who is the importer of record on a DDP shipment into Germany? Sunny Worldwide Logistics (SZ) Limited, or the EU customs agent we appoint, is named on the ATLAS entry. That means the EORI number on the declaration is ours, and any customs correspondence arrives with us rather than with your German office.

How much is import VAT in Germany and can my company reclaim it? The standard rate is 19 per cent, with 7 per cent on reduced-rate goods, charged at importation. A VAT-registered business can deduct it as input tax only where it is the party named on the customs evidence, so a DDU or DAP shipment is normally the right structure if you want the deduction.

Is there still a duty-free limit for small consignments into the EU? No. The exemption for consignments up to €150 ended on 1 July 2026. A temporary flat duty of €3 per item by customs code applies to low-value distance sales until 1 July 2028, and standard rates apply to business-to-business consignments.

What registrations does my product need before it can be sold in Germany? Packaging must be registered and licensed through LUCID under the packaging act, electrical equipment falls under ElektroG and WEEE, and batteries under the battery act. Consumer goods also need an EU-based responsible person named on the product or packaging under the product safety regulation.

How long does shipping from China to Germany take? Sea to Hamburg or Bremerhaven runs about 30 to 45 days door-to-door, China–Europe rail through Duisburg about 18 to 25 days, and air into Frankfurt 8 to 12 days door-to-door. German clearance on clean documentation normally takes one to two working days.

Request a DDP or DDU Quotation

Send the product description or TARIC code, carton count or gross weight, supplier city in China and the German delivery address, and state which term you want. Sunny Worldwide Logistics (SZ) Limited will return both structures side by side — a single landed figure under DDP and a freight-plus-clearance figure under DDU/DAP — so the choice is made on numbers rather than assumption.

Contact Sunny Worldwide Logistics (SZ) Limited

• Contact person: Samira Chen
• Company: Sunny Worldwide Logistics (SZ) Limited
• Address: 8/F, Block B, Rongde Times Square, Henggang Street, Longgang District, Shenzhen, China
• Phone & WhatsApp: +86 13428330724
• Trade Manager: cn220161160
• Email: sales38@swwlogistics.com.cn