Last update: 09/23/2025

Shipping DHL Paket International to recipients in customs destinations is now even easier and more customer-friendly thanks to Postal Delivered Duty Paid (Postal DDP / PDDP). By booking the additional service "PDDP," you can assume all import duties for the recipient. That way, your customers are not surprised by additional customs clearance charges on delivery.

The PDDP service is very simple

1 Order process

  • Calculation of expected import duties by the sender
  • Payment of import duties during the check-out process
2 Preparation for dispatch

  • Creation of parcel label with the PDDP icon

  • In the EDI data:

    • Labeling of individual shipments as PDDP

    • Specification of the customs tariff number / HS code and country of origin per goods item

3 Processing & transportation

  • Pick-up by DHL
  • Transportation of shipment to the destination country and handover to the delivering postal company
4 Customs clearance

  • Customs declaration of the shipment for import in the recipient’s name
  • Advance payment of import duties by the service provider, i.e., the "qualified party"
5 Delivery

  • Delivery of the shipment to the recipient
  • No payment process for import duties by recipient upon delivery
6 Billing

  • Charging on of the import duties paid in advance plus fees of the "qualified party"

The benefits for you

  • Easy to order: "Postal DDP" service available on a shipment-by-shipment basis. The service is already integrated with many premium and non-premium partners and can be directly ordered from within the partner solutions. Here you can find an overview of all premium and non-premium partners: DHL Partner Systems – Software Solutions for your E-Commerce | DHL
  • Attractive pricing: € 2.00 per shipment – irrespective of destination country.
  • Delivery on the first attempt: Optimized successful delivery rate, as recipients are not faced with unexpected charges on delivery
  • Greater customer satisfaction: Accelerated delivery process, as all fees are paid by your customers in advance during the order process

Transparent invoicing of the service fee and import duties​

What you need to do

Invoice anticipated customs duties in the ordering process:

As import duties are not collected from the recipient upon delivery, they should be calculated by you in advance during the order process and invoiced to your customers. As DHL does not offer customs consultancy, we cannot support you in the specific calculation of the expected import duties. However, there are numerous third-party providers in the market that offer so-called “landed cost calculator” solutions and/or suitable API integrations. Alternatively, in our experience some shippers impose flat-rate surcharges on shipping and transport costs to ensure that all import duties are paid in advance by the purchaser and are thus covered. 

Complete and correct customs data:

The transmission of complete and correct customs content data for each shipment and goods position is required for export of the shipment and the successful performance of services within the customs clearance and delivery process. It is essential here to specify the customs tariff number for each goods item (6-/8-/10-digit customs tariff number). Please also take into account additional destination-country-specific requirements pertaining to the customs content data of your shipments.

Service ordering dependent on goods value limits:

The service is only available for shipments with certain goods values depending on the destination country. If the PDDP service is ordered for shipments below or above these goods value limits, DHL charges the € 2.00 service fee but the service is not performed. In the case of the United States, furthermore, shipments can be returned even prior to their export to the United States.

Shipping preparations

Please ensure that each individual shipment is labeled accordingly: parcel label with PDDP icon, physical affixing of the customs declaration (CN23) and the commercial invoice to the outside of the parcel, transmission of the PDDP service feature code in the EDI data accompanying the shipment.

Available destination countries

Destination country

 Specifics
Norway
  • Only for parcels to private customers
  • Not permissible for parcels subject to VOEC
  • The customs exclaves Svalbard, Bear Island and Hopen are excluded
Switzerland
  • Not applicable for goods subject to excise duty 
  • The destinations Liechtenstein and Samnaun are excluded
United Kingdom (excluding Northern Ireland)
  • Goods values of between £135 and £900
United States of America (incl. Puerto Rico)

  • Goods value of no more than USD 800

  • Mandatory specification of the country of origin and the customs tariff number per goods item

Further information on the current US shipping provisions to the United States of America

When customs clearance is carried out using the PDDP service, the goods are cleared in the name of the recipient.

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The PDDP service fee is billed at the same time as the parcel fee and the other services. The customs duties and processing fees are invoiced separately. 

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We recommend entering all customs information in the currency of the respective destination country. Invoicing of the customs and processing fees are handled by the "qualified party", also in the currency of the destination country. These fees are invoiced to our company and subsequently charged on to you in euros based on the exchange rate on the date of invoice.

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800 USD is approximately 650 EUR. 135 GBP is approximately 140 EUR. Due to fluctuating exchange rates, we kindly ask you to declare your goods in the destination country’s currency.

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If you register a shipment without the PDDP shipping service and the entered goods value is at or below USD 800, the shipment will be returned to you and no customs duties are payable.

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The following requirements and steps must be observed with the PDDP service:

  1. The PDDP service can be optionally booked at the shipment level and must be transmitted in the EDI message.
  2. The service is transmitted with the corresponding product keys.
  3. The goods tariff numbers must be entered for the Postal DDP service.
  4. Entry of the shipment type is mandatory in connection with the PDDP service, and only the value 11 (merchandise shipment) is permissible.
  5. The relevant PDDP logo must be printed on the label.
  6. The product feature code 128 (see the current barcode specification) for the PDDP service must be stated in the routing code.
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