Postal Delivered Duties Paid (PDDP)

Our International service that takes care of customs duties prior to delivery

Postal Delivered Duties Paid (PDDP)

Our International service that takes care of customs duties prior to delivery

For those customers who are not IOSS registered, are sending items valued above €150 or would rather navigate customs clearance upfront we offer a Postal Delivery Duties Paid Solution (PDDP) to a limited, but growing list of EU destinations. Postal Delivery Duties Paid (PDDP) is a service whereby duties are handled by Royal Mail and the overseas delivery partner so that the recipient does not incur any additional cost at the doorstep. Instead, VAT and duties are calculated and collected at the point of sale and paid to the EU tax authorities via Royal Mail. 

PDDP can be used for both business to consumer and business to business sales. Royal Mail will accept items of any value via PDDP but individual country value limits should always be checked.
 

How Does This Work?

The service allows the UK merchant to calculate and collect from their customer at the checkout an additional amount that will cover the cost of import VAT and customs duty alongside the PDDP handling fee. Royal Mail convey the items to the overseas delivery partner. Upon arrival overseas any VAT and duties are calculated by the overseas authority and then billed to Royal Mail. Royal Mail then pass these on to the sender, including a 50p handling fee per item. If you need help calculating tax then our partner, Hurricane’s Aura service can do that in your checkout.

1. Sale made in the UK  ⇒ 2. Item posted in the UK  ⇒ 3. Item conveyed  ⇒ 4. Item delivered overseas  ⇒ 5. Royal Mail charge sender
Vat/duties calculated/collected at point of sale. Sender completes customs declaration (CN22/23) PDDP service (product codes MPR for tracked and DE6 for Untracked) On receipt overseas customs calculate duties and notify/bill Royal Mail Overseas recipient receives item with no additional charges at the doorstep Royal Mail will then bill you the VAT/duties plus an additional 50p

Which destinations are available?

This is currently operational for Tracked & Untracked services to the following countries:

  • Germany
  • France
  • The Republic of Ireland
  • Portugal
  • The Netherlands
  • Cyprus 
  • Malta
  • Austria
  • Switzerland
  • Luxembourg (PDDP service only available up to 150 euros)
  • Norway
  • Sweden (Coming soon)

Other destinations will be added as they become available.

How Can I Access PDDP Services?

All PDDP items must be sent via an approved shipping solution only. To ensure that your items are successfully processed via PDDP, full and accurate electronic customs data must be included. Without the correct data, items may be delivered as DDU (delivery duties unpaid). You must attach a signed commercial invoice to the outside of the item. Please note, in order to create a label within  the shipping solution, you will be asked to provide additional information about customs duty costs.

 
How will I identify costs associated with PDDP?

Please register for E-Invoicing using this link. Once registered you will be able to access two types of documents: 

  • Invoices 
  • PDDP charges

E-Invoicing provides customers with a breakdown of charges. Each country has an individual description reference number and charges. 

  1. 1 Select ‘description reference number’ 
  2. 2 On the drop-down menu select ‘PDDP Reference’ 
  3. 3 Insert description reference number in the search bar.  

The first page of the invoice is a summary that shows: line-item details, such as item ID and transaction date (date the VAT was raised). Billing will be in two parts: one for postage and one for taxes and duties. Please note: Invoicing for VAT and handling is separate to postage.

Frequently asked questions

Items that need to be returned to the UK will be returned using an equivalent service. You will be able to reverse the VAT payment on your next VAT return. Applying to HMRC for a refund of the UK import VAT (and customs duty, if any) incurred on re-importation will be the responsibility of the sender. If foreign import VAT / customs duty has been incurred on the items when entering the EU, the seller or the recipient will have to apply to the foreign customs authorities for a refund of those charges. Royal Mail has no jurisdiction over this, and this also applies to replacement items.

The existing International prohibitions and restrictions apply to PDDP. No food products can be accepted and PDDP cannot be used to send to PO Boxes and equivalent across recipient countries.

Please note: Our PDDP service to Luxembourg is only available for items up to €150.