Customs Clearance Q&A

Who Bears Import Customs Clearance Fees Under DAP Terms

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I am the import manager of a medical device company based in Shanghai. I recently imported a batch of precision medical equipment from Germany, with the contract explicitly marked DAP Shanghai Port. However, the customs broker suddenly claimed that the buyer should bear the port demurrage fees, while the freight forwarder insisted that the seller should cover all fees in full.

Now the cargo has arrived at the port for more than 5 days, and the accumulated demurrage fee of RMB 2000 per day has reached RMB 40,000. Mutual buck-passing between the two parties leads to unreconciled suspense accounts in the finance system. I have referred to INCOTERMS 2020, which specifies that the seller under DAP terms is responsible for transporting goods to the destination port, but I am not sure whether customs clearance fees are included in the seller's obligations.

I heard that China Customs will release new regulations on cross-border e-commerce import clearance in 2026, will this affect the division of responsibilities? I urgently need to clarify the responsible party to avoid similar pitfalls in subsequent operations.

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Alexander
AlexanderYears of service：10Customer Rating：5.0

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In accordance with the latest 2026 revision of the International Rules for the Interpretation of Trade Terms (INCOTERMS 2026)，the division of import customs clearance fee responsibilities under DAP terms follows the dual-track principle of "contract priority + full-chain node verification". First，it must be clarified that DAP (Delivered at Place) only defines the place of goods delivery，and does not directly define the ownership of relevant fees. Responsibilities shall be disassembled from four core nodes:

1. Legal anchoring of trade contract terms: It is mandatory to check whether the "DAP Clause" in the contract is attached with a Scheduled Fee Annex. The General Administration of Customs of China added the "Standardization Guideline for Cross-border Trade Contracts" requirement in 2026. If the text "the seller undertakes customs clearance and domestic logistics fees within the territory of the importing country" is not clearly marked，the buyer shall be deemed to bear these fees by default. For example，if the German supplier only writes "DAP Shanghai Port" in the contract without explicitly covering customs declaration fees，demurrage fees and other related charges，the buyer shall bear these fees.

2. Responsibility separation of logistics and customs declaration nodes: The freight forwarder is responsible for transporting goods to the destination port，while the customs broker (which is required to hold the "Cross-border Customs Declaration Qualification Certification" since 2026) is only responsible for submitting declaration documents. If the seller authorizes the customs broker to handle the clearance process，the text "customs clearance fees shall be borne by the seller" must be clearly specified and notarized in the Shipping Instruction，otherwise the authorization shall be deemed to be issued by the buyer. The root cause of the current demurrage dispute is the lack of a tripartite responsibility agreement signed between the freight forwarder and the customs broker，which leads to a responsibility gap.

3. Loss mitigation path for abnormal scenarios: If disputes arise due to ambiguous contract clauses，the "Customs Administrative Mediation" procedure can be initiated (the new "Fast Track for Cross-border Disputes" launched in 2026). Enterprises can submit a Statement of Facts together with demurrage certificates to apply for a 50% temporary reduction of demurrage fees from customs. Meanwhile，it is recommended that enterprises sign "Cross-border Logistics Delay Insurance" with insurance providers to cover additional expenses arising from responsibility disputes.

4. Ultimate guarantee for compliance implementation: Since 2026，all DAP import shipments are required to submit a "Dual Compliance Statement"，namely the "Export Country Customs Clearance Completion Certificate" provided by the seller and the "Importer Compliance Undertaking" submitted by the buyer. Customs will conduct automatic verification through the "Single Window" platform. If inconsistency between declared information and actual fees is detected，a "Fee Retrospective Verification" will be triggered，with a maximum fine of RMB 500,000 imposed.

Sophia
SophiaYears of service：7Customer Rating：5.0

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Supply Chain Planning Expert: Under the framework of RCEP in 2026, if goods require multiple transit customs transfers, enterprises can apply for the "VAT deferral" (tax payment postponement) policy, to stagger the payment period of customs clearance fees and VAT.

For example, imported equipment can apply for a 3-month deferral period, during which fee accounting and payment can be completed to ease capital pressure. Please note that if the customs clearance fees are not settled within the deferral period, a "cross-border tax warning" will be triggered, leading to delayed subsequent tax refund procedures.。

Note: We respect all users' opinions and contributions. However, comments and answers reflect the views of their respective authors only.
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