Incoterms for ecommerce in Europe, who pays, who clears, who carries the risk
One three-letter term decides who pays the freight, who clears customs, who owes the import duty and where the risk passes from seller to buyer. Get the Incoterm wrong and the cost lands where you did not plan, or your customer is stopped for a charge at the door. Here is how the common terms work for European ecommerce, and how to pick the one that fits your lane.
Der Unterschied
The right Incoterm, no surprise charge at the door
Incoterms are the shorthand that splits cost and responsibility between a seller and a buyer on a shipment. For ecommerce the choice is not paperwork trivia: it sets your landed cost, decides whether your customer pays anything on delivery, and fixes who is on the hook if goods are lost in transit. The matching filters to European partners whose customs and carrier setup supports the term you want to trade on, so the choice is one you can actually deliver.
See who can trade on your terms
Filter to partners set up for the Incoterm your model needs, whether that is delivering duty-paid to the customer's door or clearing your inbound stock on import, so the term you quote is one your fulfilment can support.
Landed cost you can predict
The term decides which duties, taxes and freight fall to you rather than the buyer. Matching to partners who handle that step means the cost is priced in up front, not sprung on you or your customer later.
How to choose an Incoterm
- 01
Map your lane and buyer
Set out where goods ship from and to, and who the receiver is: your own fulfilment centre on an inbound import, or the end customer on a cross-border sale. The right term differs for each.
- 02
Decide who should carry duty and clearance
For sales to consumers, delivering duty-paid (DDP) keeps the customer from being stopped for a charge. For inbound stock, decide whether you or the supplier clears and pays import duty, and match to a partner set up for it.
- 03
Match to a partner who supports it
Filter to European partners whose customs and carrier capability fits the term, then request an intro so the landed cost and clearance are quoted against your real lane rather than assumed.
- 01
Cost split
The Incoterm draws the line between which freight, insurance, duty and handling the seller pays and which the buyer picks up, so both sides know the true price of the movement.
- 02
Customs responsibility
It fixes who is the importer of record and who files the clearance on each side of the border, which for EU ecommerce decides who carries the VAT and duty.
- 03
Risk transfer
It sets the exact point at which risk of loss or damage passes from seller to buyer, which decides whose insurance answers if the goods do not arrive intact.
Trade on terms your fulfilment can deliver
Start from the directory, or publish a store profile and let the matching find a European partner whose customs and carrier setup supports the Incoterm your model runs on.
Was ist Incoterms?
Incoterms, short for International Commercial Terms, are a set of standard three-letter rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce that define, for a shipment, exactly how cost and responsibility are split between the seller and the buyer. Each term answers three questions: who pays for carriage and related charges, who is responsible for export and import customs clearance, and at what point the risk of loss or damage passes from one party to the other. For European ecommerce the terms that matter most are DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), where the seller delivers to the buyer with all duties and taxes paid so the customer pays nothing on arrival; DAP (Delivered at Place), where the seller delivers but the buyer is responsible for import duty and taxes; and, on the inbound side, terms such as FOB and EXW that decide how much of the journey and clearance a supplier handles before the goods become the brand's responsibility. The choice is commercially significant rather than administrative: it sets landed cost, determines whether an end customer is stopped for an unexpected charge at the door, and fixes whose insurance answers if a parcel is lost in transit. Getting the term right, and working with a fulfilment partner whose customs and carrier capability can support it, is what turns a quoted price into the price that is actually paid. Incoterms are revised periodically; the current set is Incoterms 2020.
Auch genannt: International Commercial Terms, delivery terms, shipping terms
Häufige Fragen
What are Incoterms?
Incoterms are standard three-letter rules that split cost and responsibility on a shipment between seller and buyer. Each term sets who pays freight, who clears export and import customs, who owes the duty, and where the risk of loss passes. They are published by the International Chamber of Commerce; the current set is Incoterms 2020.
What is the difference between DDP and DAP?
Under DDP, Delivered Duty Paid, the seller delivers to the buyer with all duties and import taxes already paid, so the customer pays nothing on arrival. Under DAP, Delivered at Place, the seller delivers but the buyer is responsible for the import duty and taxes. For selling to EU consumers, DDP avoids a surprise charge at the door.
Which Incoterm is best for ecommerce sales to EU customers?
For business-to-consumer sales, DDP is usually the right choice because the customer receives the parcel without being asked to pay duty or taxes to the carrier, which protects conversion and reduces refused deliveries. It requires a fulfilment and customs setup that can prepay and reclaim those charges, which is what to look for in a partner.
Which Incoterm should I use for inbound stock?
For importing stock into a European fulfilment centre, the choice is between terms like EXW and FOB, where you or your forwarder handle most of the journey and clearance, and DDP from the supplier, where they deliver duty-paid. The right one depends on who has the stronger freight and customs capability on that lane; match to a partner who can advise and clear on your route.
Do Incoterms cover VAT and IOSS?
Incoterms decide who is responsible for import duty and clearance, which is closely tied to who accounts for import VAT, but they do not replace a VAT or IOSS registration. You still need the right tax setup to collect and remit VAT on EU sales; the Incoterm decides who pays it at the border, not whether it is due.
Who is responsible if goods are lost in transit?
The Incoterm fixes the exact point at which risk passes from seller to buyer, and whoever holds the risk at the moment of loss is the party whose insurance answers. This is why the term and the cargo insurance behind it need to line up; a mismatch is how a loss ends up uninsured.
Explore further
DDP shipping in Europe
Delivering duty-paid so the customer pays nothing at the door.
EU customs clearance for ecommerce
The clearance step every Incoterm allocates to one party.
VAT and IOSS fulfilment in Europe
The tax setup that sits alongside your delivery terms.
China to EU fulfilment
The inbound lane where the term you agree matters most.
Browse the directory
Filter every partner by country, platform, carrier, COD and VAT/IOSS.
Leitfaden zu grenzüberschreitenden Steuern und Zoll in der EU für E-Commerce-Marken
Ein übersichtlicher Leitfaden zu EU-MwSt., OSS, IOSS, Zöllen und Rücksende-Steuern für Online-Händler, die grenzüberschreitend in Europa verkaufen.
Leitfaden zu EU-Zoll, VAT und IOSS für den E-Commerce
Ein praktischer Leitfaden zu EU-VAT, One-Stop-Shop, IOSS, Zöllen und der Abwicklung grenzüberschreitender Retouren beim Verkauf an europäische Verbraucher.
OSS, IOSS und lokale USt. bei der E-Commerce-Expansion in die EU
Die grenzüberschreitende Expansion in Europa erfordert eine klare Steuerstrategie. So wirken OSS, IOSS und lokale USt.-Registrierungen beim Versand an EU-Verbraucher zusammen.
EU-Zölle und die 150-Euro-VAT-Schwelle
Der Online-Verkauf über EU-Grenzen hinweg erfordert einen klaren Überblick über die 150-Euro-Schwelle, IOSS, OSS und Zölle.
EU-E-Commerce-Retouren: So handhaben Sie VAT und Zoll, ohne doppelt zu zahlen
Die Rücksendung grenzüberschreitender Bestellungen in Europa löst oft unnötige VAT- und Zollkosten aus. So bewahren IOSS-Anpassungen, die Rückwarenbefreiung und lokales Retouren-Routing Ihre Margen.
EU-VAT und IOSS, erklärt für E-Commerce-Verkäufer
Die VAT-Reformen von 2021 haben verändert, wie jedes Paket unter 150 Euro in die EU gelangt. Hier ist, was IOSS tatsächlich ist, wann Sie es brauchen und wer es einreicht.