Under DPU the seller delivers the goods to the named destination and unloads them there, at its own cost and risk. The buyer clears import and pays duties and taxes.
DPU Delivered at Place Unloaded
Any mode of transport
| Step | DPU |
|---|---|
| Export packing and marking | Seller |
| Loading at the seller's premises | Seller |
| Export customs clearance | Seller |
| Transport to the port or terminal | Seller |
| Terminal charges and loading at origin | Seller |
| Main carriage (ocean or air freight) | Seller |
| Cargo insurance | Not required by the rule |
| Unloading at destination terminal | Seller |
| Transport to the named place | Seller |
| Unloading at the named place | SellerRisk passes to the buyer here |
| Import clearance, duties and taxes | Buyer |
DPU (Delivered at Place Unloaded) means the seller delivers when the goods have been unloaded from the arriving vehicle and placed at the buyer's disposal at the named place of destination. The seller pays and bears the risk of the transport and the unloading. The buyer clears import and pays duties and taxes. DPU works for any mode of transport and is the only Incoterms rule where the seller unloads at destination.
In Incoterms 2010 this rule was DAT (Delivered at Terminal), and the goods had to be unloaded at a terminal. Incoterms 2020 renamed it DPU so the place can be anywhere the goods can be unloaded: a terminal, a warehouse, a project site. If your contract still says DAT, it refers to the 2010 edition.
| Seller | Buyer |
|---|---|
| Arranges and pays all transport to the named place | Takes delivery once the goods are unloaded |
| Unloads the goods at the named place and bears the risk until then | Clears import and pays duties and taxes |
| Clears export and any transit | Pays costs caused by late import clearance |
| Provides the documents the buyer needs to take the goods | Makes sure the place can receive the goods |
A Chinese supplier ships a transformer "DPU Substation site, Km 14 Highway 7, Santiago, Chile, Incoterms® 2020". The supplier pays the sea and road transport and hires the crane that lifts the transformer off the trailer at the site. Once it is on the ground, the risk is the buyer's. The buyer's broker has already cleared the import.
Use DPU only when the seller can actually unload at the destination, with its own equipment or a hired crane, and is ready to carry that risk. If the buyer has forklifts, a dock and staff, DAP is simpler and cheaper, because the buyer unloads. If the seller should also pay the import duties, the rule is DDP, where the buyer unloads.
Whatever the rule, the seller provides a commercial invoice that names the Incoterm and place, and usually a packing list. For quotes before the order, use a proforma invoice with the same rule written on it.
DPU means Delivered at Place Unloaded. The seller transports the goods to the named destination and unloads them there, bearing the cost and risk until unloading is complete.
DPU replaced DAT. The new rule lets the place of unloading be any place, not only a terminal.
The buyer clears import and pays duties and taxes under DPU.
Under DPU the seller unloads the goods at the destination; under DAP the buyer unloads. In both, the buyer handles import clearance.