DAP

What does Delivered At Place (DAP) mean?

The term Delivered At Place (DAP) originates from international business and refers to the agreed place of delivery and destination in the importing country. In most cases, this is the destination terminal or place of the buyer. DAP means that the seller bears all costs and risks up to the agreed destination. Due to the seller's responsibility, the place of delivery must be defined as precisely as possible in order to avoid legal disputes or misunderstandings. The buyer, on the other hand, assumes both the unloading costs incurred and the risk of unloading. There are also delivery contracts which stipulate that the delivery only ends with unloading (often in the case of air freight), but the seller continues to bear the corresponding costs and risks.

DAP -the obligations of the seller

If the delivery is Delivered At Place, then the seller bears the sole responsibility for the delivery to the agreed location. Thus, he is responsible for all areas and process steps, from packaging and documentation to export licensing and transportation. Once the goods have arrived at the agreed location for unloading, the buyer assumes responsibility, including unloading and import customs clearance. According to A4, theseller must make the goods available on the arriving means of transport, unloaded but ready for unloading. DAP is suitable for all modes of transportation and transport.

Delivered At Place: IncotermsProvisions

The DAP provision belongs to the Incoterms and replaces the former clauses DES, DEQ, DAF and DDU since 2011. The Incoterms (International Commercial Terms) are voluntary clauses to determine customary contract terms in the international trade of goods. The Incoterms do not have the force of law and the use of the Incoterms in the contract (by specifying the abbreviation of the clause and the respective place) is voluntary. They only become part of the contract if they are explicitly included in the contract by both parties. For example, the following must be mentioned in the contract: "CIP according to INCOTERMS 2020", whereby the year refers to the respective version of the Incoterms.