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SHIPTALLY / FIELD GUIDE

Incoterms® for ecommerce and marketplace sellers

The customer sees one delivery promise. Behind it sit the carrier, customs declaration, tax bill and returns process.

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The checkout promise must match the border reality

If a customer expects a delivered price, surprise duty, tax or carrier fees are a customer-experience failure even when the sale contract technically allows them. Match the Incoterm/delivery promise to the tax model, carrier service and returns process.

Start with the customer promise

If checkout says “duties and taxes included”, the operational instruction must actually prevent the customer being billed at delivery. If the customer is expected to import and pay charges, that needs to be clear before purchase. The three-letter Incoterm is only one part of that process.

Which terms matter

For parcel, courier, road, air and most multimodal ecommerce movements, focus on the any-mode rules: EXW, FCA, CPT, CIP, DAP, DPU and DDP. DAP and DDP are common comparison points because they split import responsibility very differently, but they are not the only choices.

FAS, FOB, CFR and CIF are sea/inland-waterway rules built around vessel delivery. Do not drop “FOB” or “CIF” into a parcel or air-freight quote just because the supplier uses the phrase commercially.

The mode still matters

A courier shipment may move by road and air under one tracking number. A container may move by truck, vessel and truck again. A rail movement may finish by road. Use the Incoterm to define the sale-contract hand-off, then use carrier instructions and transport references to control the physical legs.

Tax collection is not the same as import responsibility

Marketplace VAT collection, low-value rules, carrier duty billing and importer-of-record requirements are separate questions. A platform collecting tax does not automatically mean every customs obligation has moved to the platform or seller. Check the transaction type and destination rules.

Plan the return before the first sale

Cross-border returns can create a second customs movement, new carrier charges and evidence requirements. Decide who pays return carriage, how the goods are described on re-entry and what happens to refunded duty or tax before you promise “free international returns”.

Pre-launch check

  • Customer-facing delivery promise matches carrier duty/tax billing.
  • Incoterm, version and named place are written down.
  • Transport mode and hand-off point fit the selected rule.
  • Importer/exporter and customs intermediary are identified.
  • VAT/marketplace treatment has been checked separately.
  • Rejected deliveries and returns have an owner and a cost.

Check the delivery promise before publishing it

Open the Incoterms® checker

Official sources

LAST REVIEWED / 03 OCT 2026

Customer law, marketplace terms, carrier services and destination tax rules can change independently. Check the live sources for the route you are selling into.