How do I interpret UPS shipping label billing codes?
Learn how to interpret and generate UPS billing codes, and where to find them on your shipping label.
This document will explain the different billing options available when creating a UPS label for your cross-border shipment.
When you print your UPS international shipping label, there will be a billing code on it to show the billing option that applies to that shipment. The billing code explains who is responsible for the payment of shipping charges, duties, and taxes for that order. The table below explains each billing code option used by UPS, along with an explanation of how it works in general, and in relation to Zonos.
Terms to know
DAP/DDU - Delivered at Place/Delivered Duty Unpaid
DDP - Delivered Duty Paid
| Billing code | Description | Additional notes/Zonos examples |
|---|---|---|
| P/P TPR (Pre-paid/Third party) | The shipper (online retailer) pays the shipping charges and a third party (like Zonos) pays the duties and taxes. | A “Duties and Tax Forwarding Surcharge” is applied whenever the shipper requests that the duties and taxes be billed to themselves or a third party, regardless of geolocation. The third party’s UPS account number is required.
UPS Ground labels will not reflect this billing option.
Eg. For Zonos
Landed Cost Guarantee customers, Zonos is the third party paying the duties and taxes on behalf of the customer. This also can occur when
drop/blind shipments are generated.
|
| F/D (Free Domicile) | The shipper collects and pays the duties and taxes on their own (DDP shipment). | E.g. The online retailer uses Zonos Landed Cost to calculate duties and taxes, but Zonos does not pre-collect them. |
| P/P (Pre-paid) | The shipper pays the shipping costs and the receiver pays the duties and taxes (DDU shipment). | There will be instructions for the carrier to collect payment of duties and taxes from the receiver upon delivery (Collect on Delivery: COD). E.g. The online retailer uses Zonos Landed Cost calculator to calculate landed cost, but still sends this shipment without the prepayment or collection of duties or taxes. |
| F/C (Freight Collect) | The receiver pays all of the charges (DDU shipment). | E.g. The online retailer uses Zonos Landed Cost but still sends the shipment DDU. This is rare because the online retailer would have to require the consumer to enter their carrier account number (if they have one), which seldom happens. |
| SDV (Split Duty and VAT) | The online retailer bills freight and duty to one party and the tax/VAT to another. | E.g. The online retailer uses our Landed Cost but bills duty and freight to one party and tax to another party on their own. This is the rarest option. |
Still have questions?
View our additional documentation on how to interpret UPS shipping label billing codes.