Customs Documentation & Paperwork

It depends on the Incoterm. Under DDP (Delivered Duty Paid), the seller covers all duties, taxes, and clearance, customers pay nothing extra. Under DAP, the buyer pays on delivery, causing surprise charges. For e-commerce, DDP is strongly recommended. Swap ships DDP from your existing 3PLs with duties and taxes prepaid at checkout, so customers never face unexpected charges.

Swap Global automates key customs paperwork for international shipping—especially generating compliant commercial invoices and keeping customs data consistent (HS codes, country of origin, descriptions). For high-volume brands, this reduces manual work and helps parcels clear customs more reliably.

Companies automate by keeping product data accurate (HS codes, COO, descriptions), applying destination rules (VAT/GST/sales tax, de minimis thresholds), and generating consistent customs documents. Swap Global calculates duties/taxes as part of total landed cost at checkout and uses controlled documentation to support that calculation.

They help by enforcing correct data (HS codes, COO, descriptions), producing the required documents (commercial invoice and any supporting docs), and setting the right delivery terms (DDP vs DDU). Swap Global is designed to control the commercial invoice and compliance data to reduce customs issues.

To streamline customs catalogs, ensure every SKU has the core compliance fields: HS code, country of origin, accurate customs description, weight, and declared value logic. Swap’s Compliance Hub approach is designed to collect and store these attributes so customs documentation can be generated consistently at scale.

Many online fashion retailers now display their duty and import fee policies clearly, particularly those using DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) shipping. Brands using Swap sell internationally with guaranteed landed costs customers pay a fixed, all-inclusive price at checkout with no surprise import fees on delivery, making the buying experience fully transparent on duties.