Duty and VAT paid before it leaves China.
Your consignee is never asked to pay at the door. We settle customs duty and VAT before dispatch and clear with Arabic documentation, so the parcel that arrives is the parcel that gets released.
What DDP actually changes
Under DDP we remain responsible for the goods until delivery, including clearance and the taxes due.
Under buyer-pays terms, the consignee is contacted on arrival and asked to settle duty and VAT before the parcel is released. In the Gulf that call is frequently not answered — the number is wrong, the person is travelling, or the amount was never expected.
The parcel then sits in a clearance yard while storage accrues daily, and the delivery date moves further out every day it sits there. Storage is charged against the consignee, and the freight is already paid.
| Under DDP | Under buyer-pays terms | |
|---|---|---|
| Who clears the goods | We do, as importer of record | The consignee, or a broker they have to find |
| Who pays duty and VAT | We do, before dispatch | The consignee, on arrival |
| What the consignee pays at the door | Nothing | Duty, VAT, storage and a clearance fee |
| If they cannot be reached | Not applicable — the goods are already cleared | Storage accrues, then the goods are returned or destroyed |
| What you know in advance | One number, before you commit | An estimate, plus whatever arrives later |
The numbers that decide a Saudi landed cost
Customs is administered by ZATCA and declared through the FASAH single window. Four numbers do most of the work.
| Charge | Rate | How it is calculated |
|---|---|---|
| VAT | 15% | On CIF plus customs duty — the duty is taxed too |
| Customs duty | 5% standard | On CIF. Textiles 15–25%, tobacco up to 100%, books and medical devices 0% |
| ZATCA fee | 0.15% | Of CIF, capped at SAR 500 per declaration |
| Personal exemption | SAR 1,000 | Duty-free below this value; VAT still applies |
The line most quotes get wrong
VAT is charged on CIF plus duty, not on the goods value alone. A quote that adds 15% to the invoice understates the tax by roughly a third of the duty amount — small on one carton, material on a pallet.
Duty rates follow the HS code. We confirm the classification before you commit, not after the goods reach the port. Full detail is on the Saudi Arabia page.
SABER is the step that stops most first shipments
Goods covered by Saudi technical regulations need two certificates through the SABER platform before they arrive. Without both, the shipment is refused release.
PCoC — Product Certificate of Conformity
Registered against a product or product family, issued by an approved conformity assessment body. It proves the product itself meets the applicable Saudi technical regulation.
You obtain this once per product, before the first shipment. It is not issued per order and cannot be created at the port.
SCoC — Shipment Certificate of Conformity
Issued per consignment against the PCoC, after the invoice and packing list are known. It is the document the customs broker actually presents.
A missing SCoC is the single most common reason a Saudi shipment is held. There is no negotiation at the counter.
Electronics, electrical equipment, toys, building materials, children’s products and most consumer goods are covered. A 2026 revision to SABER product-code mapping moved a number of categories, so a certificate issued last year may need re-registering before this year’s shipment.
Four agencies, four different approvals
In Saudi Arabia, “approved” means approved by a specific body for a specific thing. A certificate from the wrong agency is not a weaker certificate — it is the wrong document.
| Agency | Covers | Registration basis |
|---|---|---|
| SASO / SABER | Product conformity for goods under Saudi technical regulations | Per product family |
| CST | Telecoms and radio equipment | Per model and SKU — a new colour variant is a new registration |
| SFDA | Food, cosmetics, medical devices and health products | Per product, with facility registration |
| ZATCA / FASAH | The customs declaration itself | Per consignment, filed before arrival |
Air or sea, decided by the wrong number
People compare air and sea on freight per kilogram. The decision usually turns on something else.
| Mode | Transit from Guangzhou | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air, consolidated | 6–12 days door to door | Electronics, samples, apparel restocks, anything with a deadline | Volumetric weight: 1 CBM is charged as 167 kg |
| Sea LCL | 28–35 days + clearance | Furniture, homeware, orders above 3 CBM | Port congestion before Eid; per-CBM minimums |
| Sea FCL | 24–30 days + clearance | Full containers, repeat replenishment | Needs a full container of volume to be worth it |
DDP, answered plainly
If duty and VAT are prepaid, why does my consignee still get a call?
What happens if customs reclassifies the goods?
Do you ship to Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Jordan and Egypt?
Can I use my own freight forwarder for the international leg?
One number at the door. No second payment.
Tell us the goods and the destination, and we will quote duty and VAT the way customs calculates them — on CIF plus duty, not on the invoice value.