Once you are UK VAT registered and selling on DDP terms, your invoicing changes, and getting it right is what keeps your VAT and your customs in step. This is the practical follow-on to DDP explained.
In short: once you are UK VAT registered and selling DDP, your sales invoices to UK customers must charge UK VAT (usually 20%) and show your UK VAT number, not be zero-rated as an export. Separately, you provide a commercial invoice for customs at the point of import, showing the value used to work out duty and import VAT. Keeping the two consistent keeps customs and VAT aligned.
Because the DDP sale to your customer is a UK domestic sale, you charge UK VAT on it. A UK VAT invoice needs to show the required details, including:
The key point: do not zero-rate the invoice as though it were an export. It is a UK sale, so UK VAT applies.
At import, a commercial invoice supports the customs declaration and the value on which duty and import VAT are worked out. This is a different document doing a different job from your VAT sales invoice, and the two need to be consistent: the customs value should reflect the same commercial reality as your pricing (see customs valuation), and the details on the commercial invoice should match the instructions provided to your customs agent.
We set your invoicing up so these do not happen, and we review your templates as part of getting you started.
Author: Amanda Bowles (VAT).
Reading time: about 3 minutes.
Sources (verified 12 Aug 2026): what a VAT invoice must show: VAT record keeping: VAT invoices; standard rate 20%: VAT rates.
Yes, once you are registered and selling DDP: it is a UK sale. Usually at 20%.
No. The commercial invoice supports the customs declaration; the VAT invoice is your sales document to the customer. They should be consistent.
Yes. We do this as part of setting you up.
If you want your DDP invoicing right from day one, contact our VAT team.
Senior Manager
VAT
Director
Head of Indirect Tax & HR
