Carra Globe Global Customs & Compliance Services

If you have ever shipped goods internationally and had your cargo held at the border, you are not alone. Customs holds are one of the most expensive and frustrating problems in global trade — and most of them are completely avoidable. The root cause in the majority of cases? The shipment was booked under DDP terms, but the provider did not actually execute DDP. They executed something cheaper, left out critical steps, and left the compliance exposure sitting with the shipper or the buyer without disclosing it. This post explains what DDP shipping actually is, why it fails so often, what it costs when it goes wrong, and what to look for in a provider that can genuinely deliver it. What Does DDP Mean in Shipping? DDP stands for Delivered Duty Paid. It is defined under Incoterms 2020, the international rules published by the International Chamber of Commerce that govern how risk and responsibility are divided between buyers and sellers in international trade. Under DDP, the seller takes o...

Let me ask you something. When was the last time you confirmed every compliance item on a shipment before the freight booking was placed, not after? If you had to think about it, this post is for you. Customs holds are expensive. At Rotterdam they cost EUR 80 to EUR 150 per container per day. At Los Angeles a single inaccurate ISF filing costs USD 10,000. At Mumbai's JNPT, demurrage charges start running the moment the vessel berths, regardless of whether you know about the problem yet. The good news is that most holds are preventable. Carra Globe just published a complete Customs Compliance Checklist 2026 that covers every compliance area, for every industry, across 14 key markets. What Markets Does It Cover? All 14 of the major import destinations where compliance gaps most frequently cause holds: China — Hong Kong — Malaysia — Thailand — Indonesia — Philippines — Singapore — India — Vietnam — Mexico — Netherlands — Belgium — Italy — Australia For each country...