Business, Forwarding, Freight News, Logistics


Reports of DDP death are ‘greatly exaggerated’

[ September 1, 2025   //   ]

Logistics provider Rhenus is advising UK businesses exporting Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) goods into the EU to prepare for new French VAT rules that will change how the Regime 42 import solution is applied to imports into the EU from 1 January 2026.

Regime 42 legislation defers the VAT businesses need to pay at the import stage to the destination EU member state. From January, non-EU companies using Regime 42 will no longer have access to the import procedure when using the services of a limited French tax representative.

Rhenus says companies should now consider the options available after that date which include registering for a French VAT number or transferring liability for limited tax representation to an EU business.

It warns that failure to adapt to the new regulations could cause problems and for some could mean a return to DAP (Delivered at Place) solutions.

Rhenus says that the new legislation aims to tighten EU VAT compliance but also introduces uncertainty for businesses. Companies that wait until late 2025 to act risk being unable to account for import VAT.

Rhenus UK customs manager, Rob Mulligan, said that Regime 42 would still be an option, but the way UK companies access it in France that will change.

He explained: “Working closely with our French partner, we have analysed the new legislation and its implications in depth. This has enabled us to develop a range of solutions for UK DDP exporters, which we believe will prove as popular and user-friendly as the outgoing Regime 42 solution.”

UK exporters can opt to apply for French VAT registration, enabling businesses to continue supplying EU customers on a DDP basis by clearing their goods into Regime 40.  This enables exporters to account for VAT directly with the French tax administration using the postponed VAT mechanism. 

But exporters that prefer the Regime 42 solution can still do so by transferring liability for the intra-EU VAT transfer to an EU business – whether owned or one the company is supplying.  Rhenus says it now offers this option in the form of the company’s DAP42 solution, alongside its existing Regime 40 offering to UK exporters.

Rhenus is already working with customers to implement a range of new solutions to ensure DDP shipment continuity into the EU. This includes reviewing existing supply chains, securing VAT registrations, and revising fiscal representation arrangements ahead of the January deadline.

“Compliance with the new legislation doesn’t need to be complicated or protracted – but it does need to start sooner rather than later. And that starts with speaking to exporters, so they can make informed decisions alongside their EU customers,” Mulligan concluded. “The deadline may feel far away, but businesses considering an application for VAT registration in particular should appreciate that it’s not an overnight process. The good news is that with early planning, these challenges are entirely manageable.”

Europa Worldwide, which says it pioneered DDP exports to Europe with its Europa Flow service says that its service will remain fully operational and unaffected by upcoming changes. Chief executive Andrew Baxter said that some of the information being circulated in the industry was incorrect and adding confusion to an already challenging regulatory landscape.

Europa has closely monitored the proposed legislative changes since it first went live in late 2024.

Baxter emphasised: “UK exporters retain full access to Regime 42 through Europa Flow’s DDP customs clearance solution, and this continuity has been verified by the regulatory experts who have supported us from day one.”

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