Customs valuation

Transaction value is adjusted for items such as selling commissions, packing costs, assists (moulds or materials you supplied to the factory) and royalties. Each country chooses whether freight and insurance to the import point are included: Korea, for example, adds them (a CIF-type value), while the US excludes costs of the international shipment. If transaction value cannot be used, customs moves through five fallback methods in a fixed order.

Under-declared invoices are a common trap with Chinese suppliers. Customs can reject a value that does not match your real payments, and mould costs paid separately usually still count. See how to calculate landed cost.