Valuation

Valuation

  • Value of an Import after further processing overseas

    Question: We design and build complex machinery components (actuators, pumps, etc.) in the USA.  Much of the machining we do to create detail parts is done in-house, but we are looking to outsource some of that work.  We’re considering shipping some of our metal castings (valued at $500, for example) overseas for further processing – […]

  • Valuation of Returned Raw Materials and/or Finished Goods

    Question: If a company ships raw materials/finished goods as an inter-company sale and stores the goods in a warehouse for anywhere from a few months to years and decides to return the goods inter-company, what value are you declaring to customs?  For example: if the item was originally sent at an inter-company price of $100 […]

  • Racks value on commercial invoice

    Question: Hello members, We have a customer based in Mexico, asking about the Value of the racks on the commercial invoice. I know that our racks are part of the instruments of international traffic, as they are suitable for repeated use, only the carriers declare the information on their bond. I don’t know whether this […]

  • Allowable Deductions

    Question: For imports, if broken out on the commercial invoice, are origin CFS and terminal fees allowable deductions? I can’t find anything that specifically states yes or no. Answer 1: Yes, you can.  Here are the CBP rulings you need to look up.  In HQ H004683, dated April 12, 2007, CBP explained: Transportation and insurance […]

  • Customs Valuation SOP

    Question: Dear Members, I am working on customs valuation projects that also includes a customs compliance and transfer pricing between two of our business units (U.K and EU). I would like to ask what is the structure of your Customs Valuation SOP? What did you include? Any reference online for structure? I would be very […]

  • Freight and Insurance Charge

    Question: Our customer accidentally combined an FOB and CIF order in the same container. There are two commercial invoices, one is CIF and one is FOB. The CIF invoice is showing 1552.50 for freight and 25.40 for insurance. They included an additional invoice for half the freight and insurance charges when they realized their mistake […]

  • Value of carrier medium

    Question: We ship software licenses on pieces of paper.  These are for our proprietary company software.  In the past, before I got here, they would declare the customs value of the shipment as the value of the license itself (say, $3000).But I’ve always followed the practice that you declare the value of the carrier medium […]

  • US Sale drop shipped from China

    Question: The import scenario is such that we have a sale of hardware and software programming from US seller to unrelated US buyer.  The hardware is drop shipped from the Chinese manufacturer to US buyer.  The commercial invoice includes the price of the hardware and the price of the software that will be programmed and […]

  • Fair Market Value of Promotional Items

    Question: The supplier has shipped promotional items (pens, brochures, flash disks, baseball caps, scale) into a shipment that must be declared to CA Customs. The supplier has provided their view of the fair market value, but is there a valuable tool/resource to use when determining the appropriate market values to ensure the correct amount of […]

  • Assist? – Export and re-Import valuation

    Question: We are a trading company and we have an inquiry from a customer here to send the steel plates (HTS CODE 8543.30.9080) to a steel plant to process the coating. After the coating process, the steel plates will be sending back to our customer in USA. Here comes the questions, What is the correct […]

  • Repairable Part Customs Value

    Question: My company imports airplane parts to the US that need repair. What value would you declare for these parts? They are not usable so I don’t think we should declare them at their purchase price, but do you declare them at their repaired price? Answer 1: There are a number of rulings by CBP […]

  • Value for Customs Purposes only

    Question: We plan to export some equipment to an unrelated party in Chile.  We want to send it to this customer free of charge.  We do not expect to be paid by the recipient in Chile.  We intended to include the phrase “Value for customs purposes only” on the commercial invoice. We just received notification […]