Is your company valuing its imports at the lowest permissible value for customs?
As the value of an imported good is the basis for calculating customs duties, the higher the value of the dutiable good, the higher the duty cost to a company. Consequently, planning around valuations of dutiable goods should be of keen interest to companies.
Furthermore, as more nations adopt the GATT valuation code for the valuation of imports, country-specific valuation rules have become more transparent. This development allows importers to exclude elements of a transaction from dutiable value, if they are separately identified and calculated in a supportable manner.
Opportunity: Planning around customs valuation to drive down duties
PricewaterhouseCoopers can assist your company in excluding certain elements of an import transaction from dutiable value and structuring transactions to achieve the permissible dutiable value on imports. Through a process, termed "unbundling", we can often exclude from dutiable value such elements as post-importation installation costs, product servicing, and certain royalties.
Additionally, decisions regarding the vendor-purchaser relationships, utilization of licensing and/or commission agreements, and/or furnishing of "assists" may also have material impact upon the dutiable value of the import merchandise. By structuring these elements to complement your overall tax strategy, we can obtain the results for our clients while ensuring that the strategies are in accordance with customs’ requirements.
