top of page

EU Customs Valuation Compendium: Essential Guide for Businesses

Discover the ins and outs of EU Customs Valuation by downloading the Customs Valuation Compandium of the EU. Learn how to declare the correct customs value and navigate complex rules.


Why customs value matters

Calculating customs duties and value-added tax (VAT) involves determining a percentage of the value of the goods being imported or exported. To ensure accuracy and consistency, clear rules need to be established for both economic operators and customs authorities. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has developed a Customs Valuation Agreement, which provides a universally accepted standard for measuring what constitutes value. This agreement helps to ensure fair trade practices and reduce disputes between countries.


It is crucial to accurately determine the value of imported goods for economic and commercial policy analysis, as well as for the proper collection of import duties and taxes. Additionally, import and export statistics rely on precise determination of the value of goods. The value of imported goods is one of the three factors used to assess the customs debt, which is the amount of duty that must be paid. The other two factors are the origin of the goods and the customs tariff. Once the value of the goods is determined, customs duties can be calculated with accuracy.


WTO Customs Valuation Agreement

The customs valuation legislation is based on the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, which was formulated under Article VII of the Agreement. The Agreement is available in three languages: English, French, and Spanish.


However, each WTO member must incorporate the WTO Agreement into their respective national customs legislation. In the European Union, this incorporation is done through the Union Customs Code, Delegated Act, and Implementing Act.


In addition to the WTO legislative texts, the WCO Technical Committee produces various tools that provide further guidance on interpretation and application at the international level. Customs administrations also develop tools to help them administer valuation matters effectively. At Customs Manager Ltd., we use all of these tools to ensure that our clients correctly apply the Customs Valuation rules.


About the Compendium

The Compendium provides valuable insights and guidance on interpreting and applying Customs Valuation legislation within the EU. It contains legal provisions and accompanying texts and was last published in consolidated form in 2022. Since then, there have been several rulings and conclusions adopted, and certain implementing provisions have changed. The Compendium also offers a summary of judgments made by the Court of Justice of the European Union.


Customs Valuation rules are fixed, but implementation is dynamic

Each import is unique and cannot be compared to another. Consequently, the relevant transaction contents cannot be standardized for customs value calculation. For instance, the purchase price may not be fixed at the time of import, or there may be no comparative values available for similar goods. The production processes in foreign countries may involve multiple tiers and involve follow-up processes from third parties.


Therefore, the customs valuation law must remain flexible and dynamic. The production, licensing, and procurement processes should be thoroughly documented and analyzed to ensure a proper and accurate customs valuation and calculation.


In summary, this compendium focuses on various customs methods that are vital for accurate customs valuation and calculation.


Six methods

There are usually six ways to work out the value of goods for Customs Duty, VAT calculations and trade statistics. They are covered by this guidance in detail.

https://www.customsmanager.info/post/customs-valuation-the-methods-described



2022 EU Customs Valuation Guidance


2022 EU Valuation Compendium EN
.pdf
Download PDF • 2.12MB



2021 EU Customs Valuation Guidance

EU Customs Valuation Compendium - provided by Customs Manager Ltd
.pdf
Download PDF • 2.43MB

EU Customs Valuation Guidance Document

guidance_valuation_en
.pdf
Download PDF • 768KB

2018 Compendium of EU Customs Valuation Texts

EU Compendium of Customs Valuation Texts
.
Download • 1.22MB

About Customs Manager Ltd.

We are on a mission to empower people with import, export and transport responsibilities with helpful advice, insightful training and relevant trade intelligence services. We offer consultancy and expert advice, training (live, in-house and on-demand), support for your import and export business and customs clearance/broker services into the UK (Great Britain) and Northern Ireland. We devote all our passion and energy to helping businesses grow faster cross-border. Working with us means having your own multilingual Customs Manager on standby to help you trade effectively, efficiently and, of course, compliantly, wherever you want to go in the world. We even file customs declarations for you.

Join us on social media

· YouTube

· Twitter

· Linked In

· LEAVE us a POSITIVE REVIEW ON GOOGLE

Hey, I got told I need to subscribe and pay to ready your expert blogs! Where is my free stuff?

Well, remember the old saying, there is no such thing as a free lunch! Expert content creation takes time and effort, not even mentioning the years of learning and studying the geeky subjects of customs, export controls and free trade agreements. So, if you like what we are doing, please help out and subscribe to our annual plan, allowing you to access expert content for a low price affordable to any business and any customs manager / global trade professional.

As a Premium Subscriber, you get VIP treatment and access to new, fresh content every week. You also get access to the entire library of advice, more than 400 blog entries and counting. We also monitor legislation for you and let you know of all the changes, so you never miss an important legal change. At the same time, you save valuable time by engaging our dedicated trade specialists to carry the monitoring out for them. Premium subscribers also unlock all other content on the Customs Manager’s Ltd. website, including our hubs and resources helping you to stay compliant in daily tasks. Being a paying subscriber provides you with vital thought leadership development to empower you to trade effectively, efficiently and, of course, compliantly, across borders. And if you want us to cover other countries than the EU, UK and a bit of the US, then just ask. Reach out in the chat or by email.


Important Notice

Customs Manager Ltd. owns the copyright in this information.

You are not allowed to use this information in any way that infringes the intellectual property rights in it. You may have to hold a valid licence to use this information. A licence can be obtained by becoming a Premium subscriber to the Customs Managers’ Trade Intelligence service. As a Premium subscriber, you may download and print this information which you may then use, copy or reproduce for your own internal non-profit-making purposes.

However, under no circumstances are you permitted to use, copy or reproduce this information with a view to profit or gain.

In addition, you must not sell or distribute this information to third parties who are not members of your organization, whether for monetary payment or otherwise.

This information is intended to serve as general guidance only and does not constitute legal advice. The application and impact of laws can vary widely based on the specific facts involved. This information should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal or other competent advisers. Before making any decision or taking any action, you should consult a Customs Manager Ltd. professional.

In no circumstances will Customs Manager Ltd, be liable for any decision made or action was taken in reliance on the information contained within this document or for any consequential, special or similar damages, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.


71 views0 comments
bottom of page