This past week I attended a Custom Brokers and Forwarders Association Training in So. San Francisco. It was presented by George Tuttle who is a practicing attorney specializing in customs and international trade law. The topic of the session was Valuation. This has been one of the “sticky” points that I have encountered in shipping product/material internationally.  The appropriate value of the material is to be determined prior to shipment and stated properly on the shipping documentation with the appropriate paperwork to support the value that was determined.

Included in the value of the merchandise should be the transaction value /deductive value/computed value, the selling commission, assists, justification of intercompany transfer prices, royalties and license fees, CIF deductions if applicable. It is good to itemize the invoice and unbundle prices as much as possible, provide a good description on the invoice and maintain good recordkeeping. Discounts should be agreed on ahead of time and in writing on the invoice. These are just a few thoughts on helping to get your product/materials through Customs and on to the destination point.