GLOSSARY
Transaction Value
The price actually paid or payable for the goods, plus prescribed adjustments. The primary method of customs valuation under WTO Valuation Agreement Article 1, used in ~93% of declarations globally.
Transaction value is the customs-valuation method codified in Article 1 of the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement: the duty base is the price actually paid or payable for the goods sold for export, plus statutorily-defined additions (assists, royalties, packing) and minus permitted deductions. It applies in about 93% of customs declarations; only when transaction value can't be established do alternative methods (transaction value of identical / similar goods, deductive, computed, fall-back) apply in the prescribed sequence.
Why it matters
Most valuation disputes turn on what additions (royalties? assists? buyer commissions?) belong in the transaction value, and on whether related-party pricing satisfies the "circumstances of the sale" test. Getting valuation wrong creates duty under-payment liability and AEO risk independent of the HS classification being right.
Related terms
- WTO Valuation Agreement
- Related-party Sale
- Royalties and Licence Fees
- Computed Value