The customs value is the base on which your import taxes are calculated. It starts from the price actually paid for the goods and is adjusted with the items the law requires you to add, known as additions, when they were not already included in that price.
How it is built
The primary method is transaction value: what you paid, documented on the invoice. On top of that go additions such as packing, certain commissions and, depending on the incoterm, the freight and insurance up to the point of entry. That is why the same product bought EXW or CIF builds its taxable base from different components.
Why it matters when importing from China
On every customs entry. Declaring the value correctly determines how much you pay and, above all, how much risk you carry: undervaluation is one of the practices authorities pursue hardest, with reference prices in sensitive sectors and consequences ranging from guarantees to seizure.
The common mistake
Being tempted by the “adjusted” invoice a supplier offers to lower your taxes. The saving is small next to the exposure: the difference gets collected with interest and penalties, and undervalued goods do not properly prove their legal status. Declare the full value with its additions, and find savings in freight and operations, not in the taxable base.
Want the real landed cost before committing? Write to us and we build it with our logistics from China.
