Customs Valuation & Landed Cost
Transaction Value
Also known as: Price Paid or Payable
Transaction value is the primary method of customs valuation: the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the country of importation, adjusted by adding certain elements not already included — such as packing, selling commissions, assists, royalties, and the cost of freight and insurance depending on the country's rules. It is favored because it reflects a real, arm's-length commercial price, but it can be rejected where the buyer and seller are related and the relationship influenced the price, or where conditions make the price unreliable, in which case an alternative method applies.
The price actually paid or payable, which is not the same as the number on the invoice. Anything you pay the seller as a condition of sale forms part of it, however it is described or whenever it is paid — including a separate transfer months later that nobody thought of as part of the price.
Where it matters for compliance
- Additions include packing, selling commissions, assists, royalties and proceeds of resale accruing to the seller.
- Payments made indirectly, or to a third party at the seller's direction, still count.
Related terms
Reviewed by a licensed customs broker. Definitions are general information, not legal or customs advice for a particular shipment. Duty rates, tariff programs and agency requirements change frequently.