The primary basis for determining the customs value is the transaction value as defined in article 26 of the law. Article 26 of the law must be read in conjunction with article 27, which provides, among other things, for adjustments to the price actually paid or payable, when certain specific elements which are considered to part of the customs value payable by the buyer are not included in the price actually paid or payable for the imported goods.
Article 27 also provides for the inclusion, in the transaction value, of certain services provided by the buyer to the seller in the form of specific goods or services rather than money.
Articles 28 and 33 inclusive set out the methods to be used to determine the customs value if this determination cannot be made by applying the provisions of article 26 of the law.
When the customs value cannot be determined by application of the provisions of article 26, the customs administration and the importer should normally work together to determine the value basis by application of the provisions of articles 28 or 29 of the law.
It may happen, for example, that the imitator possesses information concerning the customs value of identical or similar imported goods which is not directly available to the customs administration at the point of importation.
Conversely, the customs authorities may have information concerning the customs value of identical or similar imported goods to which the importer does not have easy access.
Consultation between the two parties will enable information to be exchanged, while respecting trade secrecy obligations, with a view to determining the correct basis for customs valuation.
Articles 31 and 32 of the law provide two bases for determining the customs value when this cannot be determined on the basis of the transaction value of the imported goods or of identical or similar imported goods.
Pursuant to article 31, paragraph 1 of the law, the customs value is determined on the basis of the price at which the goods are sold in their unaltered state or are imported into the Community to a buyer who is not related to the seller in the country of importation.
The importer also has the right, at his request, to have goods which have been worked or processed after importation valued in accordance with the provisions of article 31 of the law.
Under article 32, the customs value is determined on the basis of the calculated value. These two methods present certain difficulties and, for this reason, the importer has the right, under the provisions of article 30, to choose the order in which the methods will be applied.
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