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Customs Value Calculator

Compute the dutiable value of an international shipment under the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement. Enter the price paid plus statutory additions and see the customs value applicable in the EU, UK, US, Canada, Malaysia and India side by side — with each jurisdiction's basis (CIF, FOB, transaction value) and formula.

Shipment details

Buying commissions, post-import transport, and import duty itself are not added to customs value.

Enter the price paid for goods to compute the customs value.

How the customs value is calculated

All major customs administrations follow the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, but the statutory adjustments to the transaction value differ. Use this tool to apply the right basis to each destination market.

  1. 1

    Enter the price paid or payable

    The transaction value — what the buyer paid or owes the seller for the goods. Use the invoice price in the currency of sale.

  2. 2

    Add international freight and insurance

    Enter the cost of transport and insurance to the destination port. These are included in the customs value for CIF jurisdictions (EU, UK, Malaysia, Canada at place of direct shipment) and excluded for FOB jurisdictions (US).

  3. 3

    Add WTO Article 8 statutory additions

    Include the value of buyer-supplied assists, royalties or licence fees that are a condition of sale, packing, and selling commissions. Buying commissions are NOT added.

  4. 4

    Read the side-by-side customs value by market

    The calculator returns the customs value applicable in the EU, UK, US, Canada and Malaysia, with the formula and basis for each so you can verify against the destination customs broker.

The six WTO valuation methods (in order)

The WTO Customs Valuation Agreement requires customs to apply these methods in strict order. Method 1 (transaction value) covers the vast majority of shipments. Methods 2–6 apply only when the prior method cannot be used.

Method 1Transaction value

The price actually paid or payable for the goods, adjusted under WTO Article 8 (freight, insurance, packing, assists, royalties, commissions). Used in over 90% of import filings worldwide.

Method 2Transaction value of identical goods

The customs value previously accepted for identical goods (same physical characteristics, quality and reputation, produced by the same person) sold for export to the same country at or about the same time.

Method 3Transaction value of similar goods

Same as Method 2, but for similar goods — alike in characteristics and component materials, capable of performing the same functions and commercially interchangeable.

Method 4Deductive value

Start from the unit price at which the goods (or identical/similar goods) are sold in the importing country to unrelated buyers in the greatest aggregate quantity, then deduct profit, general expenses, transport and insurance after import, and customs duties.

Method 5Computed value

Build up the value from the cost of materials and fabrication or processing, plus an amount for profit and general expenses normally reflected in sales of goods of the same class or kind, plus transport, loading, handling and insurance to the place of importation.

Method 6Residual / reasonable means

If none of the above methods can be used, customs determines the value using reasonable means consistent with the principles and general provisions of the agreement and Article VII of GATT 1994.

Customs valuation basis by country

All countries below follow the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, but the statutory additions to the transaction value differ. The basis tells you whether international freight and insurance are inside or outside the dutiable value.

Country
Basis
Notes
🇪🇺 European Union
CIF
Goods + international freight + insurance to first EU port. Article 70 UCC.
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
CIF
Goods + freight + insurance to UK port of entry. Mirrors EU practice post-Brexit.
🇺🇸 United States
FOB
Transaction value at port of export. International freight and insurance NOT added (19 CFR 152.103).
🇨🇦 Canada
FOB place of direct shipment
Value when goods leave the place of direct shipment to Canada. Some transport costs in the country of export are included.
🇲🇾 Malaysia
CIF
Customs Act 1967 / Customs (Rules of Valuation) Regulations 1999. Goods + freight + insurance to Malaysian port.
🇦🇺 Australia
FOB + uplift
Customs value is FOB at port of export, but transport and insurance are added back for GST calculation.
🇯🇵 Japan
CIF
Article 4 of Customs Tariff Law. Goods + freight + insurance to Japanese port.
🇮🇳 India
CIF + 1%
CIF value plus 1% landing charges; basic customs duty calculated on this dutiable value.
🇨🇳 China
CIF
Customs Law of PRC. Includes international freight and insurance to first Chinese port.

Once you have the customs value, plug it into the import duty calculator with the right HS code to get the duty owed, or use the landed cost calculator for the full delivered cost per unit.

Frequently asked questions

Definition of customs value, the WTO method hierarchy, what's added under Article 8, and country-by-country basis differences.

What is customs value?+
Customs value (also called dutiable value or assessed value for duty) is the value used as the basis for calculating customs duty on an imported shipment. In most countries it follows the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement transaction-value method: the price actually paid or payable for the goods, plus statutory adjustments (transport, insurance, royalties, assists, packing). The exact adjustments differ by jurisdiction — the EU and UK add freight and insurance to the place of import (CIF basis), the US uses transaction value to the port of export (FOB basis without international freight), and Canada uses the value at the place of direct shipment.
What is the difference between CIF and FOB customs value?+
CIF (Cost, Insurance and Freight) includes the goods price plus international freight and insurance to the destination port. FOB (Free On Board) includes only the goods price plus costs to the point of loading at the export port. The EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway, Australia, China, India and Malaysia all use CIF as the customs value base, so duty is calculated on a higher figure. The US uses FOB transaction value — international freight and insurance are excluded from the duty base. For the same $10,000 shipment with $500 freight and $50 insurance, the EU customs value is $10,550 (CIF) and the US customs value is $10,000 (FOB).
What costs must be added to the price paid to get the customs value?+
Under WTO Article 8, the following are added to the price actually paid or payable: (1) commissions and brokerage (except buying commissions), (2) the cost of containers and packing, (3) assists — materials, components, tools, dies, moulds, engineering or design supplied by the buyer for use in production, (4) royalties and licence fees the buyer must pay as a condition of sale, (5) the value of any part of the proceeds of resale that accrues to the seller, and (6) transport, loading, handling and insurance to the place of importation (CIF jurisdictions). Buying commissions, post-importation transport, post-importation construction or assembly, and import duties themselves are NOT added.
What if I cannot use the transaction value method?+
The WTO Customs Valuation Agreement specifies six methods to be applied in strict hierarchical order. Method 1 is transaction value (most common). If unavailable — for example, related-party sales not at arm's length, sales with conditions affecting price, or no transaction at all (samples, free-of-charge goods) — fall back to Method 2 (transaction value of identical goods), Method 3 (similar goods), Method 4 (deductive value from resale price minus profit and expenses), Method 5 (computed value from cost of materials, profit and overheads), and finally Method 6 (residual / reasonable means). The customs administration must apply the methods in order and document the reason for not using each prior method.
Is Malaysia customs value CIF or FOB?+
Malaysia uses CIF as the customs value basis under the Customs Act 1967 and the Customs (Rules of Valuation) Regulations 1999. The dutiable value includes the price paid for the goods, plus international transport and insurance up to the place of importation in Malaysia. Sales tax and import duty are calculated on this CIF value. Service tax (digital services) follows separate valuation rules.
Do I include import duty itself in the customs value?+
No — the customs value never includes the import duty itself. Import duty is calculated as a percentage of the customs value, so including duty would create circular reasoning. However, VAT (in the EU and UK) and sales tax (in many other countries) is calculated on customs value PLUS the import duty — that is, the duty becomes part of the VAT base, even though it is not part of the customs value base.