Transaction Value

Customs

The primary customs valuation basis under WTO rules — the price actually paid or payable for goods sold for export.

Sources

1. World Customs Organization — What is Customs Valuation? wcoomd.org accessed 17 September 2026

The WCO states the method directly: transaction value is “the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the country of importation, plus certain adjustments of costs and charges”. Two parts of that sentence carry the weight. Sold for export — there must be a sale, which is why free samples, consignment stock and intra-company transfers without a sale fall outside the method. And plus certain adjustments — the invoice price is the starting point, not the answer. The WCO also notes that “more than 90% of world trade is valued on the basis of the transaction value method”, which is why the alternative methods, though they exist in a set order, are rarely reached.

Related terms

• Advance Authorisation
• Anti-Dumping Duty
• ATA Carnet
• Authorised Economic Operator
• Bill of Entry
• Binding Tariff Information

From the AJG lexicon archive (July 2026).