Valuation of Imported Goods

Establishing the Customs Value

The usual method for establishing the Customs value is by using the transaction value (the price paid or payable for the imported goods). Overseas freight and insurance charges are deducted if these charges are included in the transaction value.

 

Customs will accept the transaction value on these conditions:

• there must be a sale for export to New Zealand. Goods which have not been sold for export cannot be valued by this method (such as goods on consignment, or goods supplied free of charge)
• it must be shown that the transaction value has not been affected by any relationship between the importer and supplier.

Where the transaction value cannot be used, there are alternatives for determining the Customs value:

• identical or similar goods value – the transaction value of identical or similar goods sold for export to New Zealand
• deductive value – the sale price of the goods in New Zealand, adjusted for costs incurred after shipment
• computed value – the value based on cost of production, general expenses and profits in the country of origin relating to the imported goods
• residual valuation –the value determined by Customs, based on flexible interpretation of all the previous methods.

If transaction value does not apply to your goods, you will need to contact a Customs valuation officer to have a value determined using one of the alternative methods of valuation described above.

 

Note that goods may not be valued using:

• the price of similar goods produced in New Zealand
• the price of the same goods sold for export to another country or on the domestic market of the country of export
• minimum Customs values
• arbitrary or fictitious values.

For further information, see Customs Valuation of Imported Goods.

 

For the legal requirements for determining the transaction value of imported goods, see the Second Schedule to the Customs and Excise Act 1996.

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Exchange Rates

The Customs value is required in New Zealand dollars, so it may be necessary to convert the invoiced amount into the New Zealand dollar equivalent, using the exchange rate in force on the date the import entry or clearance document is lodged at Customs.

 

Exchange rates used by the New Zealand Customs Service are set for a two week period, and are published one week in advance in the Customs Release publication, available on subscription from our Publications Unit. (These rates may differ slightly from the currency rates published by overseas trading banks.)

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