8. Method I: Transaction value

8.13. Assists

Under Article 8.1(b), the value of goods and services the buyer supplies to the seller, directly or indirectly, free of charge or at reduced cost, for use in producing or selling the imported goods for export is added to the price, because the seller would not have included their cost. These are often called production or sales assists, though this term is not used in the Agreement.

Assists in Article 8 consist of:

•     Materials, components, parts and similar items incorporated in the imported goods

•     Tools, dies, moulds and similar items used in producing the goods

•     Materials consumed in producing the goods

•     Engineering, development, artwork, design work, plans and sketches done outside the country of importation and needed to produce the goods

Note: An important exception 

Engineering, development, artwork, design work, plans and sketches carried out within the country of importation are not added, an exception meant to encourage development work in the country of importation.

 

Example

An importer of shirts supplies bolts of material to the shirt manufacturer (the seller) free of charge. The cost of the material, the cost of the transporting it from the country of importation to the country of manufacture, and any taxes on its export or its import into the country of manufacture all form part of the Customs value of the shirts.

This is an example of the first kind of assist.

Valuation of assists

If the assist was…

Value to add

Supplied free of charge

The full value of the assist

Supplied at reduced cost

The full value, minus any amount the seller paid

Acquired from a party not related to the importer

The cost to acquire it

Produced by the importer or a related person, or bought from a related source

The cost to produce it