Which international organization administers the rules for customs valuation?

The World Trade Organization administers the multilateral rules for customs valuation through its Agreement on Implementation of Article VII of the GATT 1994.

Customs valuation determines the value assigned to imported goods for calculating duties and taxes. The WTO agreement generally gives priority to the transaction value, meaning the price actually paid or payable for goods sold for export, subject to specified adjustments and conditions.

If the transaction value cannot be accepted, the agreement sets out successive methods involving identical goods, similar goods, a deductive value, a computed value and a fallback method. This ordered system is intended to prevent arbitrary or fictitious customs values.

The World Customs Organization is often confused with the WTO in this area. The WCO develops customs standards and tools, while the WTO provides the binding multilateral trade agreement on customs valuation. The WTO agreement is also commonly called the Customs Valuation Agreement.