For goods imported from third countries into the customs territory of the European Union (EU), a customs value is determined when the customs declaration is made. The customs value reflects the value of the goods when they enter the customs territory of the Union. It has a significant influence on how high the import duties are for the imported goods.

In addition to the invoice price of the goods, the customs value may or may not include the following components:

• additions and/or
• deductions and/or
• split-off purchase price components

Additions are costs that are not included in the invoice price of the goods but are also paid by the buyer. These include for example:

• Transport costs
• Insurance costs
• License fees

Deductions are payments made by the buyer by paying the invoice price for the goods, but which are not included in the customs value. These include, for example:

• Transportation costs for the transport of goods after crossing the border into the customs territory of the European Union.
• costs of construction, erection and assembly of the goods (for example, industrial equipment) after importation.

In some cases, the purchase price of a good is made up of several components. In such cases, in addition to the cost of the goods, costs are also due for activities of the seller that are connected with the delivery of the goods. These activities are called "split-off purchase price components". Examples are:

• Certification and analysis costs (costs of testing goods to ensure that the imported goods meet contractually specified safety standards and quality requirements) or,
• Advertising costs (for example, costs of creating advertisements and TV and radio spots).

If additions, deductions and split-off purchase price components cannot be finally determined at the time of the customs declaration, lump sums can be used as an alternative. The lump sums are then included in the customs value instead of the exact amounts or are not included in the customs value. This is known as a simplification. These simplifications only apply to customs valuation using the transaction value method. If you want to make use of this, you must submit an application.