Customs Valuation and Determination of Dutiable Value
Iran's valuation rules follow the WTO transaction-value approach. The primary method is the transaction value - the price actually paid or payable, adjusted by additions (commissions, brokerage, packing, royalties as conditions of sale, assists, and transport/insurance to the place of importation as the law requires) and deductions where included. When transaction value cannot be used, the fallback sequence applies: identical goods, similar goods, deductive value, computed value, then fallback.
Know which adjustments are additions versus deductions, and that the value must be adjusted for related-party transactions that influence price. Currency conversion uses the applicable official rate at the relevant date.
Traps: adding items that are not legally additions (e.g., post-importation costs, buyer's own costs not required by the seller); forgetting to deduct items included in the price that belong outside the customs value; and using fallback before the sequential methods are exhausted. Related-party pricing is a classic trap.
Rule of thumb: build the customs value as a bridge: start with price paid or payable, add legally required additions, subtract legally permitted deductions, then convert currency. Apply fallback only after methods 1–5 fail.
Worked example: invoice 10,000; buyer pays a selling commission of 500 (addition); price includes 300 of post-import inland transport (deduction). Customs value = 10,000 + 500 − 300 = 10,200 before currency conversion.