Advertising, Marketing and Promotional (AMP) Expenses in Customs Valuation

Customs duties are an important aspect of international trade and compliance is mandatory for all companies and organisations engaged in overseas business. These customs duties generate revenue to the importing state and no link is needed between the two parties of different countries for the importing state to levy duty. Primarily, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) Article VII and Customs Valuation Rules, 2007, govern customs valuation in India and lay down the standards regarding transaction value, related party transactions and ‘price paid or actually payable’. Each of these authorities will be explained in this paper, along with recent rulings of Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) and a comparative analysis of India with customs valuation in other jurisdictions, such as USA, Canada and the European Union. The objective of this paper is to establish whether advertising, marketing and promotional expenses should be included in the ‘price actually paid of payable’ of the goods or services imported. The considerations affecting this analysis are twofold: the extent of the term, ‘post-importation expenses’ and the nature of ‘buyer’s own account’. Further, the researcher will study the observations of the Technical Committee on Customs Valuation. Even though various technical terminologies are involved in the study of this issue, the finer nuances will be delineated carefully throughout the paper.