On 4 January 2013, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (‘CITT') issued its reasons for the landmark decision in
Jockey Canada Company v. President of Canada Border Services Agency (‘
Jockey')
respecting Canadian customs valuation compliance in related party
cross-border transactions. The CITT's reasons provide valuable guidance
to multinational companies relating to: (1) the importer's burden of
proof to establish the correctness of declared values for duty,
particularly as it relates to the nature of the sale for export (i.e.,
which party is the vendor in the sale for export to Canada), (2) the
applicability of the transaction value method of customs valuation, as
opposed to alternative methods of valuation, when pricing between a
related party vendor and the purchaser in Canada is based on a formulaic
transfer pricing policy, and (3) the permissibility of downward
adjustments to the price paid or payable to account for post-importation
adjustments made in accordance with an accepted transfer pricing
policy. (2013 Wolters Kluwer)
Global Trade and Customs Journal, Volume 8, Issues 7&8, pp. 209-216