ICC Policy Statement Transfer Pricing and Customs Valuation (2015)

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released the 2015 update of its policy statement on “Transfer Pricing and Customs Valuation” first issued in 2012. The statement supports companies that face the challenge of determining the appropriate related party valuation of goods in the context of disparity between governments’ customs and fiscal policies.

The frequent disparity between customs and tax regulations results in significant difficulties for international business and trade flows. ICC strongly believes that tax and customs examinations should yield the same value, and harmonization of transfer pricing and customs valuation between related parties in an international context is in the interests of all concerned. For this reason, ICC calls upon governments to ensure convergence of fiscal and customs valuation approaches by implementing the tangible proposals outlined in the ICC Policy statement.

The proposals put forward in the statement are designed to help simplify regulations for companies and administrations and also to clarify rules for both parties so as to reduce the negative financial impact linked to divergent valuation. The compliance costs of companies would be significantly reduced if tax and customs administrations were to accept and implement ICC’s proposals that would contribute to a more coherent approach to cross-border trade. These policies would also minimise the risk of penalties that result from opposing views between customs and tax authorities.

In February 2015 the policy statement has been offered to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Within the context of the G20 mandated OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) taxation project. The OECD is working on a revision of its transfer pricing guidelines and the ICC Statement will be helpful in this regard.

Furthermore, the policy statement will be included by the World Customs Organization (WCO) in the WCO’s Revenue Package, which provides guidance (tools and guidelines) to customs administrations around the world on their revenue collection. The WCO Revenue Package will be released in spring 2015.

A French translation of the policy statement will be released in April 2015.