Justin
A separate tooling invoice does not establish that the amount can be left out of US customs value. Trace who made and supplied the tool, who received the payment, and what the parts price already includes. Give those facts and any proposed allocation records to your customs broker; do not automatically call every seller payment an assist or add an amount twice.
For a China sourcing order, the practical task is to connect the tool charge to the goods being entered. A purchase agreement can settle ownership without settling customs valuation. A supplier can also show a charge on a separate invoice without explaining whether that charge is already recovered through the unit price. Build that record before asking the broker to determine the treatment.
Key Takeaways
- Record who made and supplied the tool, not just whose name appears on its ownership tag.
- A payment to the parts seller for seller-made tooling raises a different question from a buyer-acquired tool furnished for production.
- Check whether the goods price already includes the amount before proposing any addition.
- A separate invoice, buyer ownership or a tool remaining in China does not establish an exclusion.
- Support any allocation question with the relevant production and pricing records; do not assume a standard formula applies.
- Mark missing evidence as HOLD and give the documented facts to the licensed US customs broker.
Follow the payment before naming the tool
Start with the parties and the transaction. Who manufactured the tool? Who sold it to the buyer? Who received the tooling payment? Who supplied the physical tool to the producer of the imported goods? These questions can have different answers. “Our mold” does not identify them.
O US valuation statute, 19 USC 1401a, defines transaction value around the price actually paid or payable and specified additions. Its definition of an assist includes tools, dies, molds and similar production items when the statutory buyer-supply and other conditions are met. Read those conditions together. The presence of a mold in a factory is not enough to classify the arrangement.
Keep two routes separate from the outset. In one, the seller fabricates tooling and the buyer pays that seller for it. In the other, the buyer acquires a tool separately and furnishes it to the goods producer free of charge or at reduced cost. Do not label the first route an assist simply because the tool is buyer-owned. Ask the broker to examine the seller payment as well as the tool’s role in production.
This is a documentation screen, not a determination of an entry’s value. It also does not resolve whether the parties are related, whether transaction value is available, or every possible addition or exclusion. Those questions can change the analysis and belong in the broker’s review.
Check what the goods price already includes
Put the tooling invoice beside the parts invoice and the agreed pricing schedule. The important connection is not whether the documents share an invoice number. It is whether the amount is already included in the price being declared for the imported merchandise, and what evidence supports that conclusion.
19 CFR 152.103(b) and (c) address additions, amounts not otherwise included, and the sufficiency of the information supporting them. That is a reason to reconcile records before proposing an adjustment. It is not permission to choose whichever invoice produces the lower value.
| Record | Question it should answer | If the connection is missing |
|---|---|---|
| Tool order and invoice | What was purchased, from whom, and for which tool or production project? | Request an itemized explanation; do not infer the contents of a generic “tooling” line. |
| Payment record | Who received the money, and which invoice or obligation did it settle? | Reconcile the payee and invoice before describing the payment route. |
| Parts quotation and price agreement | Does the agreed goods price include recovery of this same amount? | Ask for the pricing basis; a verbal “already paid” answer does not show inclusion. |
| Parts invoice and entry worksheet | Where is the amount represented in the value proposed for the shipment? | Flag a possible omission or duplicate addition for the broker. |
| Production and allocation records, if relevant | Which goods and production quantities are connected to the tool and proposed allocation? | Leave the allocation unresolved until the broker has sufficient support. |
Ask the supplier for an explanation that connects the documents, rather than a new invoice designed to remove an awkward charge. If an amount is already included, preserve the records demonstrating that inclusion. If the quotation and invoices disagree, record the disagreement and identify who can resolve it. Do not add the same amount again merely because it also appears on a separate document.
Keep seller payments and buyer-furnished tools distinct
The following examples are hypothetical document comparisons. They are not reported customer cases, CBP ruling holdings or approvals for a particular shipment. They deliberately leave the broker’s valuation conclusion open.
Example A: the parts seller makes the tool and receives the payment
A buyer orders custom housings from Factory A. Factory A makes the tool and issues a separate tooling invoice. The buyer pays Factory A, owns the tool under the agreement, and leaves it there for production. The goods quotation says nothing clear about whether the unit price includes the tooling charge.
Record “seller-made, paid to seller.” Do not convert that money payment into a buyer-furnished assist just by pointing to ownership. Give the broker the tooling agreement, invoice, payment record and goods-price terms so the payment’s relationship to the imported goods can be examined. The unresolved inclusion question remains HOLD; the tool’s location does not answer it.
Example B: the buyer acquires a tool and furnishes it to the producer
Now change the supply route. The buyer acquires the tool from an independent toolmaker and furnishes it to Factory A free of charge to make the imported housings. The tool still remains in China. The buyer has the acquisition invoice, but the records do not yet show whether its value is reflected in the proposed goods value.
Record “buyer-acquired and furnished for production.” This raises the statutory assist question, subject to the actual conditions and evidence. Supply the acquisition and delivery records, the production connection and the pricing evidence to the broker. Do not copy Example A’s description onto this arrangement merely because the same factory uses the tool.
The countercheck works in both directions: if the payment recipient or physical supply route changes, reopen the record. The worksheet should describe what happened, not force two different transactions into one convenient label.
Take a supported allocation question to the broker
Once the relevant amount and its treatment have been assessed, the question may include how it relates to the goods being entered. The regulation’s assist provisions discuss valuation and reasonable apportionment in their stated circumstances. They do not establish a universal spreadsheet formula for every separately billed tooling payment.
Prepare the proposed production basis, the goods using the tool, the relevant quantities and any earlier amounts already accounted for. Preserve the assumptions and supporting records. If the expected production changes, ask the broker whether the existing basis still applies; do not silently change a denominator to reduce the next shipment’s value.
Where the tool serves different products or destinations, identify that fact rather than spreading its cost across all purchases by default. If a prior shipment already included an amount, show the corresponding entry record. These records help the broker assess the appropriate treatment; this article does not select an allocation method, duty rate or correction procedure for your entry.
Send a complete tool-value handoff packet
Use one record for each identified tooling arrangement. Link to the underlying documents and name the person who can obtain a missing item. A completed worksheet is a handoff for review, not a customs approval.
- Identify the tool and goods. Record the tool reference, parts or product references, goods producer and intended US import transaction.
- Trace the payment and physical supply. Name the toolmaker, tool seller, payment recipient and person supplying the tool to the producer; attach the corresponding records.
- Reconcile price inclusion. Compare the tooling invoice, payment record, parts price agreement and proposed entry worksheet; identify where the amount is already represented or remains unexplained.
- Collect any allocation support. Identify the relevant goods, production basis and prior accounting records without assuming a method is approved.
- Mark missing evidence as HOLD. Name the document owner and the question still open; send the supported packet to the licensed US customs broker for assessment.
| Field | Evidence reference | Document owner and unresolved question |
|---|---|---|
| Toolmaker, tool seller and payee | Tool agreement, invoice and payment record | Name the buyer or supplier contact; resolve inconsistent party names. |
| Buyer supply or seller manufacture | Acquisition and tool delivery or manufacture records | Name the party able to confirm the physical supply route. |
| Goods-price inclusion | Parts quotation, price agreement and invoice | Name the pricing contact; identify any amount whose inclusion is not evidenced. |
| Proposed entry treatment | Broker worksheet and relevant prior entry records | Licensed customs broker; classification of the payment and any allocation remain for review. |
| Handoff status | Document list and open-question log | HOLD when a required connection is unsupported; do not substitute a guessed answer. |
For sourcing support, identify the product, supplier, order and destination, then ask whether the supplier’s invoice, pricing breakdown and relevant production records can be obtained. Ask whether supplier documentation can be obtained. Availability depends on the actual order and supplier; this enquiry does not offer customs brokerage, a legal valuation opinion or CBP release.
Conclusão
The risky shortcut is to treat separate billing as a complete answer. Keep the payment route, tool supply, unit-price inclusion and supporting records together. If a connection is missing, retain HOLD and give the open question to the customs broker before relying on an unsupported customs-value treatment.
Perguntas mais frequentes
Does a separate tooling invoice exclude the cost from customs value?
No. Separate billing alone does not resolve the customs-value treatment; the payment, tool supply and existing price inclusion must be checked.
Is every payment to a factory for tooling an assist?
No. Distinguish a payment to the seller from a tool acquired and furnished by the buyer, then have the customs broker assess the applicable treatment.
Should I add tooling again when it is already in the parts price?
Do not add the same amount twice. Preserve the invoice and pricing evidence so the broker can verify what is already included.
