Customs Valuation in Canada

Aluin Gilchrist is a Vancouver-based Canadian government civil
litigation lawyer.

At the beginning of 1985, Canada changed from “fair market” to “transaction” as the basis of value for customs import duties. In the sort of transaction that creates valuation problems, even a small change in valuation is likely to mean many thousands of dollars profit or loss to an importer.

For her Ll.M. thesis at McGill, Maureen Irish wrote a very careful analysis of all reported “fair market” valuation litigation in Canada. There were problems whenever there was not much of a market for identical goods in the country of export. Some of those problems are perpetuated by the new legislation, mainly because it makes some exceptions to the “transaction value” rule. That is why Professor Irish expanded her thesis into this book, adding a discussion of some problems which she saw that the new system would cause.

Most lawyers know nothing about customs valuation and care less. Most non-lawyers will think that the subject-matter of this book is very difficult to understand. That means a very small market for this book; but if one advises Canadian importers, one cannot afford not to read it. I find it accurate and clear, a desk reference that is likely to continue to be useful for many years. CCH deserves our thanks for publishing a valuable book at a very reasonable price.