The 15-Second Definition
A customs assist is something an importer provides to a foreign manufacturer, directly or indirectly, for use in producing or selling the imported goods, without fully reflecting its value in the price paid to the manufacturer.
Examples can include materials, components, tools, molds, dies, or artwork used to produce the imported merchandise.
When an assist meets the requirements under U.S. customs valuation rules, its value may need to be added to the price paid or payable when determining the customs value of the imported goods.
Why It Matters
An assist can increase the customs value of imported goods even though the related cost does not appear on the foreign supplier’s invoice.
This matters when an importer provides production inputs to a supplier at no charge or for less than their full value. The importer may have paid for those inputs separately, but they can still affect the value reported to U.S. Customs.
For apparel and textile businesses, this can arise when a buyer supplies materials, components, patterns, designs, or other production inputs that the overseas manufacturer uses to make the finished goods.
The result is that the cost of producing or supplying a product and the value declared for customs purposes don’t always align automatically.
How It Works
When an importer provides an assist to a foreign manufacturer, its value may need to be allocated across the imported goods that benefit from it.
The amount added to customs value depends on the type of assist and the circumstances of the transaction. For example, a material supplied by the importer may be valued based on its cost, while certain tools or molds may be allocated over the production they support.
The importer is responsible for maintaining records that establish the assist’s value and how that value was allocated to the imported merchandise.
If the assist is provided by someone other than the importer, the valuation can involve additional considerations depending on who supplied it and how the transaction is structured.
In Practice
An apparel company provides a foreign manufacturer with $20,000 worth of custom fabric to produce 10,000 garments. The manufacturer charges the importer $8 per garment, but the fabric was supplied separately by the importer.
If the fabric qualifies as an assist, its value may need to be included in the customs value of the garments. The $20,000 would therefore be allocated across the applicable imports rather than ignored simply because it wasn’t included on the manufacturer’s invoice.
This is why an importer needs to look beyond the supplier’s invoice when determining the customs value of goods produced using buyer-provided inputs.
Documentation & Recordkeeping
Importers should maintain records showing what was provided, who provided it, what it cost, and how it was used in producing the imported goods.
Depending on the assist, relevant records can include purchase invoices, production agreements, bills of materials, tooling records, design documentation, and records showing how the assist was allocated across the imported merchandise.
The documentation should allow the importer to support both the existence and the value of the assist if CBP reviews the entry.
For businesses that regularly provide materials or production inputs to overseas suppliers, keeping this information organized from the start can make customs valuation substantially easier to support.
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