Valuation Tariff

Summary of Valuation Tariff

A customs tariff in which ad valorem duties are applied not on the sale or commercial value of the merchandise, but on a nominal value for the product prescribed by governmental authority. For example, sheet steel might carry a duty of 5 percent ad valorem, but the tariff prescribes that the value for duty shall be $30 per ton, irrespective of the actual sale price of the goods. In this case, sheet steel will always pay a duty of 5 percent of $30, or $1.50 per ton. Ad valorem duties in valuation tariffs are, effectively, specific duties.

(Main Author: William J. Miller)