UNDER the present transaction value (TV) system, the duty base in valuing imported goods for customs appraisement purposes is the total payment made (or to be made by) the buyer to (or for the benefit of) the seller. The system is essentially transaction-based in the sense that it covers the price actually 'paid or payable' for the imported goods, regardless of whether the payments were done before, during or after importation. Accordingly, the TV of the imported goods is not necessarily equal to the invoice value, unless the invoice captures all the additions and payments made by the buyer to the seller.

The payments made by the buyer to the seller (or to third parties) after importation of the goods are usually checked by the Bureau of Customs (BoC) through its post-clearance audit system, a control mechanism done at the back end of the cargo clearance. The BoC, through its Post-Clearance Audit Group (PCAG), would procedurally review the agreements between the buyer and the seller, the terms and conditions of the sale, and the general circumstances surrounding the import transaction insofar as they affect the transacted price paid or payable, and the adjustments, if any, to the price paid or payable. Default areas for verification and examination are post-importation payments and charges incurred by the buyer.