Do separate mould fees increase customs value?
Yes. A separate payment to your Chinese factory for tooling used to produce imported goods belongs in their customs value, including a one-off payment. Keeping the tool overseas does not remove the cost. Include it once, allowing for any amount already in the goods price. Cambridge China Bridge can help assemble the factory paperwork.
A separate invoice does not exclude the payment
HMRC’s transaction value guidance expressly includes periodic and one-off payments to the seller for tooling used to produce the imported goods. Paying before production or receiving a separate mould invoice does not, by itself, keep the payment outside customs value.
Our customs value guide covers the wider additions and deductions. Here, the task is to reconcile the tooling payment with the finished-goods price and the amounts allocated to each shipment.
Check what the payment actually buys
Ask the factory to identify the mould or tool, the products it makes, the recipient of the payment and whether the finished-goods price includes any tooling recovery. Match that explanation to the quotation, tooling invoice and payment record.
A qualifying tool supplied directly or indirectly by the buyer free of charge or at reduced cost also brings its unincluded value into customs value. Leaving that tool at the Chinese factory does not remove the addition. Keep its location and production use separate from questions about ownership; see protecting your tooling.
Choose and document the allocation
HMRC’s detailed guidance allows equipment assists to be apportioned over goods produced or to be produced, with an allowance for goods not imported into the UK. It also describes declaring the full tooling cost at the first importation where the goods attract a positive duty rate calculated on their value. Ask your customs agent which treatment fits your imports.
Prepare a schedule showing the tooling cost, the production quantity used for allocation, the share attributed to UK imports and the amount included in each shipment. If quantities or destinations remain uncertain, flag that before clearance rather than silently choosing a forecast.
Avoid counting the same cost twice
HMRC requires additions only where they are not already included in the price. Reconcile the separate tooling invoice against the factory’s price breakdown before instructing your customs agent. A separate invoice is not proof that the finished-goods price excludes tooling.
Distinguish different tooling charges from duplicate recovery of the same charge. Ask the factory to explain any tooling element in the unit price, then record how much of the relevant cost is already included and what remains to add. Carry that reconciliation forward so a cost already declared in full is not allocated again.
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Give the customs agent a usable file
Send the quotation, tooling invoice, payment evidence, factory price breakdown and allocation schedule together. Identify the affected products and shipments. Ask the agent to show where the tooling amount appears in the valuation working, then compare it with the completed customs declaration.
Cambridge China Bridge’s staff in China can help obtain the factory’s explanation and supporting documents. Keep those documents alongside the customs agent’s working so the payment, embedded cost and shipment allocation can be traced without relying on memory.
Frequently asked questions
Does a one-off mould payment count for customs?
Yes, where it pays the seller for tooling used to produce the imported goods. HMRC expressly includes one-off payments. Include the relevant cost without adding an amount already included in the goods price again.
Does the mould count if it stays in China?
Yes. A qualifying tooling cost belongs in the customs value of the goods made with it even when the mould remains overseas. Its absence from the shipment does not exclude the cost.
Can I put all the tooling cost on the first import?
HMRC describes this option where the goods attract a positive duty rate calculated on value. Ask your customs agent to confirm its application and document the full inclusion before later shipments.
What if tooling is already included in the unit price?
Do not add the same cost again. Obtain the factory’s price breakdown and reconcile it with the separate payment. Add only the relevant tooling cost not already included.