Under provisions of the Union Customs Code (UCC) Customs Valuation Implementing Act (IA), the customs value is to be calculated using the last sale taking place prior to the goods being introduced into the European Union (EU).Draft guidance (limited to UCC IA provisions on Transaction Value and Royalties and License Fees) on the application of the new provision has been published by the EU Commission and may be accessed here. The guidance also explains a temporary measure (applicable until December 31st, 2017) allowing importers to honor their bona fide contracts in place as of January 18th, 2016 (time of entry into force of the new Regulation).Regarding transaction value, the guidance states, “The transaction value of the goods for export to the customs territory of the Union shall be determined at the time of acceptance of the customs declaration on the basis of the sale occurring immediately before the goods were brought into that customs territory.” This effectively eliminates the use of “First Sale”. The guidance provides several fairly detailed examples with diagrams of sales between various parties to help demonstrate which sale is relevant for the determination of the transaction value.