§ 1.1059A-1 — Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

26 CFR § 1.1059A-1

• Title: Title 26: Internal Revenue
• Part: Part 1: Income Taxes
• Source: eCFR (current through Mar 20, 2026)

Text

§ 1.1059A-1 Limitation on taxpayer's basis or inventory cost in property imported from related persons.

(a) General rule. In the case of property imported into the United States in a transaction (directly or indirectly) by a controlled taxpayer from another member of a controlled group of taxpayers, except for the adjustments permitted by paragraph (c) (2) of this section, the amount of any costs taken into account in computing the basis or inventory cost of the property by the purchasing U.S. taxpayer and which costs are also taken into account in computing the valuation of the property for customs purposes may not, for purposes of the basis or inventory cost, be greater than the amount of the costs used in computing the customs value. For purposes of this section, the terms controlled taxpayer and group of controlled taxpayers shall have the meaning set forth in § 1.482-1(a).

(b) Definitions—(1) Import. For purposes of section 1059A and this section only, the term import means the filing of the entry documentation required by the U.S. Customs Service to secure the release of imported merchandise from custody of the U.S. Customs Service.

(2) Indirectly. For purposes of this section, indirectly refers to a transaction between a controlled taxpayer and another member of the controlled group whereby property is imported through a person acting as an agent of, or otherwise on behalf of, either or both related persons, or as a middleman or conduit for transfer of the property between a controlled taxpayer and another member of the controlled group. In the case of the importation of property indirectly, an adjustment shall be permitted under paragraph (c)(2) of this section for a commission or markup paid to the person acting as agent, middleman, or conduit, only to the extent that the commission or markup: is otherwise properly included in cost basis or inventory cost; was actually incurred by the taxpayer and not remitted, directly or indirectly, to the taxpayer or related party; and there is a substantial business reason for the use of a middleman, agent, or conduit.

(c) Customs value—(1) Definition. For purposes of this section only, the term customs value means the value required to be taken into account for purposes of determining the amount of any customs duties or any other duties which may be imposed on the importation of any property. Where an item or a portion of an item is not subject to any customs duty or is subject to a free rate of duty, such item or portion of such item shall not be subject to the provisions of section 1059A or this section. Thus, for example, the portion of an item that is an American good returned and not subject to duty (items 806.20 and 806.30, Tariff Schedules of the United States, 19 U.S.C. 1202); imports on which no duty is imposed that are valued by customs for statistical purposes only; and items subject to a zero rate of duty (19 U.S.C. 1202, General Headnote 3) are not subject to section 1059A or this section. Also, items subject only to the user fee under 19 U.S.C. 58(c), or the harbor maintenance tax imposed by 26 U.S.C. 4461, or only to both, are not subject to section 1059A or this section. This section imposes no limitation on a claimed basis or inventory cost in property which is less than the value used to compute the customs duty with respect to the same property. Section 1059A and this section have no application to imported property not subject to any customs duty based on value, including property subject only to a per item duty or a duty based on volume, because there is no customs value, within the meaning of this paragraph, with respect to such property.

(2) Adjustments to customs value. To the extent not otherwise included in customs value, a taxpayer, for purposes of determining the limitation on claimed basis or inventory cost of property under this section, may increase the customs value of imported property by the amounts incurred by it and properly included in inventory cost for—

(i) Freight charges,

(ii) Insurance charges,

(iii) The construction, erection, assembly, or technical assistance provided with respect to, the property after its importation into the United States, and

(iv) Any other amounts which are not taken into account in determining the customs value, which are not properly includible in customs value, and which are appropriately included in the cost basis or inventory cost for income tax purposes. See § 1.471-11 and section 263A.

Appropriate adjustments may also be made to customs values when the taxpayer has not allocated the value of assists to individual articles but rather has reported the value of assists on a periodic basis in accordance with 19 CFR 152.103(e). When 19 CFR 152.103(e) has been utilized for customs purposes, the taxpayer may adjust his customs values by allocating the value of the assists to all imported articles to which the assists relate. To the extent that an amount attributable to an adjustment permitted by this section is paid by a controlled taxpayer to another member of the group of controlled taxpayers, an adjustment is permitted under this section only to the extent that the amount incurred represents an arm's length charge within the meaning of § 1.482-1(d)(3).

(3) Offsets to adjustments. To the extent that a customs value is adjusted under paragraph (c)(2) of this section for purposes of calculating the limitation on claimed cost basis or inventory cost under this section, the amount of the adjustments must be offset (reduced) by amounts that properly reduce the cost basis of inventory and that are not taken into account in determining customs value, such as rebates and other reductions in the price actually incurred, effected between the purchaser and related seller after the date of importation of the property.

(4) Application of section 1059A to property having dutiable and nondutiable portions. When an item of imported property is subiect to a duty upon the full value of the imported article, less the cost or value of American goods returned, and the taxpayer claims a basis or inventory cost greater than the customs value reported for the item, the claimed tax basis or inventory cost in the dutiable portion of the item is limited under section 1059A and this section to the customs value of the dutiable portion under paragraph (c)(1). The claimed tax basis or inventory cost in the nondutiable portion of the item is determined by multiplying the customs value of the nondutiable portion by a fraction the numerator of which is the amount by which the claimed basis or inventory cost of the item exceeds the customs value of the item and the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the nondutiable portion of the item. The claimed tax basis or inventory cost in the dutiable portion is determined by multiplying the customs value of the dutiable portion by a fraction the numerator of which is the amount by which the claimed basis or inventory cost of the item exceeds the customs value of the item and the denominator of which is the customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item. However, the taxpayer may not claim a tax basis or inventory cost in the dutiable portion greater than the customs value of this portion of the item.

(5) Allocation of adjustments to property having dutiable and nondutiable portions. When an item of imported property is subject to a duty upon the full value of the imported article, less the cost or value of American goods returned, and the taxpayer establishes that the customs value may be increased by adjustments permitted under paragraph (c)(2) of this section for purposes of the section 1059A limitation, the taxpayer's basis or inventory cost of the dutiable portion of the item is determined by multiplying the customs value of the dutiable portion times the percentage that the adjustments represent of the total customs value of the item and adding this amount to the customs value of the dutiable portion of the item. The taxpayer's basis or inventory cost of the nondutiable portion of the item is determined in the same manner. The amount so determined for the dutiable portion of the item is the section 1059A limitation for this portion of the item.

(6) Alternative method of demonstrating compliance. In lieu of calculating all adjustments and offsets to adjustments to customs value for an item of property pursuant to paragraph (c) (2) and (3) of this section, a taxpayer may demonstrate compliance with this section and section 1059A by comparing costs taken into account in computing basis or inventory costs of the property and the costs taken into account in computing customs value at any time after importation, provided that in any such comparison the same costs are included both in basis or inventory costs and in customs value. If, on the basis of such comparison, the basis or inventory cost is equal to or less than the customs value, the taxpayer shall be deemed to have met the requirements of this section and section 1059A.

(7) Relationship of section 1059A to section 482. Neither this section nor section 1059A limits in any way the authority of the Commissioner to increase or decrease the claimed basis or inventory cost under section 482 or any other appropriate provision of law. Neither does this section or section 1059A permit a taxpayer to adjust upward its cost basis or inventory cost for property appropriately determined under section 482 because such basis or inventory cost is less than the customs value with respect to such property.

(8) Illustrations. The application of this section may be illustrated by the following examples:

Example 1.Corporation X, a United States taxpayer, and Y Corporation are members of a group of controlled corporations. X pays $2,000 to Y for merchandise imported into the United States and an additional $150 for ocean freight and insurance. The customs value of the shipment is determined to be the amount actually paid by X ($2,000) and does not include the charges for ocean freight and insurance. For purposes of computing the limitation on its inventory cost for the merchandise under section 1059A and this section, X is permitted, under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, to increase the customs value ($2,000) by amounts it paid for ocean freight and insurance charges ($150). Thus, the inventory cost claimed by X in the merchandise may not exceed $2,150. Example 2.Assume the same facts as in Example 1 except that, subsequent to the date of importation of the merchandise, Y grants to X a rebate of $200 of the purchase price. At the time of sale, the rebate was contingent upon the volume of merchandise ultimately bought by X from Y. The value of the merchandise, for customs purposes, is not decreased by the rebate paid to X by Y. Therefore, the customs value, for customs purposes, of the merchandise remains the same ($2,000). For purposes of computing its inventory cost, X was permitted, under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, to increase the customs value for purposes of section 1059A of $2,000 by the amounts it paid for ocean freight and insurance charges ($150). However, under paragraph (c)(3) of this section, X is required to reduce the amount of the customs value by the lesser of the amount of the rebate or the amount of any positive adjustments to the original customs value. The inventory price claimed by X may not exceed $2,000 ($2,000 customs value, plus $150 transportation adjustment, less $150 offsetting rebate adjustment). While X's limitation under section 1059A is $2,000, X may not claim a basis or inventory cost in the merchandise in excess of $1,950. See I.R.C. section 1012; and section 1.471-2. Example 3.Corporation X, a United States taxpayer, and Y Corporation are members of a group of controlled corporations. X pays $10,000 to Y for merchandise imported into the United States. The merchandise is composed, in part, of American goods returned. The customs value of the merchandise, on which a customs duty is imposed, is determined to be $8,000 ($10,000, the amount declared by X, less $2,000, the value of the American goods returned). For income tax purposes, X claims a cost basis in the merchandise of $11,000. None of the adjustments permitted by paragraph (c)(2) of this section is applicable. The portion of the merchandise constituting American goods returned represented 20 percent of the total customs value of the merchandise. Since the cost basis claimed by X for income tax purposes represents a 10 percent increase over the customs valuation (before reduction for American goods returned), the claimed tax basis in the dutiable content is considered to be $8,800 and in the portion constituting American goods returned is $2,200. Since a customs duty was imposed only on the dutiable content of the merchandise, the limitation in section 1059A and this section is applicable only to the claimed tax basis in this portion of the merchandise. Accordingly, under paragraph (a) of this section, X is limited to a cost basis of $10,200 in the merchandise. This amount represents a cost basis of $8,000 in the dutiable content and of $2,200 in the portion of the merchandise constituting American goods returned. Example 4.Assume the same facts as in Example 3 except that X establishes that it is entitled to increase its customs value by $1,000 in adjustments permitted by paragraph (c)(2) of this section. Since the adjustments to customs value that X is entitled to under paragraph (c)(2) of this section are 10 percent of the customs value, for purposes of determining the limitation under section 1059A and this section, both the dutiable content and the portion of the merchandise constituting American goods returned shall be increased to an amount 10 percent greater than the respective values determined for customs purposes, or $8,800 for the dutiable content and $2,200 for the portion of the merchandise constituting American goods returned. Accordingly, under paragraph (a) of this section, X is limited to a cost basis of $11,000 in the merchandise. Example 5.Corporation X, a United States taxpayer, and Y Corporation are members of a group of controlled corporations. X pays $10,000 to Y for merchandise imported into the United States. The customs value of the merchandise, on which a customs duty is imposed, is determined to be $10,000. Subsequent to the date of importation of the merchandise, Y grants to X a rebate of $1,000 of the purchase price. The value of the merchandise, for customs purposes, is not decreased by the rebate paid to X by Y. Notwithstanding the fact that X correctly reported and paid customs duty on a value of $10,000 and that its limitation on basis or inventory cost under this section is $10,000, X may not claim a basis or inventory cost in the merchandise in excess of $9,000. See I.R.C. section 1012; and section 1.471-2. Example 6.Corporation X, a United States taxpayer, and Y Corporation are members of a group of controlled corporations. X pays $5,000 to Y for merchandise imported into the United States. The merchandise is not subject to a customs duty or is subject to a free rate of duty and is valued by customs solely for statistical purposes. Accordingly, pursuant to paragraph (c)(1) of this section, the merchandise is not subject to the provisions of section 1059A or this section. Example 7.Assume the same facts as in Example 6, except that the merchandise is subject to a customs duty based on value and that the customs value (taking into account no costs other than the value of the goods) is determined to be $5,000. Assume further that the $5,000 payment is only for the value of the goods, no other cost is reflected in that payment, and only the $5,000 payment to Y is reflected in X's inventory cost or basis prior to inclusion of any other amounts properly included in inventory or cost basis. Pursuant to paragraph (c)(6) of this section, X, by demonstrating these facts is deemed to meet the requirements of this section and section 1059A. Example 8.Corporation X, a United States taxpayer, and Y Corporation are members of a group of controlled corporations. X pays $9 to Y for merchandise imported into the United States and an additional $1 for ocean freight. The customs value of the article does not include the $l paid for ocean freight. Furthermore, for customs purposes the value is calculated pursuant to computed value and is determined to be $8. For purposes of computing the limitation on its inventory cost for the article under section 1059A and this section, X is permitted, under paragraph (c)(2) of this section, to increase the customs value ($8) by the amount it paid for ocean freight ($1). Thus, the inventory cost claimed by X in the article may not exceed $9.

(9) Averaged customs values. In cases of transactions in which (i) an appropriate transfer price is properly determined for tax purposes by reference to events occurring after importation, (ii) the value for customs purposes of one article is higher and of a second article is lower than the actual transaction values, (iii) the relevant articles have been appraised on the basis of a value estimated at the time of importation in accordance with customs regulations, and (iv) the entries have been liquidated upon importation, the section 1059A limitation on the undervalued article may be increased up to the amount of actual transaction value by the amount of the duty overpaid on the overvalued article times a fraction the numerator of which is “1” and the denominator of which is the rate of duty on the undervalued article. This paragraph (c)(9) applies exclusively to cases of property imported in transactions that are open for tax purposes in which the actual transaction value cannot be determined and the entry has been liquidated for customs purposes on the basis of a value estimated at the time of importation in accordance with customs regulations; in these cases, the property is appropriately valued for tax purposes by reference to a formula, in existence at the time of importation, based on subsequent events and valued for customs purposes by a different formula. This paragraph (c)(9) does not apply where customs value is correctly determined for purposes of liquidating the entry and where the customs value is subsequently adjusted for tax purposes, for example by a rebate, under paragraph (c)(2) of this section. The application of paragraph (c)(9) may be illustrated by the following example:

Example:Corporation X, a United States taxpayer, and Y Corporation are members of a group of controlled corporations. X purchases Articles A and B from Y on consignment and imports the Articles into the United States. The purchase price paid by X will be determined as a percentage of the sale prices that X realizes. Rather than deferring liquidation, customs liquidates the entry on the basis of estimated values and the customs duties are paid by X. Ultimately, it is determined that Article A was undervalued and Article B was overvalued by X for customs purposes. The section 1059A limitation for Article A is computed as follows:

	Article A	Article B
Finally-determined customs value	$9	$9
Transaction value	$10	$5
Duty rate	10%	5%
Customs duty paid	$.90	$.45
Duty overpaid or (underpaid)	($.10)	$.20

The section 1059A limitation on Article A may be increased by the amount of the duty over-paid on Article B, $.20, times 1/.10, up to the amount of the transaction value. Therefore, the section 1059A limitation on Article A is $9.00 plus $1.00, or a total of $10.00. The section 1059A limitation on Article B is reduced (but never below transaction value) by $2.00 to $7.00.

(d) Finality of customs value and of other determinations of the U.S. Customs Service. For purposes of section 1059A and this section, a taxpayer is bound by the finally-determined customs value and by every final determination made by the U.S. Customs Service, including, but not limited to, dutiable value, the value attributable to the cost or value of products of the United States, and classification of the product for purposes of imposing any duty. The customs value is considered to be finally determined, and all U.S. Customs Service determinations are considered final, when liquidation of the entry becomes final. For this purpose, the term liquidation means the ascertainment of the customs duties occurring on the entry of the property, and liquidation of the entry is considered to become final after 90 days following notice of liquidation to the importer, unless a protest is filed. If the importer files a protest, the customs value will be considered finally determined and all other U.S. Customs Service determinations will be considered final either when a decision by the Customs Service on the protest is not contested after expiration of the period allowed to contest the decision or when a judgment of the Court of International Trade becomes final. For purposes of this section, any adjustments to the customs value resulting from a petition under 19 U.S.C. section 1516 (requests by interested parties unrelated to the importer for redetermination of the appraised value, classification, or the rate of duty imposed on imported merchandise) or reliquidation under 19 U.S.C. section 1521 (reliquidation by the Customs Service upon a finding that fraud was involved in the original liquidation) will not be taken into account. However, reliquidation under 19 U.S.C. section 1501 (voluntary reliquidation by the Customs Service within 90 days of the original liquidation to correct errors in appraisement, classification, or any element entering into a liquidation or reliquidation) or reliquidation under 19 U.S.C. section 1520(c)(1) (to correct a clerical error, mistake of fact, or other inadvertance within one year of a liquidation or reliquidation) will be taken into account in the same manner as, and take the place of, the original liquidation in determining customs value.

(e) Drawbacks. For purposes of this section, a drawback, that is, a refund or remission (in whole or in part) of a customs duty because of a particular use made (or to be made) of the property on which the duty was assessed or collected, shall not affect the determination of the customs value of the property.

(f) Effective date. Property imported by a taxpayer is subject to section 1059A and this section if the entry documentation required to be filed to obtain the release of the property from the custody of the United States Customs Service was filed after March 18, 1986. Section 1059A and this section will not apply to imported property where (1) the entry documentation is filed prior to September 3, 1987; and (2) the importation was liquidated under the circumstances described in paragraph (c)(9) of this section.

[T.D. 8260, 54 FR 37311, Sept. 8, 1989]