The "first sale rule" is a particular method of determination of the customs value of goods, applicable each time that a product is subject to a chain of sales before its definitive import. As the first sale price, obviously, is lower than the price of each subsequent resale of the goods, this method can allow operators to obtain substantial savings, being ad valorem customs duties calculated on a lower taxable basis. To date, the main commercial blocks in the world (e.g. EU, USA and Japan), accept the first sale’rule (in the EU its use is expressly admitted by the art. 147, par. 1, of the Commission Regulation N° 2454/1993). In the latest times however, a new trend has come up, especially in the US and in the EU, aiming at replacing such method with the opposite criterion: i.e. the "last sale" rule appraisal methodology. This is raising worries by importaters, trade Groups and Organizations from all around the world, that now fear the the first sale rule will completely disappear in the future.

To the following link you will find an article published in the World Customs Journal with a comparative analysis on this issue in the US and EU. (read the article)