Total Cost [Customs Duties] Law and Legal Definition
According to 19 CFR 10.593 [Title 19 Customs Duties; Chapter I U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland Security; Department of The Treasury; Part 10 Articles Conditionally Free, Subject to a Reduced Rate, Etc.; Subpart J Dominican Republic Central America United States Free Trade Agreement; Rules of Origin], total cost means all product costs, period costs, and other costs for a good incurred in the territory of one or more of the Parties. Product costs are costs that are associated with the production of a good and include the value of materials, direct labor costs, and direct overhead. Period costs are costs, other than product costs, that are expensed in the period in which they are incurred, such as selling expenses and general and administrative expenses. Other costs are all costs recorded on the books of the producer that are not product costs or period costs, such as interest. Total cost does not include profits that are earned by the producer, regardless of whether they are retained by the producer or paid out to other persons as dividends, or taxes paid on those profits, including capital gains taxes.
