CIF Value Calculator
Build the CIF customs value from FOB, freight and insurance — with the fallback percentages customs uses when actuals are missing.
CIF = Cost (FOB) + Insurance + Freight to the destination port. Where actual insurance is unknown, many regimes apply a notional rate (India uses 1.125% of CIF basis) — the fallback field models that.
Sources & references
- WTO Customs Valuation Agreement — transaction value adjustments
- Indian Customs Valuation Rules — notional freight/insurance provisions
Duty rates, fee amounts and tax structures change with budgets and notifications — figures computed here use the structure described and YOUR entered rates, as a planning estimate. Confirm the live rate for your HS code and any exemptions with your customs broker before relying on the total.
CIF — cost, insurance, freight — is the valuation base most of the world's customs authorities assess duty on, which makes building it correctly the first step of every landed-cost calculation. The math is addition, but the edges matter: WHICH freight (to the port of importation, not the door), WHOSE insurance figure (actual premium when known), and what happens when components are missing — regimes substitute notional percentages rather than accepting zero.
About CIF Value Calculator
The fallback mechanics this calculator models come from real rulebooks: India's valuation rules historically apply 1.125% of CIF-basis as notional insurance when the actual is unascertainable, and cap unascertainable air freight at 20% of FOB. Other CIF jurisdictions have analogous defaults. The principle is universal — customs will not value cargo as uninsured and freight-free just because your paperwork is — so declaring actuals is both compliant and usually cheaper. Watch the Incoterm interaction: a CIF-term invoice already contains freight and insurance in its price (declare it as the base, don't add again); an FOB or EXW invoice needs the legs added — and an EXW one needs origin-side costs to the port included too. Double-adding freight to a CIF invoice and missing inland legs on an EXW one are the two classic valuation errors brokers correct daily.
How to use CIF Value Calculator
- 1Set each input — fob value, ocean/air freight (actual), insurance (actual; 0 = use fallback %), insurance fallback rate (of cif basis) — using your own figures.
- 2The estimate recomputes instantly as you type; no submit button, no waiting.
- 3Review the line-item breakdown to see how each component contributes to the total.
- 4Click “Copy quote” to paste the itemised result into an email, quote or audit note.
Why use CIF Value Calculator?
- ✓Itemised line-by-line breakdown, not just a single opaque total
- ✓Copy-ready output for emails, quotes and audit notes
- ✓Recomputes live as you type — compare scenarios in seconds
- ✓Free and private — nothing you enter leaves your browser
Frequently asked questions
What exactly goes into a CIF value?+
The goods' price (FOB — including origin charges to get on board), the international freight to the port/airport of importation, and the cargo insurance premium for that journey. NOT included: destination THC, customs brokerage, onward inland freight, or duties themselves. The boundary is the arrival port — costs before it count, costs after it belong to landed cost but not customs value (with country-specific nuances).
My invoice is already CIF — do I add freight again?+
No — the CIF price IS the customs value basis (assuming it genuinely includes the freight and insurance per the Incoterm). The add-the-legs exercise applies to FOB/FCA/EXW invoices. Declaring a CIF invoice and then adding freight on top overstates value and overpays duty; customs won't volunteer the refund. Match the build-up to the Incoterm on the invoice every time.
What if I genuinely have no insurance on the shipment?+
Regime-dependent: some accept a declaration of no insurance; others (India notably) apply the notional rate regardless, on the logic that the valuation base shouldn't reward non-insurance. Practically, cargo insurance costs a fraction of the duty noise it prevents — and the fallback percentages exist precisely because 'uninsured' so often means 'undocumented'. Declare actuals where they exist; expect the notional where they don't.
Is CIF value the same as landed cost?+
No — CIF is the customs valuation base; landed cost continues past it: duties and taxes computed ON the CIF, destination port and clearance charges, inland freight, and so on to your warehouse. CIF is roughly the halfway checkpoint. Use this calculator for the customs base, then a landed-cost calculator for the full door price — the two answer different business questions.
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