Bona-fide-sale test
Title passes, risk of loss transfers, and payment actually occurs at each tier — verified from invoices, POs, proof of payment, and Incoterms.
The most rigorous First Sale evidence file a mid-market importer can have.
FirstValue assembles a CBP-defensible, tier-by-tier evidence file for every entry — reconciling factory invoices, middleman invoices, POs, proof of payment, bills of lading, and Incoterms against the letter of 19 CFR 152.103 before a licensed customs attorney signs the declaration.
Every subsection of 19 CFR 152.103Three bona-fide-sale elements, gate-checkedFactory · middleman · U.S. buyer transaction chainLicensed customs attorney sign-off on every file5-business-day SLA
Why First Sale programs fail
A single missing document can trigger a 5-year retroactive duty assessment plus 2×–4× penalties.
First Sale for Export is a legal, decades-old way to cut duty by 10–25% — declare on the factory-to-middleman price instead of the middleman-to-importer price. But CBP requires proof of three things for every shipment: the goods were destined for U.S. export, there were two bona-fide sales (title passes, risk transfers, payment occurs), and the first sale was arm's length.
Most mid-market importers with qualifying middleman supply chains cannot afford the $75k+ bespoke program design that Big Four and trade law firms charge. They try to manage the per-entry evidence discipline manually — and miss documents, fail to reconcile tiers, or misapply Incoterms. CBP enforcement is tightening: Ruling HQ H337689 (Oct 2025) reaffirmed that eligibility rests entirely on documentation of title, risk, and pricing across each tier.
FirstValue productizes the evidence discipline: an AI engine reconciles the transaction chain, a licensed customs attorney makes the bona-fide-sale determination and signs, and you get a recurring duty savings and an audit-proof file for every entry.
10–25%
typical duty reduction via First Sale — but only if the evidence file is complete
The benchmark
Measured against the letter of the regulation — subsection by subsection.
We do not summarize the law and hope. Every file is scored against a versioned rule pack tied to the exact text of 19 CFR 152.103 and relevant CBP rulings. These are the provisions each file is held to.
Arm's-length pricing
The first sale price is not influenced by relationship or control; related-party transactions require transfer-pricing documentation.
Destined for export
The goods were clearly destined for U.S. export at the time of the first sale — evidenced by order documentation and supply-chain flow.
First Sale Declaration
A formal declaration is filed at entry, referencing the first sale price and supported by the evidence file.
Documentation standard
CBP reaffirmed that eligibility rests entirely on documentation of title, risk, and pricing across each tier — no documentation, no First Sale.
Recordkeeping & maintenance
The importer must maintain the evidence file for five years and produce it on demand; our subscription ensures continuous compliance.
How a file is built
Intake to attorney release, with deterministic gates the AI cannot overrule.
AI extracts and reconciles. Deterministic rules — running as code, outside the model — decide what is complete. A licensed customs attorney reviews only the bona-fide-sale judgment and signs every release. That order is never reversed.
01
Free Feasibility Scan
Upload your supply-chain documents (factory invoices, middleman invoices, POs, payment records, bills of lading, Incoterms). We return a free completeness read: which tiers qualify, estimated duty savings, and what evidence is missing.
02
Transaction-chain reconciliation
As your authorized clerical agent, we ingest and reconcile the full transaction chain — factory to middleman to U.S. buyer — corroborating title, risk, and payment across sources.
03
Grounded evidence drafting
The evidence file is drafted from your validated data and the 19 CFR 152.103 rule pack into field-locked templates — no legal opinions, no invented facts.
04
Deterministic completeness gates
Amounts reconcile to the penny; the three bona-fide-sale elements are verified; the destined-for-export test is resolved; any failure blocks release.
05
Attorney review & sign-off
A licensed customs attorney reviews the bona-fide-sale determination and signs the First Sale Declaration. High-value or complex files route to senior counsel.
06
Delivery & ongoing maintenance
You receive the evidence file, the signed declaration, and a per-entry maintenance subscription that keeps the file audit-ready for five years.
The bar we hold
Rigor you can measure.
100%
Attorney-signed
No file ships without a licensed customs attorney's signature.
5 days
Standard SLA
From complete intake to released file.
<1%
Critical-defect target
Tracked against a gold-standard file library.
3
Bona-fide-sale gates
Title, risk, payment — every tier, every entry.
Why FirstValue
Built to be the most thorough option a mid-market importer has.
Evidence-complete, by design
The deliverable is completeness itself — every statutory element and document accounted for or explicitly exception-coded. Nothing is left implicit.
Deterministic, not vibes
The gates that decide completeness are code, not a model's opinion. A reconciliation error cannot slip past a regulatory requirement.
In its lane, on purpose
We prepare documentation and run searches as your clerical agent. We never give legal advice, and the licensed customs attorney makes only the bona-fide-sale determination.
Engagement
Feasibility fee + contingency on realized savings + per-entry evidence maintenance subscription.
Simple, predictable, and aligned with a documentation standard — not a cut of any recovery.
- A free Feasibility Scan before you commit — see exactly what is missing and your estimated savings.
- One flat feasibility fee to set up the program; contingency on realized duty savings (typically 20–30% of first-year savings).
- Per-entry evidence-file maintenance subscription (blended $8k–$25k/yr depending on volume).
- Optional fixed-fee attorney review for complex or high-value transactions.
FAQ
Questions, answered precisely.
Is FirstValue a law firm?
No. FirstValue, a service of Your Deputy, Obuke LLC, provides documentation-completeness services. It is not a law firm, does not provide legal advice, and does not represent you in any legal matter. A licensed customs attorney reviews the bona-fide-sale determination and signs the declaration, but that attorney is engaged separately and is not part of FirstValue.
Do you contact CBP or file entries on my behalf?
No. FirstValue prepares the evidence file and the signed declaration. Your existing customs broker files the entry and the First Sale Declaration. We never interact with CBP directly.
What makes a file 'complete'?
Completeness is defined by the regulation: the three bona-fide-sale elements (title, risk, payment) verified at each tier, the destined-for-export test resolved, the arm's-length pricing documented, and the evidence file organized for five-year recordkeeping. Deterministic gates enforce each one before attorney release.
How fast is it?
The standard SLA is five business days from complete intake to an attorney-signed file. The free Feasibility Scan is returned much sooner and tells you exactly what is still needed and your estimated savings.
How are you priced?
A flat feasibility fee to set up the program, plus a contingency on realized duty savings (typically 20–30% of first-year savings), plus a per-entry evidence maintenance subscription. No percentage of any recovered amount or sale proceeds beyond the contingency.
See what's missing before it costs you a duty assessment.
Start with a free Feasibility Scan. Send your supply-chain documents and we'll return a completeness read against every subsection of 19 CFR 152.103 and your estimated savings.
Documentation-completeness service · not legal advice · your customs broker files the entry.