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SystemCommercial Compliance, Legal & Trade

Tariff Refund and Duty Drawback Claims

Duty drawback claims that weave each import entry through the bill of materials to the exported device, net of scrap, before its five-year window closes.

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Follow one claim from the first weave to approval ↓
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The problem

Duty paid on imported parts sits unclaimed while the five-year clock runs

A device maker pays duty on titanium bar, braided tubing and cable assemblies, then exports finished implants, catheters and monitors. The law returns most of that duty on a complete claim, but the analyst rebuilds each link by hand from broker spreadsheets, ERP shipment files and bills of materials, revision by revision.

Entries that never reached the broker’s files go stale. One part entered under two tariff numbers breaks substitution without changing a cent of duty, so nobody notices. Entries owed a tariff refund through a separate route must stay off the drawback claim until that route is settled, and a single claim takes weeks of spreadsheet work.

Built forTrade compliance teamsCustoms analystsTax and finance teamsCustoms broker liaisons

The Problem Today

Duty on imported parts comes back only on a claim filed within five years, and proving each link takes weeks.

99%
of the lesser of two duties is the most a claim line returns published
5 years
after import to file a complete claim, with no extension published

Matched by hand, record by record

  • Entries
  • Exports
  • Parts lists
  • Tariff text
  • Old entries expire unclaimedAn entry missing from the broker file is never used
  • One part, two tariff numbersA classification slip quietly breaks the match

The Solution

  1. Each import readEntry summaries from the broker and customs reports, matched each night
  2. Traced to each exportComponents counted from the parts list in force when each lot was made
  3. Conflicts go to a personTubing under two tariff numbers goes to the trade compliance manager
  4. Two people signLargest entries and a random set opened, then signed; the broker files

Built-in controls

  • No signature until each sampled entry is read
  • Reopening a claim clears both signatures
  • Each dollar cites its entry and its export

What You Get

Claims reach the broker before each window closes, with the proof customs asks for.

0.25 h
of evidence work per entry by hand, about half of it saved our estimate
  • Oldest windows used firstEntries that close this year go on the claim before the rest
  • Refund route chosen firstEntries owed a tariff refund go there, then back to drawback
  • A claim file the broker can defendEach decision with its signer, meaning and time
One claim, one sitting

A duty drawback claim woven, decided and signed in one sitting

A device maker imports three components that carry duty and exports the implants, catheters and monitors they go into. This is one quarterly claim, from the first weave to the manager’s approval.

demoThe maker, its broker, the entries, the shipments and every amount here are sample data.

  1. 01Before the weave

    2,140 import entries, 6,300 export shipments, and nothing woven yet

    Customs analyst

    The loom puts five years of import entries across the top, one column per component per month, and fifteen months of export shipments along the bottom. Titanium bar, braided catheter tubing and cable assemblies carry the duty, because the finished implants and catheters enter free. Until the agents read the entries, exports and bills of materials, both bands stay gray.

  2. 02Weave

    4,615 threads drawn, and 340 tubing entries hang frayed

    Customs analyst

    Eight agents weave each import month to the export months it supports, thread width set by quantity. The draft stands at $2,330,840.00 on 4,615 threads, with tubing held. The 340 most recent tubing entries hang as amber frays: the same braided tubing went in under a second tariff number, and substitution needs one 8-digit number.

  3. 03Weave

    Seven titanium entries closed this week with $62,313.87 unclaimed

    Customs analyst

    The five-year window view opens on the loss. Seven titanium entries were in the customs entry report but never reached the broker’s files, and their windows closed this week with quantity left. That drawback cannot be claimed now. The entry reader matches the two sources every night, and the next twelve months of closing windows sit below, oldest first.

  4. 04Conflict

    One braided tubing under two tariff numbers, at the same 3.1% rate

    Customs analyst

    The tubing part went in under one number for its first 440 entries, then 340 under another after a new entry writer copied the supplier’s invoice code. Rates match, so no duty was owed or refunded and nobody noticed. The analyst lays out both numbers with a recommendation, keep the reinforced number, and sends it to the manager.

  5. 05Decision

    A stainless steel braid in the spec rules out the unreinforced number

    Trade compliance manager

    She opens three pieces of evidence, each counted as read after 1.5 seconds: the supplier specification with its 304 stainless steel braid, the tariff schedule text, and the invoice lines and broker notes. Option A keeps the reinforced number and corrects the 340: 207 by post-summary correction, 6 by protest once they liquidate, 113 by protest now, 14 final.

  6. 06Decision

    Decided and signed, and the claim re-weaves to $2,394,433.86

    Trade compliance manager

    She signs the decision with its stated meaning, and the drawdown ledger re-weaves. Tubing lines from 205 of the older entries join the claim: 6,406 threads, 522 of 2,140 entries designated, 5,887 of 6,300 shipments fully woven. Catheter shipments still waiting on tubing feed the next claim once the corrected entries come back.

  7. 07Sample

    The preparer opens the 8 largest entries, each with every thread behind it

    Customs analyst

    Agents check all 6,406 threads on seven rules. People then open whole entries: the preparer takes the 8 largest by drawback, $296,751.85 in all. The first, a titanium bar entry, drew 4,565 kg across 65 threads, each listed with its export, device and drawback. An entry counts as read after 1.5 seconds open.

  8. 08Sample

    Eight entries read, and the claim is signed as prepared

    Customs analyst

    With all 8 read, the preparer signs, meaning that he prepared this claim and read his sampled entries. The claim now shows prepared, waiting for approval. Lines by component stand at $2,296,235.95 for titanium, $63,593.86 for tubing and $34,604.05 for cable, $2,394,433.86 in all, each at 99% of the lesser of two duties.

  9. 09Approval

    Approved for the broker after the exceptions and one entry per component

    Trade compliance manager

    The approver opens the agents’ exception list and 1 random entry per component, none of the preparer’s: 4 items, $3,207.44. Together the two shares cover 11 entries and 12.5% of the claim’s dollars. She approves the claim for filing by the licensed customs broker, who transmits it. No agent files anything.

$2,394,433.86 on 6,406 threads, component by component

Each line is 99% of the lesser of the duty paid and the duty on the substituted bar, tubing or cable, per unit.

Titanium alloy bar266,870.91 kg, on $2,448,295.48 of duty designated$2,296,235.95
Braided catheter tubing127,139 m, on $67,074.02 of duty designated$63,593.86
Cable and connector assemblies34,263 each, on $36,895.62 of duty designated$34,604.05
Drawback claimedOn $2,552,265.12 of duty designated$2,394,433.86

demoSample data, from the working solution.

One thread, net of titanium scrap: $1,252.33

A hip stem made from imported bar. The turnings are valuable waste, so the bar they would replace comes off the quantity claimed.

StepWorkingResult
Duty paid per kg on the import$21,949.65 ÷ 2,290 kg$9.5850
Duty per kg if the bar were imported15% × $58.20$8.7300
The lesser of the twoPer kg$8.7300
Bar claimed per stem, net of scrap2.26 − 1.64 × $5.80 ÷ $58.202.1 kg
Drawback on this thread0.99 × 144.9 kg × $8.7300$1,252.33

demoSample data, from the working solution. The thread screen shows each figure with its source, and seven rule checks the agents ran on it.

Around the claim

Refund routes, bills of materials and clocks behind each drawback line

The records a claim rests on, and the work still open around it.

One threadImport entry, drawdown, bill of materials and export side by side, with the sum net of scrap and seven rule checks, each with its source.
Tariff refund routeEntries owed a refund go on the declaration list first, and their ordinary duty joins a later drawback claim once liquidated. Three groups, each with its amount.
Export shipmentsEach shipment with its device, lot, units and what it needs, marked fully woven, held for the broker or missing proof of export.
Bills of materialsFive devices and six revisions, each with the bar, tubing or cable used per unit, the scrap, and the quantity claimed per unit.
Work queueThe claim, the conflict, corrections, protests, the refund list and proof of export, each with its clock and who holds it now.
Audit trailEach opening, decision and signature with its meaning, reason and session, people and agents alike. Records are kept beyond what the rule asks.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Five systems behind each drawback thread

Each is read in place. The signed claim file goes to the broker, who transmits it.

Broker files and customs entry reportsEntry summaries, matched each night
ERPExport shipments and their export filing records
Product lifecycle managementBills of materials by revision
Trade compliance systemClassifications, rulings and privileges on file
ERP general ledgerDuty paid and the drawback receivable
The agents

Eight agents read and weave; the manager decides and the broker files

Every agent passes its result to someone with a name and a role.

Entry reader

Reads entry summaries from the broker’s files and the customs reports and matches them.

  • Never edits an entry
Export record reader

Matches each shipment to its export filing record.

  • Never treats a shipment without proof of export as exported
Bill of materials tracer

Applies the revision in force on each lot’s manufacture date.

  • Never uses a later revision for an earlier lot
Classification checker

Holds each part to one tariff number across all its entries.

  • Never picks the number
Window keeper

Tracks five-year windows and designates oldest first.

  • Never designates past a window
Refund route chooser

Puts entries owed a refund on the declaration list first, and returns their ordinary duty to a later claim.

  • Never files a declaration
Drawdown ledger and duty calculator

Draws down quantity per entry and prices each line on the lesser of the two duties per unit.

  • Never draws the same quantity twice
Claim assembler

Drafts the claim file and the evidence index.

  • Never signs
  • Never releases an unsigned packet

The tariff number, the filing and the refund list stay with people

Agents weave and draft. These calls are made and signed by a named person.

Choosing a tariff numberThe classification checker shows both numbers. The analyst lays them out and the trade compliance manager decides.
Filing the claimThe licensed customs broker transmits only what the preparer and the approver signed.
The refund declaration listThe analyst prepares it and the manager approves after reading her sample, because a filed declaration cannot be amended.
Entries past the refund windowCounsel and the broker choose the route for entries liquidated long ago.
Lowering the sample planRaising it applies at once. Lowering waits for the trade compliance manager’s signature.

What trade compliance teams ask about duty drawback

What is duty drawback?

Duty drawback is a refund of duty paid on imported merchandise when it, or merchandise of the same tariff number, goes into goods that are exported. Here agents trace each import entry through the bill of materials to the exported device, and two people sign each claim before the broker files it.

How does substitution drawback work in this claim?

Any entry of the same eight-digit tariff number, inside its five-year window and with quantity left after earlier claims, can be designated against an export. Each claim line returns all but one percent of the lesser of the duty paid and the duty on the substituted merchandise, per unit.

What happens when one part has two tariff numbers?

The classification checker holds those lines out of the claim and frays them on the loom. The analyst lays out both numbers with evidence, and the trade compliance manager decides and orders the corrections.

How are scrap and revisions handled?

The bill of materials tracer applies the revision in force when each lot was made. Valuable scrap, such as titanium turnings, reduces the quantity claimed by the bar its value would replace.

What about entries owed a tariff refund?

They go on the refund declaration list first. Their ordinary duty joins a later drawback claim once the entry has liquidated, so the same entry is not blocked from either route.

Does this duty drawback software file claims?

No. The claim assembler drafts the claim file and evidence index, and the licensed customs broker transmits the signed claim.

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Pick one component you import
and the devices it ships in.

We’ll weave its entries to your exports and show you what drawback is still on the table.

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