How Much Does Duty Drawback Cost? Pricing Models Explained

Most duty drawback work is priced as a percentage of the refund CBP pays, so the claimant pays nothing unless money comes back. On top of that fee, a drawback program has a few smaller costs: the bond premium for accelerated payment, any setup or software fees, and the time your team spends gathering data. The real cost comparison is the net refund, because a better match can be worth far more than a lower fee.

The common pricing models

• Contingency: A share of each refund. It aligns the provider with the size of your recovery.
• Contingency plus setup: A one-time fee for the first claim, privileges and data work, then a share of refunds.
• Subscription or software license: A fixed fee to use drawback software, with your team or a broker doing the filing.
• Hourly: Rare for recovery work, more common for advisory projects.

The costs beyond the fee

• Bond premium: Accelerated payment requires a bond. See accelerated payment.
• Internal time: Pulling ERP export data and answering questions. This varies more than any fee between providers.
• Data fixes: Missing SKU mappings or export proof that has to be rebuilt.

How to compare offers

• Compare net refunds, not percentages. Ask each provider how they match exports to imports.
• Ask what the fee applies to: the amount claimed, or the amount CBP actually pays.
• Ask what happens if CBP reduces a claim after an accelerated payment.
• Ask how many hours your team will spend.

See ten questions to ask a drawback provider.

Frequently asked questions

Is there an upfront cost? With contingency pricing, usually not, aside from the bond if you use accelerated payment.

Is drawback worth it for a small importer? It depends on the duty paid on goods later exported or destroyed. A free analysis on your entry data answers it.

How Caspian prices drawback

Caspian prices recovery work on a share of what comes back, so finding out what you are owed costs nothing. Get your number.

Works Cited:

• CBP: Drawback overview
• 19 CFR Part 190, Modernized drawback