Reviewed by Sasha Božič, Licensed Customs Broker
The best duty drawback provider for your company is the one that files under a licensed customs broker, matches every eligible export to the import with the most recoverable duty, gets you accelerated payment, and leaves a file that survives a CBP review. Price matters less than those four, because a weaker match can cost more than the fee. These ten questions sort providers quickly.
Drawback claims are transmitted in ACE by the claimant or a licensed customs broker. Ask whose filer code goes on your claims and who signs off on each one.
Unused merchandise, manufacturing and rejected merchandise each have different rules. A provider that files only one type can leave the others unclaimed. See the drawback types.
Under substitution, many imports can pair with each export. The pairing decides the size of the claim, because the refund is limited to the lower of the two duty amounts. Ask whether every export is matched against every eligible import, or whether the provider samples or picks high-value lines.
Accelerated payment gets refunds paid before liquidation, usually within weeks of filing. A one-time waiver of prior notice lets a first claim reach exports that already happened. Ask who prepares the applications and the bond.
Claims can reach five years of imports. Every month of delay pushes another month of imports out of reach. Ask for a date by which the first claim will be filed.
The core data is ACE entry summaries, export records and a product-to-HTS mapping. Ask how much of the extraction, cleanup and matching the provider does itself, and how many hours your team will spend.
Every claim line should link to its import entry, its export record and the reason they were paired. Ask to see a sample. This is what you hand CBP in a review.
Most recovery work is priced as a share of the refund, sometimes with setup or subscription fees. Ask what the percentage applies to, whether bond and filing costs are included, and what happens if CBP reduces a claim.
Ask whether you keep your matched data, claim files and records if you switch providers. Records have to be kept for three years after each claim liquidates.
The data that supports drawback also shows classification errors, missed trade preferences and IEEPA refunds. Ask whether the provider checks for them or only files drawback. See all five refund routes.
Is drawback software enough on its own? Software handles matching and calculation. A licensed customs broker still has to stand behind the filing, so most companies use software run by, or alongside, a broker.
Should we use our entry broker for drawback? Possibly. Ask the same ten questions. Entry brokers specialize in getting goods cleared, and drawback is a separate discipline.
How long until the first refund? With accelerated payment in place, CBP usually pays within weeks of filing.
Caspian is a licensed customs broker with its own platform. We file all three drawback types, match every eligible line, set up accelerated payment and waivers, and give you a line-by-line audit trail. Our team has filed $500M+ in claims over their careers. See our duty drawback services or get your number.
Works Cited:
It takes just 60 seconds to find out what Customs owes you. We’ll do the rest.
Caspian Trade, Inc.Refunds recovered. Compliance handled. Margins protected.
CBP-Approved ABI Vendor Platform. Licensed customs brokers.