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Duty drawback: the refund program hiding in plain sight
Drawback is the oldest refund program in US customs law and the most underused: import, then export or destroy, and up to 99 percent of the duties come back, reaching five years into the past. Here is how it works and where the sharp edges are.
Published September 12, 2026 · Updated October 1, 2026. Regulatory citations verified as of this date.
The deal, and who fits it
The classic profiles: you import goods and re-export them, you import components and export finished products, or you import goods that end up destroyed under supervision instead of sold. Miami-to-Latin-America re-exporters and Puerto Rico manufacturers both fit constantly, and both chronically leave the money unclaimed.
The refund under 19 CFR part 190 is 99 percent of duties, certain taxes and eligible fees, with a lookback of five years from importation. The one percent is the statute's keep, not a fee anyone charges.
What counts, with the citations
Per 19 CFR 190.3, drawback covers ordinary duties, marking duties, internal revenue taxes attaching on importation, and, the part most summaries skip, the merchandise processing fee and the harbor maintenance fee. Section 301 duties qualify, per CSMS 18-000419, which matters enormously for anyone re-exporting Chinese-origin goods. Section 232 depends on the proclamation: lumber and pharmaceuticals allow drawback in full, trucks, auto parts and treaty-partner metals allow manufacturing drawback only, and copper, semiconductors, finished autos and steel and aluminum entered before April 6, 2026 bar it. Antidumping and countervailing duties are excluded entirely.
The claims are records-driven: import entries matched to export evidence, kept to the regulation's standard. Clean AES filings and consistent entry records, ideally through one broker, are what make a claim assemble in weeks instead of quarters.
Tariff refunds
Paid IEEPA or Section 301 tariffs? Find out what you can get back.
Licensed customs brokers since 2007, filer code EWV. We file your refund under our own license: IEEPA claims through CAPE, protests, post-summary corrections and duty drawback. Priced per entry and quoted before you commit, with no percentage of your refund.
FAQ
What is duty drawback in simple terms?
A refund of up to 99 percent of the duties and eligible fees you paid on imported goods, claimable when those goods, or products made from them, are exported or destroyed. The lookback is five years from importation.
Is drawback worth it for a small exporter?
Run the math before deciding: duties plus MPF plus HMF, times five years of entries, times 99 percent. The answer surprises people. We will run it with you at no obligation.
Does drawback cover the merchandise processing fee?
Yes. 19 CFR 190.3 lists the MPF and the HMF as subject to drawback. Claims prepared without them are leaving a slice of the refund behind.
Can substitution drawback help if my exports are not the exact imported units?
Often yes; the modern rules allow substitution based on classification within the drawback framework. Whether your products qualify is exactly the kind of question to put to a licensed broker before assuming either way.
See what five years of entries are worth
Send us a sense of your imports and exports. A licensed broker will scope the claim and quote the filing per entry.
CTPAT certified broker · EWV