19 agosto 2026
Duty drawback refunds 99% of import duties, and Miami re-exporters leave most of it unclaimed
Duty drawback is a federal refund program under 19 USC 1313 that returns 99% of the duties, taxes, and fees you paid on imported goods that are later exported or destroyed. You can look back five years from the date of importation, which means a first-time claim can recover duty you paid as far back as 2021. Miami is the re-export gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, so an unusual share of the importers we move freight for later export the same merchandise, and many are sitting on real money. We handle drawback for them, with the claim itself going through the licensed customs broker we work with. If the duty at stake is meaningful, roughly $50,000 a year or more, it is almost always worth a conversation: get in touch.
What duty drawback actually is
Drawback is the refund of duties, taxes, and certain fees you paid at import, paid back to you when the goods leave the country again or are destroyed under CBP supervision. The refund is 99% of what you paid, with CBP keeping 1% to cover administration.
The legal basis is 19 USC 1313, and it is one of the oldest programs in U.S. trade law. It exists because Congress did not want import duties to penalize companies that use the United States as a manufacturing or distribution base for foreign markets.
That describes a lot of South Florida. Goods land here, sit in a warehouse like ours, and ship out to the Caribbean and Latin America. Every one of those export moves can carry a refund claim on the duty paid coming in.
The main types of drawback claims
Unused merchandise drawback under 1313(j)(1) covers goods exported in essentially the same condition they arrived in, matched to the specific import entry. This is the classic Miami distribution pattern: import, store, re-export.
Substitution drawback under 1313(j)(2) is broader and often more valuable. You do not have to export the exact units you imported, only commercially interchangeable goods classified under the same 8-digit HTS number, which makes claims workable even when inventory gets commingled.
Manufacturing drawback under 1313(a) and (b) covers imported materials that get used to make something exported later, and rejected merchandise drawback under 1313(c) covers goods that arrived defective or not as ordered and were sent back or destroyed. Most warehouse-and-distribution operations here lean on the unused and substitution types.
The five-year window, and why a first claim is a windfall
You have five years from the date of importation to file a drawback claim, and the export or destruction has to happen within that same window. That is the whole timing rule under the modernized statute.
The part importers miss: a company that has never claimed drawback can file its first claim reaching back the full five years. If you have been importing dutiable goods and re-exporting them since 2021 without claiming, that history is recoverable duty, not sunk cost.
The window is also a deadline. Duty paid on a 2021 entry starts expiring out of reach in 2026, month by month. Waiting has a direct cost.
Section 301 duties are eligible, Section 232 are not
The China tariffs under Section 301 are drawback-eligible, which CBP confirmed in message CSMS 18-000419. For importers of Chinese-origin goods paying 7.5% or 25% on top of regular duty, this often multiplies what a claim is worth.
Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum are the opposite: not eligible for drawback. If most of your duty exposure is 232, drawback will not help on that portion.
The modern rules under TFTEA are fully in effect, codified at 19 CFR 190. Claims are filed entirely electronically in ACE, and substitution matching works at the 8-digit HTS level, which made claims far more practical than the old regime.
Is it worth it for your volume, honestly
There is no legal minimum claim size. But there is an economic one, and the industry consensus is that a drawback program starts to make sense around $50,000 to $100,000 a year in recoverable duty. Below that, the setup and record-keeping overhead can eat the recovery, and we would rather tell you that plainly than send you into a program that nets you little.
The math is simple to rough out: annual duty paid on goods you later export, times 99%. If you import $4 million a year at a blended 5% duty and re-export half of it, that is roughly $99,000 a year in refunds, plus the five-year lookback on your first claim.
Most drawback specialists work on contingency, no refund, no fee, so the downside of asking is mostly the time to pull your import and export records. The percentages vary by firm and volume, so ask us for the terms on your own program when you get in touch.
How we handle drawback
Yes, we handle drawback. Filing the claim is customs business, and federal law (19 USC 1641) requires that it be conducted by a licensed customs broker, so ours goes through the licensed customs broker we work with. Be wary of anyone who offers to file one without that license behind them.
We also bring the physical half of the story: the container moves, the warehousing, and the clean records of what came in and what shipped out, which is exactly the paper trail a drawback claim is built on.
If the numbers above sound like your operation, reach out. We take the claim on with the licensed customs broker we work with, and we keep your freight moving while your money comes back.
duty drawback · refunds · re-export · Section 301 · Miami
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How much does duty drawback refund?
Ninety-nine percent of the duties, taxes and certain fees you paid at import, with CBP keeping one percent to cover administration. The refund comes back when the goods leave the country again or are destroyed under CBP supervision. The legal basis is 19 USC 1313, one of the oldest programs in U.S. trade law, and it exists because Congress did not want import duties to penalize companies that use the United States as a manufacturing or distribution base for foreign markets.
How far back can a first drawback claim reach?
Five years from the date of importation, and the export or destruction has to happen inside that same window. That is the whole timing rule under the modernized statute. The part importers miss is that a company which has never claimed can file a first claim reaching back the full five years, so a history of importing dutiable goods and re-exporting them is recoverable duty rather than sunk cost. The window is also a deadline, and older entries expire out of reach month by month.
Are Section 301 duties eligible for drawback?
Yes. The China tariffs under Section 301 are drawback-eligible, which CBP confirmed in message CSMS 18-000419, and for importers of Chinese-origin goods paying an extra 7.5 or 25 percent on top of regular duty that often multiplies what a claim is worth. Section 232 duties on steel and aluminum are the opposite and are not eligible, so if most of your exposure is 232, drawback will not help on that portion.
What is substitution drawback?
Substitution drawback under 1313(j)(2) means you do not have to export the exact units you imported, only commercially interchangeable goods classified under the same 8-digit HTS number. That makes claims workable even when inventory gets commingled, which is why it is often more valuable than unused merchandise drawback under 1313(j)(1), where goods are exported in essentially the same condition and matched to a specific import entry. Most warehouse and distribution operations here lean on those two types.
Who can file a drawback claim?
Filing is customs business, and 19 USC 1641 requires that it be conducted by the importer of record or a licensed customs broker, so ask anyone offering drawback who actually files it. We handle it with the licensed customs broker we work with. The modern rules under TFTEA are codified at 19 CFR 190 and claims go in entirely electronically through ACE. We also bring the physical half: the container moves, the warehousing, and clean records of what came in and what shipped out, which is the paper trail a claim is built on.
Come ottengo una tariffa?
Ci mandi la tratta, il mezzo, la dimensione del container e il porto, e le rispondiamo con un numero. Preventivi e dispatch 24 ore su 24 a quotes@dariaslogistics.com.