Please read: this guide is general information, not legal or customs advice, and rates and examples are illustrative. Drawback claims must be completed within 5 years of the date of importation (19 U.S.C. 1313(r)). Destruction claims require destruction under CBP supervision with advance notice, and DrawbackIQ currently prepares unused-merchandise export claims only. Your licensed customs broker decides what can be filed.
Yes. If you are an Amazon seller importing footwear from overseas and selling internationally (Amazon.ca, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, etc.), or destroying returned inventory, you have refundable customs duties under the drawback statute. Many Amazon FBA sellers never pursue this, yet it represents unclaimed cash from the past five years.
Amazon FBA sellers who import footwear into the US and then re-sell internationally or destroy returns meet two core requirements for duty drawback: they have documented imports (your shipment records), and they have documented exports or destruction (returns destroyed in Amazon's network).
The challenge is not eligibility, it is documentation. Your Amazon seller account records the sale, but drawback requires your broker to match entry numbers (from your import shipments) to proof of export or destruction. Most Amazon sellers do not keep this organized and assume it is not worth pursuing. With proper data matching, most become eligible.
An Amazon seller imports $1.8 million in footwear annually at an average 12 percent duty rate and sells 40 percent through international fulfillment centers (Amazon EU). The 5-year estimated refund is approximately $427,680 in refundable duties. This assumes consistent duty rates and matched export records.
Returned footwear that Amazon destroys as waste is eligible for destroyed merchandise drawback. This is a separate eligibility basis from direct exports. Amazon provides destruction records, though obtaining them requires a request. The statute allows recovery on destroyed returns, and the amount can be substantial if your return rate is high.
Your customs broker will need: (1) your import entry numbers and the entered values, duty amounts, and line-item HTS codes from CBP records; (2) evidence of export (commercial invoices, bills of lading to international addresses, or Amazon fulfillment center records for international orders); (3) evidence of destruction (Amazon waste records or customs destruction certificates); and (4) SKU or invoice matching to connect imports to exports. This is all created during your normal business operations. We help organize it into a format your broker can file.
Section 301 tariffs on Chinese footwear significantly increase the refundable amount for sellers sourcing from China. If your footwear carries Section 301 duties, the refund calculation includes them. The same 5-year lookback applies.
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Free EstimatorDrawbackIQ prepares claim packages for a licensed customs broker to file. DrawbackIQ is not a customs broker. This page is informational only.