Sell on Amazon, Walmart, Shopify or another marketplace? Orders that ship across the border, and some returns, can carry import duty you can get back.
If you import inventory, pay duty, and later sell some of it to buyers in another country, the duty on those units may be refundable. This works whether you sell from the U.S. or from Canada.
U.S. sellers can recover up to 99% of eligible duty through CBP, with five years from each import to claim. Customer returns can qualify too.
Canadian sellers can recover the full customs duty on goods exported unchanged, including to U.S. buyers, with four years from each import to claim.
Marketplaces make cross-border selling easy. What they do not do is tell you that the duty on every unit that leaves the country can come back. New orders ship every day, so the opportunity keeps growing. That is why we set it up as a program, not a one-off claim.
Do your orders cross the border?
| Selling from the U.S. | Selling from Canada | |
|---|---|---|
| Customs agency | CBP | CBSA |
| Refund | Up to 99% of eligible duty | Full customs duty on goods exported unchanged |
| Time to claim | 5 years from each import | 4 years from the release of each import |
| Orders to buyers abroad | Unused merchandise drawback. Substitution allowed by 8-digit HTS code | Same-condition export drawback |
| Orders across the U.S.–Canada border | To Canada or Mexico: direct identification of units only, no substitution | To the U.S.: full drawback. The CUSMA cap does not apply to goods exported unchanged |
| Customer returns | Can qualify if exported or destroyed under CBP supervision | Returns resold in Canada do not qualify |
| Not refunded | Section 232 duties, antidumping and countervailing duties. IEEPA tariffs go through a separate CBP process | GST and HST. Recover these as input tax credits |
Repacking, relabelling and kitting for fulfilment do not usually stop goods qualifying in either country.
| Scenario | Drawback? |
|---|---|
| Order shipped to a buyer in another country | Yes, potentially |
| Inventory moved to a fulfilment centre or 3PL in another country | Yes, potentially |
| Unsold stock returned to your overseas supplier | Yes, potentially |
| Customer returns exported or destroyed | U.S.: yes, potentially. Canada: depends on the goods and their condition |
| Order delivered to a buyer in your own country | No |
| Returns resold in your own country | No |
A U.S. kitchenware brand pays about $6 of duty per unit, including Section 301 tariffs. 15,000 units a year ship to buyers outside North America and 4,000 unsellable returns go to an overseas liquidator. At 99%, that is about $113,000 a year in potential refunds.
A Toronto home goods brand pays $36,000 a year in duty. About 40% of units ship to U.S. buyers from its Canadian 3PL. That is about $14,400 a year, or up to about $57,600 across four years if it has never claimed.
Example figures are simplified for illustration. Actual duty depends on classification, origin and customs value.
Most marketplace sellers already hold what a claim needs. It is spread across different systems:
The work is in matching them, tying each exported SKU to an eligible import. That is what we do.
We recover the eligible history first, then run the process on a set schedule so new orders keep getting claimed.
Marketplaces handle the sale, not your import duty. Nobody files drawback for you.
A few dollars of duty per unit adds up across thousands of orders and several years.
Only units that left the country count. Filter by ship-to country.
Destruction only counts if CBP is notified first and can supervise it. Standard marketplace disposal programs usually do not meet this.
If a marketplace export program or forwarder is the exporter, you need their written waiver of the right to claim.
GST and HST are not refunded through drawback.
Send us your import entries and an export of your orders and returns. We confirm what qualifies in each country, match exported units to duty-paid imports, and coordinate licensed drawback specialists to file with CBP or the CBSA. Then we keep it running for future orders. No successful recovery, no success fee.
Yes, potentially, in both the U.S. and Canada. If you imported the goods, paid duty, and sold them to buyers in another country, the duty on those units may be refundable.
No. Goods exported to the U.S. in the same condition they were imported can qualify for full drawback of Canadian customs duty.
Yes, but only by direct identification of the imported units. Substitution is not allowed for exports to Canada or Mexico.
In the U.S., yes, if they are exported or destroyed under CBP supervision. In Canada, returns resold in Canada do not qualify.
Five years from each import in the U.S. Four years from the release of each import in Canada.
The assessment is free. After that we earn a percentage of what is recovered. No successful recovery, no success fee.
This page provides general information and is not legal, tax or customs advice. Sources: 19 U.S.C. 1313(c) and (j), 19 CFR Part 190, CBSA Memorandum D7-4-2 and Memorandum D7-4-3. Marketplace names are used for illustration only. Eligibility depends on the facts of each transaction and the rules in effect at the time.
Free opportunity assessment. If there is a refund worth pursuing, we build and run the program. No successful recovery, no success fee.
See If You Qualify →