Small Drawback
Wait —
If you’ve exported or destroyed goods after paying duty on them, you may be eligible to get some of that money back. Most brokers don’t bother with these claims. Mercantile is one of fewer than 25 in the country that does — and one of fewer than 10 who actively pursue claims under $100,000.
am I owed a refund?
What Small Drawback Actually Is
Duty drawback lets you reclaim duties paid on goods that are later exported or destroyed — a formal process with its own paperwork, timing, and rules. “Small” drawback refers to claims under roughly a quarter million dollars, and it comes with fewer compliance requirements than larger claims, which is exactly why most firms skip it: the dollar amount doesn’t justify their overhead. It’s a different animal from a Section 301/IEEPA refund — one is a straightforward reclaim, the other involves more moving parts.
Mercantile specializes in drawback refunds up to $250,000. If your refund potential is larger than that, we’ll refer you to a trusted partner rather than take on a claim outside our specialty.
How We Work It
Before anything gets filed, we check whether it’s actually worth doing. If the cost of properly filing a claim would outweigh the refund, we’ll tell you — even if that means turning down the work. If the numbers make sense, we make sure the paperwork supports the right story from the start, so there’s no back-and-forth with customs later.
proof
Placing clients at the center of everything, understanding their needs, and delivering tailored solutions that drive value for their businesses. Understanding client needs goes beyond surface-level interactions; it necessitates a deep dive into the intricacies of their strategic objectives
- Fewer than 25 brokers nationally offer small drawback services; fewer than 10 actively pursue claims under $100,000.
- Drawback refunds up to $250,000 — larger claims referred to a trusted partner.
- Over $10M recovered in CAPE refunds across the client base (a related recovery program — see the CAPE / Section 301 page).