How it works
From upload to claim folder in minutes.
Upload a quarter of records. The agent matches every export to its import and builds your claim folder. A licensed broker reviews and files.†
About 3 minutes on a sample file. Your email and name open it. We never ask for your ACE login or bank details.
- A refund of up to 99%[1]
- Published fees
- Sealed on AMD SEV-SNP
Who does what
Four parties. Each one has a job.
-
You
- Create an account and choose your broker.
- Upload one quarter of records.
- Add anything the agent says is missing.
- Sign your broker's engagement letter and power of attorney.
Your pace. No call needed.
-
The agent
- Reads your files and lists what's missing.
- Checks every entry for CAPE first.
- Matches exports to imports and drafts each claim line with its evidence.
- Checks its work and hands the package to your broker.
Claim package within 24 hours of a complete package.*
-
Your broker
- Sends you its engagement letter and power of attorney directly.
- Reviews every line, then approves, returns or removes it.
- Files the claim in ACE as entry type 47.[3]
Set in your broker's engagement letter.
-
CBP
- Reviews the claim and may ask for more records.
- Pays you directly by ACH.[4]
Then the fee.Your broker invoices you after CBP pays. It's due in 30 days, on principal only. Any interest CBP pays is yours.
Every claim line names its entry, its export and its source document.
Try the demo*24 hours from a complete package: entry summaries (CBP 7501), commercial invoices, packing lists, transport documents and export records for the period, plus the bill of materials and production records for manufacturing claims. We tell you the moment your package is complete, and the clock starts then. CBP rulings, waivers and approvals are separate from this clock.
Documents
What to upload, by type of claim
PDFs, scans, spreadsheets or one ZIP all work. Your broker can pull entry data from ACE.
Every claim
- Entry summaries (CBP 7501), or your ACE entry report exports
- Commercial invoices
- Packing lists
- Bills of lading or air waybills
- Export invoices or sales records for the goods that left
- Proof of export: a bill of lading, air waybill, freight waybill, Canadian customs manifest or cargo manifest; postal records for mail; or records from an electronic export system CBP has approved, such as your EEI filings.
- Copies kept in the normal course of business work. The proof must show the date of export and who exported.[5]
Exported or destroyed without use (unused merchandise)
- Inventory records that trace the goods from import to export
- Notices of intent to export (CBP Form 7553), filed at least 5 working days before export, or your waiver of prior notice[6]
- No notices for past exports? CBP can approve them after the fact. You can do this once, unless you show good cause. CBP answers within 90 days.[6]
Shipped to Canada or Mexico
- The same proof of export. Most exports to Canada need no EEI filing, so the carrier's bill of lading or a Canadian customs manifest is the usual proof.[5][7]
- Goods shipped in the same condition can get full drawback. For other goods, drawback is capped at the lower of the U.S. duty and the duty paid in Canada or Mexico, so add a record of that duty. Substitution claims on unused goods can't count these exports, with narrow exceptions.[8]
Used to make what you export (manufacturing)
- Bill of materials or formula
- Production records: dates, quantities, inputs and waste
- Your manufacturing ruling, if you have one. You can file before the ruling is approved, but CBP won't pay until it is.[9]
Returned goods
- Retail returns, for any reason: your return records (return number, SKU, date and quantity) and the record of the original sale[10]
- Goods you rejected: proof they were defective, didn't match the order, or were shipped without consent[10]
- Matching a return to a different import of the same item? It must share the 8-digit tariff number and SKU, and have come in within 1 year before the export or destruction.[10]
- Notice of intent (CBP Form 7553), at least 5 working days before the goods go back to CBP custody for export, or 7 working days before destruction[10][11]
Destroyed instead of exported
- Notice of intent (CBP Form 7553), at least 7 working days before destruction[11]
- Proof of destruction
Defense suppliers only
Leave out drawings, specifications and anything marked CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information). Drawback doesn't need them. Leave out export-controlled technical data (ITAR or EAR) too, in either mode. Sealed protects the rest of the file: prices, suppliers and customers.
Not sure which type? The agent sorts what you upload.
Read the duty drawback guideSealed or Standard
Two ways to process your files
Same checks, same licensed broker. Standard suits records that aren't sensitive.
| What changes | SealedPrivate by default. Provable on request. | StandardMay use outside AI. Staff access logged. |
|---|---|---|
| Who can read your documents | Only the people you approve, such as your broker. Exceptions go to you or your broker. | Named NexQloud staff, only for exception review and support, with every access logged |
| Training | Never | Your documents are never used to train any model. |
| After the run | Working copy cryptographically erased; a signed receipt is kept | Kept for the engagement, then deleted on schedule |
| Fee on the first $500K recovered[12] | 20% | 18% |
Which mode fits your records?
Sealed fits records that must stay private: trade secrets (supplier prices, formulas or customer lists you protect), records for export-controlled goods, or a customer contract that requires confidential processing.
Standard is enough when your records hold nothing you would mind a named, logged NexQloud specialist seeing, or an outside AI provider processing. It costs 2 points less.
You can change modes for later uploads.
Each Sealed run ends in a receipt anyone can check against AMD's keys.[13]
Read the honest limits
Get started
See the agent build a claim.
Run the demo on a sample file. About three minutes.
-
01
Upload one quarter.
Entry summaries, invoices and export records.
WhoYou
-
02
AI drafts your claim.
It ties each export to its import, to the cent.
WhoThe agent
-
03
Your broker files. CBP pays you.
The refund goes directly to your bank account.
WhoA licensed broker
Your email and name open the demo. We never ask for your ACE login or bank details.
Ready now? Start a claimIEEPA refunds
CAPE first. Then drawback.
Most IEEPA refunds go through CAPE, CBP's refund process for IEEPA duty.
CAPE skips any entry already on a drawback claim, and CBP recommends filing CAPE first.[14]
So we check every entry for CAPE first, at no extra fee. No entry goes on a drawback claim until its CAPE question is settled.
You or your broker files CAPE. Refund firms work through one of you.
Through CAPE, CBP refunds IEEPA duty in full, plus interest.[15] Drawback then covers the other duties on what you export.
One entry
IEEPA duty on this entry?
If so
CAPE question settled?
If not
HoldIf it is
Drawback on the other dutiesCBP's timing
After your broker files
With accelerated payment
- CBP's only published timing, from 2018: processing "will generally take place within 3 weeks of the claim resubmission date."[16]
- CBP pays estimated drawback before the claim liquidates. A bond covers any overpayment.[17][18]
- You need CBP's approval first. CBP answers an application within 90 days.[17]
Without accelerated payment
- Payment comes when the claim liquidates.
- A claim is deemed liquidated one year after filing unless CBP extends it, up to four years.[19]
Both ways: payment, bonds, protests and records
- CBP pays you directly by ACH. You set this up in your own ACE Portal account.[4] We never ask for your bank details.
- A bond or other third-party cost is quoted before you agree. You pay the surety directly. Anything over $500 needs your written approval.
- If CBP reduces a claim, the fee is reduced to match.
- If you disagree with how a claim liquidates, your broker can protest within 180 days.[20]
- Keep claim records for three years after the claim liquidates.[21]
Commitments
What we never ask for, or promise
- Your ACE login or password.
- Your bank details. CBP pays you directly.
- A retainer, prefunding or any payment up front.
- Your refund. We never buy it, take an assignment of it, or ask to be named on CBP Form 4811.
- Your power of attorney. It goes straight from you to your broker.
- A result before your entries are read. Your entries decide.
CBP's fraud warning signs
CBP's fraud warning lists the signs: unknown parties offering to file, requests for bank details or passwords, and pressure to act.[22] If anyone claiming to be us does any of these, tell us through our contact page.
Written by the NexQloud Drawback team from the primary sources linked on this page.
NexQloud Drawback is software used by licensed customs brokers. NexQloud Drawback is not a government agency. This page is not legal advice.