DHL/Custom Duty Drawback help!

[regius]

This concerns $73, but it's becoming a nightmare.
Following the receiving of my recent Aero delivery, I naturally received the DHL invoice. However, I returned the jacket, therefore, I don't wish to pay this custom duty. I called DHL, sometimes the person seem to want to help in the way of relieving me from this, but I always ended up without the invoice number on hand to allow her to proceed. When I call back, another woman answers and she's often black and white, and asked me to go to the US custom and apply for a drawback.
However, the drawback process is when you did pay the invoice and want a refund, I just don't want to pay in the first place. So it's not relevant.
Anyhow, let's say I do pay, then do the drawback, anyone here has experience with US Custom's new ACE system? it's electronic, ultra complicated for an individual to use/set up an account etc.

 

[Carlos840]

I don't have experience with the US customs, but i can tell you having dealt with similar situations in the Uk that once you have paid that money you will most likely never see it back.
They make you jump throuh so many hoops and call so many different numbers you loose the will to get your money back and drop it.
It is far easier to not pay and get them to understand why you are not paying than to pay and then convince them to refund you

At least that was the case with DHL/ customs in the UK.

 

[regius]

Shoot. Too late


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[regius]

DHL said a drawback broker does this, shared a NJ broker. Then the “broker”
Just told me this is handled by brokers, she can give me the brokers contact....


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[Psant25]

Sounds like a lot of fuss for 73 bucks

 

[ton312]

I wonder how IH can ship duty free via UPS under $2K value but DHL has to slap with seemingly random fees? My direct Aero was $60 (I know others have paid more). I thought I got off Scott free but the day before delivery the piper asked to be paid. Both UPS and DHL deliver in 2-3 days from U.K. it’s odd but frankly for the speed I’m ok with it.

 

[sweetfights]

Aero jacket direct from Scotland to Canada- $200 fee.
Aero jacket direct from Scotland to my USA address - $70 fee.
Many products from abroad to Canada sneak through; most vendors know this, want more business and use services less likely to incur extra fees. A true crap shoot!!

 

[belfastboy]

Aero jacket direct from Scotland to Canada- $200 fee.
Aero jacket direct from Scotland to my USA address - $70 fee.
Many products from abroad to Canada sneak through; most vendors know this, want more business and use services less likely to incur extra fees. A true crap shoot!!

Yes that is my experience...most purchases thru the mail come straight thru. Once in a while and it appears random...not related to value...it will get pulled and i pay the taxes to the Canadian govt.

 

[Mich486]

You guys are lucky. In uk nothing ever slips through and on a jacket it’s 22.5% of its value in fees plus handling charge.


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[NZJono]

Try importing an expensive leather jacket to New Zealand. My Aeromarine cost me about an extra $500 in postage, duties and fees. Companies like DHL seem to attract the eye of the Customs officials here. I wish Aero would offer alternative shipping options eg Royal Mail. I've bought a few things from the UK using Royal Mail and the goods just seem to pass through with no issues.

 

[regius]

The DHL service Aero uses has miraculous speed, so it satisfies the need for the rush, so I’m normally ok with the fee. But this time, I returned the jacket


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[Thuggee]

DHL & Fedex go out of their way to collect duties and taxes here in Australia, they do this I believe to make money out of the person receiving the item and it’s all legal , the admin fees they charge start to equal the fees they are collecting it’s robbery, how do I know this if you use some other delivery service like EMS you never get hit with 1cent in fees or duties & I’ve been buying stuff for years.

Word of advice if your in Australia and buy from Aero ask for your jacket to be shipped by Parcel Force which will mean no customs fees when the jacket arrives, Aero will accomodate this delivery option if you ask—->avoid DHL they are thieves.


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[jonbuilder]

I received 4 jackets this year from Europe one through DHL and no customs fees. Also 2 hat bodies from Ecuador last year through DHL no fees. I guess it's hit and miss.

 

[Colin G]

These companies can charge whatever they want. Canada Post charges $10 to broker a package while UPS charges $50 - $70, which is why I broker my own packages when anything is sent up here using UPS. All I pay is a %11 provincial and federal tax.

I generally avoid DHL international as I am unsure how to broker my own packages through them. Their import fees are nuts in Canada.

 

[jpk_NJ]

DHL & Fedex go out of their way to collect duties and taxes here in Australia, they do this I believe to make money out of the person receiving the item and it’s all legal , the admin fees they charge start to equal the fees they are collecting it’s robbery, how do I know this if you use some other delivery service like EMS you never get hit with 1cent in fees or duties & I’ve been buying stuff for years.

Word of advice if your in Australia and buy from Aero ask for your jacket to be shipped by Parcel Force which will mean no customs fees when the jacket arrives, Aero will accomodate this delivery option if you ask—->avoid DHL they are thieves.


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Exactly what I learned after my first couple Aero's delivered to USA. I also was hit for a returned jacket and DHL actually threatened w a collection agency. Such a scam. Always specify in your order instructions that it be delivered via ParcelForce only. Aero has always obliged with no fuss at all. It does take maybe 5 days vs 2DHL, but will be delivered by USPS and they've never asked me for duties. DHL & Fedex are milking these fees as part of their business model.

 

[Alliance Drawback Service]

I know I'm late to the party, but hoping this helps someone in the future with duty drawback.

Duty drawback is often a convoluted process and often quite impossible at an individual's level. In order to file a drawback claim (electronically submit an ABI file to Customs via specialized software), privilege applications must first be drafted and submitted to CBP. The application approvals can typically take 4-7 months to be approved by CBP as they are inundated.

Customs brokers that facilitate drawback claim filings often do so by charging a % of the duty that is recovered. From a single claim being filed, to managing the entirety of a company's drawback program, there is quite a bit of work that needs to be done by the Broker.

Now consider the current environment with duty being paid. In mid to late 2018 the Trump Administration subjected China origin product imports to Section 301 (+25% Ad Valorem). From its inception to end of year 2021, approximately $161.9B in duty has been paid solely on China imports to CBP. What this means is that duty drawback providers, such as ourselves, have become more selective of the business we take on and lend our resources to manage.

Considering the current environment, a drawback provider or even general broker would likely not take on filing single one-time claim unless total duty recovered was in the hundreds of thousands (remember we work on a % of duty recovered). There are also various levels of complexity and compliance exposure depending on what statutory filing provision your import(s) and export(s) fall under - such as Unused Substitution, Unused Direct Identification, Manufacturing Substitution, etc.

To determine drawback viability, one should consider...
- How much duty is paid annually?
- What % of the duty paid imports are exported, or "like" (same HTS #) product is exported?
- What % of the exports go to USMCA destinations? (restrictions apply)
- Is your company the importer and exporter of record?
- Do you have access to the support records (proof of import & export) to support the claim?

For example:
- A company is paying $1,000,000 in duty annually
- 25% of this product is exported to Canada
* Potential annual recovery would be $250,000
- Since the export destination is USMCA, it limits the claimant to match imports & exports using Direct ID. This requires a high level of administrative effort for high volume/part # programs

For a new program, the drawback provider or broker must draft and submit one-time Customs applications on their client's behalf; remember it's 4-7 months for those to be approved. Then, data elements and supporting records must be obtained for the imports and exports being used in claims. Several validations and preparation steps must also take place to ensure the claims are compliant.

If a provider or broker is working on a % of the recovery, let's say 10%, then their fee would be $25,000/yr for the example program. For the amount of work and timeline required for this type of program, it's likely the provider would not take on the business. There are outliers though. This same program with higher recovery levels could potentially be viable.

Drawback programs that qualify for HTS level substitution are ideal in the current environment. That means a company can import a Ferrari, export a Mercedes, and use the Mercedes export to substitute against the duty paid Ferrari to claim drawback on the lesser value of the two because they share the same 8-digit HTS #. The main concept with HTS substitution is that the origin of the export does not matter, only that it is exported after and duty paid import, the 8 or 10 digit HTS is shared and qualifies, and the export destination is not USMCA.

That's a lot of information and quite a bit of concepts, but I hope this helps those seeking information on drawback.

While we are service providers, we love educating individuals on duty drawback. If you want to learn more please visit us at www.alliancechb.com and we would be happy to provide more information. Our website simplifies the complexity of drawback, so be sure to check out the educational animated videos.

All the best,
Alliance Drawback Services