How much can I actually recover?
For a typical Amazon FBA seller importing from China at moderate volume, refunds range from $15,000 to $250,000. Larger importers regularly recover seven figures. The exact amount depends on your entries, country of origin, HTS classifications, and how much you paid in IEEPA-coded duty lines. For most importers, a single refund pays back the service fee dozens of times over.
What if my freight forwarder or customs broker already filed?
Many brokers are filing only for their largest accounts, leaving small and mid-size importers behind. Some are filing in batches that lump errors and omissions together. We verify your existing filings, identify missed entries, and only proceed where we can add value. If your existing broker has fully covered your claim, we will tell you so and decline the engagement.
What documents do I need to provide?
Very little. To begin, we need your importer of record name and EIN, and authorization to pull your entry history from CBP's ACE portal. We handle the rest — entry summaries, commercial invoices, packing lists, and HTS reconciliation are all retrieved or reconstructed by our team.
How long does it take to get paid?
Once filings are submitted, CBP typically issues refunds within 90 to 180 days. Some claims are processed faster; complex protests can take longer. Refunds are wired directly to your business account by CBP — we never hold your funds.
What is the role of BDO in this process?
BDO acts as the independent CPA oversight on the engagement. They review every filing before submission, maintain an audit trail of each entry processed, and hold your service fee in escrow until the work is complete. If CBP does not issue a refund on your claim, BDO returns your fee to you in full. This is your independent assurance that the process is honest and your money is protected.
Are there deadlines I need to worry about?
Yes — and they are real. Protests must generally be filed within 180 days of liquidation of each individual entry. Post-Summary Corrections have their own windows. Each entry has its own clock, and once a window closes that refund is permanently forfeit. The longer you wait, the more entries you lose.
I am not based in the United States. Does that matter?
No. As long as your business was the importer of record on the U.S. entry (typically through a U.S. EIN), you are entitled to the refund regardless of where your headquarters is located. We work with sellers based in Israel, Asia, Europe and beyond.
What if my volume is small — is this worth it?
For most small importers, yes — the math still works. Tier I is just $1,500, and we have processed refunds as small as $4,500. As long as the recovered refund exceeds the service fee, you come out ahead. And because your fee sits in escrow under BDO supervision, you have zero downside risk: if CBP issues no refund, your fee is returned in full.
What exactly does my service fee cover?
The flat fee covers everything end-to-end: ACE entry retrieval, full duty reconciliation, preparation and filing of protests, Post-Summary Corrections and §1520(d) claims for all eligible entries, BDO review of every filing package, CBP correspondence on your behalf, and an audited statement of account. No hourly billing, no add-ons, no per-entry charges.
