SITUATION
A wine distributor contacted Comstock to discuss their drawback options regarding the return of 1,500 cases of imported, tax-paid red wine to Italy. Hoping to offset some of the expense of the import and subsequent export, they wanted to be able to claim drawback on duties that had been paid when the wine was imported. They were not a regular drawback claimant and had no approvals in place. The client wanted to export the shipment within the next two weeks.
CHALLENGE
In order to claim drawback for a claimant who does not have approvals from Customs & Border Protection (CBP), CBP Form 7553 (Notice of Intent to Export) must be filed before an export is shipped for drawback purposes. This form must be filed at least two working days prior to the intended date of export with an Outbound Inspector near the location of the wine. This process can 
be time-consuming and frustrating for claimants, as it entails locating the correct contact at CBP and allowing enough time for CBP to advise whether they want to inspect the shipment. In this situation, it took three phone calls and conversations with five different people at CBP before the right person was located. Due to the client’s need to ship the export within two weeks, the form was prepared and filed immediately. After three days, the inspector called to waive his right to inspect and agreed to send back his originally signed copy of the CBP 7553. The shipment of returned wine left as scheduled.
RESULT
After the signed CBP 7553 was received from the CBP Inspector, a drawback claim was filed for the returned merchandise. A desk review was issued by CBP for the claim which required documentation to be submitted to support all claim data. Following the submission of the desk review response and several months of review by Customs, the claim liquidated and the client received their refund of $50,000.
