Drawback Claim Deadline

Five years from the date of import. A claim has to be complete within five years after the designated merchandise was imported (19 U.S.C. 1313(r)(1)); after that, it is considered abandoned. So a company starting drawback today can still claim on imports from the last five years, as long as each export or destruction falls within five years of the import it is paired with and, for substitution claims, comes after that import (19 CFR 190.51(e)(1)(iii)). Domestic alcohol claims under 1313(d) have three years from export instead (19 CFR 190.102(e)).

A complete claim has four parts (19 CFR 190.51(a)(1)): the drawback entry transmitted in ACE, any required notices of intent to export or destroy on CBP Form 7553, the import entry data the claim relies on, and proof of export or destruction. Supporting documents are due within 24 hours of filing the claim (190.51(a)(2)(xvi)); CBP's ACE guidance counts the 24 hours from ACE acceptance. The filing date is the date CBP has the complete claim, uploads included (190.51(e)(1)(i)). ACE rejects an incomplete claim, which you can complete within the five years, and a claim found incomplete after acceptance may be denied (190.52(a)).

• Export or destruction: within five years of import for unused merchandise and rejected merchandise (19 U.S.C. 1313(j) and (c)). For manufacturing, the imported materials must be used and the articles exported within five years (19 CFR 190.27).
• Notice on CBP Form 7553: at least 5 working days before an unused merchandise export (190.35), 7 working days before a destruction (190.71) and 5 working days before rejected merchandise is returned to CBP custody (190.42), unless you hold a waiver of prior notice.
• Documents: within 24 hours of filing the claim (190.51(a)(2)(xvi)).
• CBP requests for information: answers within 30 days, which CBP can extend (190.52(b)).
• Amendments: within five years of import and before the claim liquidates (190.52(c)).
• Records: kept for three years after the claim liquidates (190.15).

Only in two situations. The deadline can be extended when CBP itself caused the delay (19 U.S.C. 1313(r)(1)), and by up to 18 months for claimants affected by a declared major disaster who ask within one year after the five-year period ends (1313(r)(3); 19 CFR 190.51(e)(2)). There is no general extension, so file early: in a five-year lookback, the oldest imports expire one day at a time.

A drawback claim is deemed liquidated one year after it is filed (19 U.S.C. 1504(a)(2)(A)), unless the import entries it designates have not been liquidated and become final within that year, in which case the one-year rule does not apply (1504(a)(2)(B)). The Federal Circuit confirmed that reading in Performance Additives, LLC v. United States, No. 2024-2059 (Feb. 24, 2026). CBP can extend liquidation, up to four years in total (1504(b)). Refunds are due within 90 days after liquidation (1504(a)(3)), and you can protest a liquidation within 180 days (1514(c)(3)). Accelerated payment pays an estimate before liquidation.

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