Definition
The Merchandise Processing Fee (MPF) is a fee U.S. Customs and Border Protection charges on most formal imports, calculated as 0.3464% of the entered value within a per-entry minimum and maximum. MPF paid on goods that are later exported or destroyed is recoverable through duty drawback, and how a claim allocates MPF has a direct effect on how much is refunded.
Also known as: MPF
How is the merchandise processing fee calculated?
MPF on formal entries is an ad valorem fee of 0.3464% of the entered value of the merchandise, subject to a per-entry minimum and maximum set by CBP and adjusted periodically for inflation. Because the fee is capped per entry, high-value entries hit the maximum while small entries hit the minimum, which matters when you later try to recover it.
Is MPF recoverable through drawback?
Yes. MPF is among the fees eligible for duty drawback on qualifying exported or destroyed merchandise, alongside customs duties and certain taxes. For importers with large duty-paid volumes, recoverable MPF adds up, and it is often the part of a claim that gets under-recovered.
Why does MPF allocation matter?
Because MPF is capped per entry, the way a claim spreads recovery across entries and lines changes how much fee you actually capture. Naive first-fit matching can over-allocate MPF to lines where it is wasted and leave eligible fee unclaimed elsewhere. Optimized matching allocates deliberately to maximize MPF drawback, which is why the same data can return more or less MPF depending on the engine that builds the claim.
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Frequently asked questions
For formal entries, MPF is 0.3464% of the entered value, subject to a per-entry minimum and maximum set by CBP and adjusted periodically.