Duty Drawback Program Readiness Checklist
A governance and readiness checklist for companies deciding whether they are organised enough to run a duty drawback programme — data, records, ownership, controls, training and retention. It is not an eligibility checklist and makes no determination about any shipment, entry or claim.
Who it is for: Trade compliance leads, controllers, supply-chain directors and operations managers at importers and manufacturers who are considering, restarting or auditing a drawback programme.
Last reviewed 2026-08-26.
Sections in the checklist
- 1.Programme ownership and internal accountability
- 2.Source-data availability across import, production and export systems
- 3.Records, retention and reconstruction discipline
- 4.Internal controls and separation of duties
- 5.SOPs, training and continuity
- 6.Audit readiness and self-review cadence
- 7.When to escalate to a licensed customs broker or trade counsel
Trade-compliance content on this site is educational and is not customs, legal or tax advice. Raja Torain is not a licensed customs broker and does not file customs or drawback claims.
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About the author
Raja Torain
International logistics and trade operations practitioner. Writes about freight forwarding and NVOCC operations, complex and project cargo, tariff and landed-cost exposure, and the records behind duty drawback programmes. More about Raja.