Client
A large apparel manufacturer.
Challenge
A potential client approached J.M. Rodgers Co. seeking to transition their existing duty drawback program from their previous broker. The scope included overhauling their duty drawback program and auditing their import and export data banks. Despite having Customs approvals for a dual-duty drawback program using 1313(j)(1) and 1313(j)(2), the client had not received any refunds. During the transition, J.M. Rodgers identified significant issues beyond unclaimed refunds:
- Lack of Compliance Reviews: The previous provider had conducted minimal compliance reviews of earlier claims and data.
- Incomplete Data: Incomplete data had rendered some of the client’s inventory useless for drawback.
- Data Verification Issues: The incomplete data made it challenging to verify values and quantities.
Solution
J.M. Rodgers undertook a meticulous process to rectify the issues:
- Data Collection: Requested the previous broker’s relevant import and export data. Upon receiving the documents, it was clear that only 2,000 of the promised 6,000 entries were provided.
- Problem Identification: Gained access to the client’s ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) portal to cross-reference ACE data with the previous broker’s data, identifying several discrepancies.
- Client Consultation: Informed the client that the previous broker’s corrupt data had compromised their inventory and suggested allowing a year of data to be liquidated to start anew.
- Data Scrubbing: Removed the corrupted data from the client’s data banks and established a new, clean starting point to ensure proper visibility and accuracy moving forward.
Results
By scrubbing the client’s data and establishing a new baseline, J.M. Rodgers successfully implemented a revamped drawback program, resulting in over two million dollars in annual refunds.
