Drawback, in
lawLaw is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in
commerceWhile business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
, paying back a
dutyIn economics, a duty is a kind of tax, often associated with customs, a payment due to the revenue of a state, levied by force of law. It is a tax on certain items purchased abroad...
previously paid on exporting
excisableExcise tax in the United States is a indirect tax on listed items. Excise taxes can be and are made by federal, state and local governments and are far from uniform throughout the United States...
articles or on re-exporting foreign goods. The object of a drawback is to let commodities which are subject to taxation be exported and sold in a foreign country on the same terms as goods from countries where they are untaxed. It differs from a
bountyA bounty is a payment or reward often offered by a group as an incentive for the accomplishment of a task by someone usually not associated with the group. Bounties are most commonly issued for the capture or retrieval of a person or object. They are typically in the form of money...
in that a bounty lets commodities be sold abroad at less than their cost price; it may occur, however, under certain conditions that giving a drawback has an effect equivalent to that of a bounty, as in the case of the so-called sugar bounties in
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(see
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
). The earlier
tariffA tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s contained elaborate tables of the drawbacks allowed on
exportThe term export is derived from the conceptual meaning as to ship the goods and services out of the port of a country. The seller of such goods and services is referred to as an "exporter" who is based in the country of export whereas the overseas based buyer is referred to as an "importer"...
ing or re-exporting commodities, but so far as the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
is concerned (as of 1911) the system of
bonded warehouseA Bonded warehouse is a building or other secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. In the latter case a customs bond must be posted with the government...
s practically abolished drawbacks, as commodities can be
warehouseA warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
d (placed in
bondIn finance, a bond is a debt security, in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest to use and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed maturity...
) until needed for exportation.
In the United States, drawback is a U.S. law that allows exporters to recover duty paid for importations provided that the product is subsequently exported. It is considered a Customs privileged program. It is a cumbersome, time staking process that requires proof of exportation, and an impeccable audit trail to the original importation. Further, a Foreign-Trade Zone may be used to either expedite or avoid the drawback process. A Foreign-Trade Zone Admission in Zone Restricted status is considered the legal equivalent to an exportation in the eyes of the U.S. Customs & Border Protection.