Audit every cross-border return. Recover the duty and VAT you are owed.
De minimis is over. Every return is now a formal customs entry on both sides of the border. MyCustomsInfo® audits your returns, identifies recoverable duty and VAT under Returned Goods Relief and US drawback, and flags declaration risk before it costs you.
CBP-validated audit model. ISO 27001 implementation in progress. Used by SME importers, customs agents and enterprise compliance teams.
The problem
Returns used to be a logistics problem. They are now a customs problem.
With de minimis thresholds removed across the US, the EU and (by 2029) the UK, every outbound consumer shipment and every inbound return is a full customs entry. The duty cost is real on every parcel. The reclaim opportunity on returned stock is sitting unclaimed in your three-year window. The risk of getting it wrong now sits with the importer of record.
Duty paid twice on returned stock
You paid duty on the outbound shipment. The customer returned the goods. Without a Returned Goods Relief claim, the inbound import pays duty again. Most SMEs never file the claim.
The EU €3 stays paid on every return
From 01 July 2026, every distinct item in a consumer parcel into the EU carries €3 customs duty. The duty is non-refundable on consumer returns unless goods are faulty. Per-item accuracy on the original declaration is now commercially material.
Reclaim windows expire silently
UK RGR allows three years from original export to claim back duty and VAT on returned goods. Most importers do not look back across that window. The money expires.
Declaration accuracy is now audited per parcel
Volume increase means more error exposure. HMRC, the EU and CBP are all collecting item-level data on previously unscrutinised low-value shipments. Misclassification carries a real cost on every entry now.
Why now
Three regimes, one direction of travel.
The end of duty-free thresholds for low-value parcels is no longer speculative. It is in force in the US, agreed in the EU and confirmed in the UK. Every cross-border seller and importer is affected, on outbound shipments and on returns.
| Regime | Threshold | Effective | Status | What it means for returns |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Section 321 | $800 | 29 August 2025 | In force | Every inbound shipment pays duty. Returns to origin trigger drawback eligibility under 19 U.S.C. §1313. |
| European Union €150 threshold | €150 | 01 July 2026 | Imminent | €3 customs duty per item (per declaration line, with identical items grouped). €2 handling fee per line from 01 November 2026. Duty is non-refundable on consumer returns unless goods are faulty. |
| United Kingdom £135 threshold | £135 | By March 2029 | Confirmed | HMRC projects ~£600m per year in additional duty. Item-level data collection in scope. Consultation closed March 2026. Three-year RGR window remains, and the window starts contracting once the relief itself is removed. |
Every inbound shipment pays duty. Returns to origin trigger drawback eligibility under 19 U.S.C. §1313.
€3 customs duty per item (per declaration line, with identical items grouped). €2 handling fee per line from 01 November 2026. Duty is non-refundable on consumer returns unless goods are faulty.
HMRC projects ~£600m per year in additional duty. Item-level data collection in scope. Consultation closed March 2026. Three-year RGR window remains, and the window starts contracting once the relief itself is removed.
The postal channel response
PDDP makes the outbound clean. We handle what it cannot.
The postal channel has built its own answer to the de minimis problem. Royal Mail, La Poste, Deutsche Post, An Post and 29 other postal operators worldwide now offer Postal Delivered Duties Paid (PDDP) services. PDDP collects duty at point of sale and settles it postal-operator to postal-operator. Our job starts where PDDP's ends.
What PDDP is. PDDP is an operational service launched by the International Post Corporation in 2021. It allows postal operators to collect duty and tax at the point of sale, settle between themselves through the IPC's API, and give the parcel a green-lane customs treatment at destination. Royal Mail launched its US-bound PDDP service on 28 August 2025, one day before the Section 321 suspension took effect.
What PDDP is not. PDDP is not an Incoterm. The ICC has published eleven Incoterms in the 2020 edition. PDDP is an IPC service. Sellers using PDDP-enabled postal channels still need an Incoterm in their contract — typically DDP or DAP — and PDDP is the operational mechanism that delivers the DDP commercial promise through the postal channel.
What PDDP does well. Full landed cost visibility to the consumer at checkout. Reduced refused-goods rates. Faster customs clearance. Settlement risk shifted to the postal channel. For SME importers shipping consumer parcels into the US or EU, PDDP simplifies the outbound duty payment dramatically.
Where PDDP stops. PDDP collects duty cleanly. It does not guarantee the per-item count is right, the HTS classification is correct, or the customs value is accurate. It does not reclaim duty on returned stock. It does not address the non-refundable position on EU consumer returns. It does not address US drawback eligibility on shipments returned to origin. That is where MyCustomsInfo® sits.
How MyCustomsInfo® helps
Audit. Identify. Recover.
The Returns Audit Module sits inside MCI Professional and Enterprise. It matches three years of outbound exports against inbound imports, identifies every shipment where duty and VAT are reclaimable, and flags declaration risk on the parcels still going out.
Reclaim Identifier
Matches every outbound export against every inbound import across your three-year window. Outputs a ranked list of shipments where Returned Goods Relief (UK), the EU equivalent under UCC Article 203, or US duty drawback applies.
- ✓UK RGR eligibility check on every re-import
- ✓EU RGR equivalent matching on EU AES data
- ✓US drawback eligibility flagging
- ✓Calculated recoverable duty and VAT per shipment
Documentation Gap Report
Identifies previously claimed RGR or drawback entries where supporting evidence is missing or insufficient. The audit risk you do not want a customs authority to find first.
- ✓Proof-of-export validation
- ✓Same-state-as-exported evidence check
- ✓Original exporter / importer match
- ✓Evidence pack export for HMRC, EU customs, CBP
Declaration Accuracy Layer
The standard MCI audit model applied to inbound returns and outbound consumer shipments. Now that every parcel is a formal entry, every misclassification, valuation error and origin slip costs money.
- ✓HTS / commodity code accuracy on every shipment
- ✓Customs value validation
- ✓Country of origin and preference claim audit
- ✓IEEPA, Section 232 and Section 301 exposure flagging
Cross-Border View
Tracks the same goods unit across UK, EU and US declarations. If you trade in multiple regimes, returns flows often cross all three. One view, one audit, one reclaim pipeline.
- ✓Multi-regime declaration matching
- ✓Per-regime reclaim opportunity ranking
- ✓Annual reclaim summary for finance teams
- ✓CSV and PDF export for client or agent use
Honest scope
What we do. And what we do not.
We say it on the homepage and we say it here. MyCustomsInfo® is a customs audit platform, not a returns logistics provider. Clarity protects you and us.
What MyCustomsInfo® does
- ✓Audits outbound and inbound customs declarations on returned shipments
- ✓Identifies Returned Goods Relief and drawback reclaim opportunities
- ✓Calculates recoverable duty and VAT per shipment, across a three-year window
- ✓Flags declaration risk: classification, valuation, origin, preference claims
- ✓Outputs evidence packs and reclaim reports ready for your customs agent
- ✓Tracks the same goods unit across UK, EU and US regimes
What MyCustomsInfo® does not do
- ✕Generate return shipping labels or operate a returns portal
- ✕Determine HTS classifications for a specific entry
- ✕File customs declarations or drawback claims with HMRC, the EU or CBP
- ✕Provide consumer-rights workflows under Directive 2011/83/EU
- ✕Host the "withdrawal button" required by Directive 2023/2673
- ✕Conduct customs business under 19 U.S.C. §1641
Who it is for
Built for the people who carry the cost.
Returns volumes typically sit at 15–30% of order volume for direct-to-consumer brands. The customs cost of those returns now lands on the importer of record. These are the segments we built the module for.
Direct-to-consumer brands
UK or EU-based, shipping to consumers in the US, EU or both. Returns trigger reclaim opportunity on both sides.
Customs agents and brokers
Client demand for reclaim service. Use the platform to deliver a reclaim audit at scale and earn 30% partner commission.
Marketplaces and aggregators
Item-level data requirements at scale. Bulk audit, bulk reclaim, multi-tenant data isolation built in from day one.
Returns logistics specialists
3PLs handling reverse flows. Add customs compliance value on top of your logistics service through partnership.
Frequently asked