Import export record matching
Import export record matching is the real work before tariff recovery claims.
Many importers can find duty cost. Fewer can connect duty-paid import records to exports, manufactured goods, rejected merchandise, destruction records, or replacement activity cleanly enough for a specialist review.
Start with the import side.
A useful import record set is line-level. It should show entry number, entry date, supplier, country of origin, product description, HTS field, quantity, value, ordinary duty, Section 301 duty when available, invoice reference, shipment reference, and internal SKU or item key. Annual totals are helpful for sizing, but they are not enough for a serious screen.
Then test the downstream side.
The downstream side may be export shipments, customer invoices, WMS records, freight-forwarder exports, return records, destruction records, replacement shipments, or manufacturing BOM output. The practical question is not whether a story sounds plausible. The practical question is whether the fields can be connected.
Common match keys.
- SKU, item, part number, lot, serial, or product-family field.
- Commercial invoice, customer order, shipment, BOL, airway bill, or export document reference.
- BOM relationship between imported component and exported finished good.
- Date window that makes business sense and can be explained by an internal owner.
What the screen does with weak matches.
Weak matches are not forced into a claim narrative. They become gaps, assumptions, stop conditions, or questions for licensed review. That discipline protects the buyer from refund hype and gives any later broker or specialist a cleaner starting point.
Trade Recovery Data provides data-readiness screening only. It does not provide customs brokerage, legal advice, HTS classification, drawback eligibility opinions, claim preparation, claim filing, or refund guarantees.