Modernized drawback under 19 CFR Part 190: TFTEA, the three categories, and the 8-digit substitution rule

Drawback is one of the six exam categories, and it is a favorite for trap questions because two versions of the rules exist side by side in Title 19. The modernized rules created by the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (TFTEA) live in 19 CFR Part 190; the older, pre-2018 rules live in 19 CFR Part 191 and now apply only to legacy claims. An exam writer will happily cite the wrong Part to see whether you know which one is current. This guide walks the current framework: what changed under TFTEA, the three categories of drawback, the 8-digit substitution standard, and the 5-year claim window. For where drawback sits among the other regulations, see the corpus map, and the glossary defines drawback, entry, and liquidation.

What is drawback, and which Part governs it now?

Drawback is the refund, in whole or in part, of the duties, taxes, and fees paid on imported merchandise, authorized when that merchandise (or a substitute for it, or an article made from it) is later exported or destroyed. The governing statute is 19 USC 1313, and the refund is generally 99 percent of the eligible duties, taxes, and fees, with CBP retaining 1 percent.

The regulation that implements the statute changed in 2018. TFTEA, signed on February 24, 2016, directed CBP to modernize drawback, and the modernized provisions took effect on February 24, 2018. CBP published the implementing regulations as a new 19 CFR Part 190 (final rule at 83 FR 64942, December 2018). The result is the split every candidate must keep straight:

Situation	Governing regulation
Drawback claims filed on or after Feb 24, 2018	19 CFR Part 190 (modernized, TFTEA)
Legacy claims filed before Feb 24, 2018	19 CFR Part 191 (retained for those claims only)
Claims filed during the one-year transition (Feb 24, 2018 to Feb 23, 2019)	Claimant could elect Part 191 or Part 190; after the transition, all claims use Part 190

The exam-relevant takeaway: Part 190 is the current, correct Part. Part 191 remains printed in the CFR only because pre-TFTEA claims are still adjudicated under the law in effect when they were filed. If a question offers “Part 191” as the source for a claim filed today, it is a distractor. The same trap appears with trade-agreement Parts: Part 182 (USMCA) is current while Part 181 (NAFTA) is legacy, exactly as Part 190 is current while Part 191 is legacy.

A second thing TFTEA changed: all drawback claims are now filed electronically in ACE. Paper drawback filing ended with the transition, so the modern claim is a data transmission, not a stack of forms.

What are the three categories of drawback?

The exam organizes drawback into three statutory categories, each with its own subpart in Part 190. Know which statute and which subpart go with each, because that pairing is the most common recall question.

Manufacturing drawback (19 USC 1313(a) and (b); Part 190 Subpart B)

Manufacturing drawback refunds duty when imported, duty-paid merchandise is used to manufacture or produce an article in the United States, and that article is then exported or destroyed. It comes in two flavors:

• Direct identification (19 USC 1313(a)): the specific imported merchandise used in the manufacture is identified, traditionally by accounting method.
• Substitution (19 USC 1313(b)): the manufacturer may substitute other merchandise for the imported merchandise if it meets the 8-digit standard below, so identical duty-paid stock does not have to be physically segregated.

The core time limit lives in 190.22: the imported merchandise must be used in manufacture within 5 years of its importation, and the completed claim must be filed within 5 years of importation (see the claim window below).

Unused merchandise drawback (19 USC 1313(j); Part 190 Subpart C)

Unused merchandise drawback refunds duty when imported merchandise is exported or destroyed without having been used in the United States. It also has two flavors:

• Direct identification (19 USC 1313(j)(1)): the exact imported merchandise is exported or destroyed unused.
• Substitution (19 USC 1313(j)(2)): other, unused merchandise that meets the 8-digit standard is exported or destroyed in its place.

Incidental operations (testing, cleaning, repacking, inspection) do not count as “use” that would disqualify the claim.

Rejected merchandise drawback (19 USC 1313(c); Part 190 Subpart D)

Rejected merchandise drawback refunds duty on imported merchandise that does not conform to sample or specifications, was shipped without the consignee’s consent, was determined to be defective at import, or was ultimately sold at retail and returned. The merchandise is returned to CBP custody and exported or destroyed. TFTEA extended the window for exporting or destroying rejected merchandise to 5 years from the date of importation, aligning it with the other categories.

What is the 8-digit HTSUS substitution standard?

This is the single biggest substantive change TFTEA made, and it is heavily tested. Under the old Part 191 law, substitution used two different, fuzzier tests: unused-merchandise substitution required goods that were “commercially interchangeable,” and manufacturing substitution required goods of the “same kind and quality.” TFTEA replaced both with one bright-line, classification-based test.

Under Part 190, substituted merchandise generally qualifies if it is classifiable under the same 8-digit HTSUS subheading number as the designated imported merchandise (190.22 for manufacturing, 190.32 for unused). Classification, not a commercial-interchangeability judgment, now decides eligibility.

There is one exception every candidate should memorize, because it is a classic trap. When the imported merchandise’s 8-digit subheading description begins with the term “other,” the 8-digit match is not enough. In that case the substitute qualifies only if it and the imported merchandise share the same 10-digit HTSUS statistical reporting number and that 10-digit description does not begin with “other.” The rule prevents a vague “other” basket heading from being used to substitute unlike goods.

Drawback type	Old Part 191 substitution test	Modern Part 190 substitution test
Manufacturing (1313(b))	Same kind and quality	Same 8-digit HTSUS subheading (190.22)
Unused merchandise (1313(j)(2))	Commercially interchangeable	Same 8-digit HTSUS subheading (190.32)
“Other” basket exception	n/a	Must match 10-digit statistical number whose description does not begin with “other”

What is the 5-year claim window?

TFTEA also standardized the deadline. Under 190.51, a complete drawback claim is timely only if it is successfully transmitted not later than 5 years after the date the merchandise designated as the basis for the claim was imported. A claim not completed within that period is deemed abandoned, with a narrow exception for periods when filing was prevented by a Presidentially declared major disaster.

Two nuances the exam likes:

• The 5 years runs from the date of importation of the designated merchandise, not from the date of export. This uniform import-anchored clock replaced the assortment of 3-year export windows that existed under the old law.
• A “complete” claim is a defined package: the drawback entry data, any Notice of Intent to Export, Destroy, or Return (CBP Form 7553) where required, the applicable import entry data, evidence of exportation or destruction, and the required certifications. Supporting documentation must be uploaded within 24 hours of filing. An incomplete transmission does not stop the 5-year clock.

How drawback shows up on the exam

Drawback questions reward candidates who can do three things fast: name the correct current Part (190, not 191), match each category to its statute and subpart, and apply the 8-digit substitution test including the “other” exception. Tab Part 190 so its subparts are a single flip apart, and keep 190.22, 190.32, and 190.51 marked because those three sections carry most of the testable rules. Place Part 190 among entry, valuation, and recordkeeping in the corpus map, drill the lookups in the navigation trainer, and test yourself with the free practice test. The penalty consequences of a false drawback claim run through 19 USC 1592, covered in the customs penalties and prior disclosure guide, and the records a claimant must keep are governed by Part 163 recordkeeping.

Sources: 19 CFR Part 190 (Modernized Drawback), sections 190.2 (definitions), 190.22 (manufacturing substitution), 190.32 (unused-merchandise substitution), and 190.51 (time of filing), with the underlying statute at 19 USC 1313 and the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 (Pub. L. 114-125), and 19 CFR Part 191 retained for legacy claims, as published on the Legal Information Institute mirror of the CFR (law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/19), cross-checked against the eCFR (ecfr.gov/current/title-19), reviewed 2026-07-24. Drawback rules and time limits change; confirm the current text before relying on it.