Dispute the duties assessed on a postal shipment — correct the classification or the entry data, back it up with documents, and track the review to an outcome.
When a postal shipment is assessed duties you believe are wrong, file a duty dispute from the shipment itself. Each claim is reviewed on its own merits, and approved corrections carry over to a corrected replacement order.
A dispute covers one shipment and is filed in a single pass. There are no saved drafts — nothing is filed until you submit, anything you enter before then is discarded if you leave, and once a dispute is filed it cannot be edited or withdrawn. Gather your items and your proof before you start.
A dispute can go either way
Correcting an entry can increase the duty owed as well as reduce it. If the review finds more duty is due, Zonos is required to collect the difference. No refund or amount owed is calculated until the review completes.
A Verified Account with duties on the shipment. Shipments with no duty assessed cannot be disputed.
The Dispute by date. Each shipment shows the date its filing window closes. Once it closes, the shipment can no longer be disputed.
A product ID for every item. Items already in your catalog have one. Give any item that is not in your catalog its own unique product ID, so an approved correction has somewhere to save.
Your proof. Commercial invoices, purchase orders, receipts, certificates of origin, or screenshots, as PDF, JPG, or PNG.
For each item you can raise either of these, or both:
Change HS code or item description — the classification or the description is wrong.
Correct other entry data — the declared value, quantity, weight, or country of origin came through wrong.
Every correction needs a justification in your own words. It is read during the review, so name the evidence and say what it shows — "the attached commercial invoice shows a unit price of $18.00, not $180.00" carries a claim that "the value is wrong" does not. A strength meter and a worked example sit under each one as you write it.
Open the postal shipment you want to dispute and select Dispute duties.
2. Select items
Select every item you are disputing. Everything you include is filed as one dispute on this shipment.
3. Describe what is wrong
For each item, choose what you are disputing, enter the corrected values, and write a justification for each correction.
For an HS code claim, let Zonos classify a code from a corrected description, or enter the full 10-digit U.S. code yourself, including the statistical suffix.
4. Answer any additional questions
If your corrected values raise compliance questions — a trade agreement claim or a tariff measure, for example — you are asked them before you continue. Your answers are filed with the dispute.
5. Add proof
Attach each document where it belongs: to the shipment for what you paid and what was sent, and to the individual item a document proves something about. Choose the document type as you upload — for a certificate of origin, also select the trade agreement you are claiming.
One document is required: a commercial invoice, purchase order, receipt, or screenshot on the shipment when you are correcting a declared value. Everything else is optional, and every claim is stronger with a document behind it.
6. Review and submit
Check the duty charged, the items included, and the changes on each item. Edit anything that still needs work, then submit.
Filing is a single action. Once submitted, the dispute cannot be edited or withdrawn.
Disputes in the left navigation lists every dispute you have filed with its current status, filtered by status and searchable by tracking number, dispute ID, or order ID. Open one to see it item by item, with the claims and documents you filed. The shipment carries the same status, so you can check from either side.
Partially approved — some claims were accepted and others were not.
Rejected — the claims were not accepted, and the duty assessed on the original entry stands.
Claim-by-claim verdicts, along with the reviewer's reasoning on anything that was not accepted, appear once the review completes.
For an approved or partially approved dispute, Zonos creates a replacement order carrying the accepted claims and the corrected duties. It is linked from the dispute and from the original shipment, and links back to the original.
Your catalog is updated at the same time: approved corrections, the product IDs you entered, and your additional info are applied to the catalog records for the disputed items, so future entries start from the right data.
No. There are no saved drafts. If you leave before you submit, your selections and uploaded documents are discarded and you start again from the shipment.
Can I edit or withdraw a dispute after I submit it?
No. A submitted dispute cannot be edited, added to, or withdrawn. Review everything before you submit, and contact support if a filed dispute is wrong.
Can a dispute increase what I owe?
Yes. If the review finds that more duty is due on the shipment, Zonos is required to collect the difference. No amount is calculated either way until the review completes.
Do I need a document for every claim?
Only one is required: a commercial invoice, purchase order, receipt, or screenshot on the shipment when you are correcting a declared value. Everything else is optional, though a documented claim carries more weight than an undocumented one.
What happens to my catalog?
Nothing changes until the review completes. Approved corrections, the product IDs you entered, and your additional info are then applied to the catalog records for the disputed items.
Duty disputes
Duty disputes
Dispute the duties assessed on a postal shipment — correct the classification or the entry data, back it up with documents, and track the review to an outcome.
When a postal shipment is assessed duties you believe are wrong, file a duty dispute from the shipment itself. Each claim is reviewed on its own merits, and approved corrections carry over to a corrected replacement order.
A dispute covers one shipment and is filed in a single pass. There are no saved drafts — nothing is filed until you submit, anything you enter before then is discarded if you leave, and once a dispute is filed it cannot be edited or withdrawn. Gather your items and your proof before you start.
Correcting an entry can increase the duty owed as well as reduce it. If the review finds more duty is due, Zonos is required to collect the difference. No refund or amount owed is calculated until the review completes.
Before you file
What you can dispute
For each item you can raise either of these, or both:
Every correction needs a justification in your own words. It is read during the review, so name the evidence and say what it shows — "the attached commercial invoice shows a unit price of $18.00, not $180.00" carries a claim that "the value is wrong" does not. A strength meter and a worked example sit under each one as you write it.
File a dispute
1. Start the dispute
Open the postal shipment you want to dispute and select Dispute duties.
2. Select items
Select every item you are disputing. Everything you include is filed as one dispute on this shipment.
3. Describe what is wrong
For each item, choose what you are disputing, enter the corrected values, and write a justification for each correction.
For an HS code claim, let Zonos classify a code from a corrected description, or enter the full 10-digit U.S. code yourself, including the statistical suffix.
4. Answer any additional questions
If your corrected values raise compliance questions — a trade agreement claim or a tariff measure, for example — you are asked them before you continue. Your answers are filed with the dispute.
5. Add proof
Attach each document where it belongs: to the shipment for what you paid and what was sent, and to the individual item a document proves something about. Choose the document type as you upload — for a certificate of origin, also select the trade agreement you are claiming.
One document is required: a commercial invoice, purchase order, receipt, or screenshot on the shipment when you are correcting a declared value. Everything else is optional, and every claim is stronger with a document behind it.
6. Review and submit
Check the duty charged, the items included, and the changes on each item. Edit anything that still needs work, then submit.
Filing is a single action. Once submitted, the dispute cannot be edited or withdrawn.
Track a dispute
Disputes in the left navigation lists every dispute you have filed with its current status, filtered by status and searchable by tracking number, dispute ID, or order ID. Open one to see it item by item, with the claims and documents you filed. The shipment carries the same status, so you can check from either side.
Outcomes
A review returns one of three outcomes:
Claim-by-claim verdicts, along with the reviewer's reasoning on anything that was not accepted, appear once the review completes.
For an approved or partially approved dispute, Zonos creates a replacement order carrying the accepted claims and the corrected duties. It is linked from the dispute and from the original shipment, and links back to the original.
Your catalog is updated at the same time: approved corrections, the product IDs you entered, and your additional info are applied to the catalog records for the disputed items, so future entries start from the right data.
Frequently asked questions
Can I save a dispute and come back to it?
No. There are no saved drafts. If you leave before you submit, your selections and uploaded documents are discarded and you start again from the shipment.
Can I edit or withdraw a dispute after I submit it?
No. A submitted dispute cannot be edited, added to, or withdrawn. Review everything before you submit, and contact support if a filed dispute is wrong.
Can a dispute increase what I owe?
Yes. If the review finds that more duty is due on the shipment, Zonos is required to collect the difference. No amount is calculated either way until the review completes.
Do I need a document for every claim?
Only one is required: a commercial invoice, purchase order, receipt, or screenshot on the shipment when you are correcting a declared value. Everything else is optional, though a documented claim carries more weight than an undocumented one.
What happens to my catalog?
Nothing changes until the review completes. Approved corrections, the product IDs you entered, and your additional info are then applied to the catalog records for the disputed items.
Was this page helpful?