Drawback

In thecustomstlaws, this term denotes an allowance made by the governinent upon the duties due on imported merchandise when the importer, instead of selling it here, re-exports it; or the refunding of such duties if already paid. This allowance amounts, in some cases, to the whole of the original duties; in others, to a part only. A drawback is a device resorted to for enabling a commodity affected by taxes to be exported and sold in the foreign market on the same terms as if it had not been taxed at all. It differsin this from a bounty, that the latter enables a commodity to be sold for less than its natural cost, whereas a drawback enables it to be sold exactly at its natural cost.