TurboTax for Import Duty Rebate
Pax is an AI powered platform that streamlines import tax rebates for global trade companies, from retailers to manufacturers. We help file refunds in clicks, not months. Previously, companies had to rely on customs brokerage firms due to the complex, manual nature of the process. These firms often enforce a minimum threshold of $100K, rejecting SMBs. Pax’s technology democratizes this process, enabling companies of all sizes to file drawback claims. Approximately 80% of duties, amounting to about $10 billion annually, go unclaimed. Pax enables companies of all sizes to recover money that is rightfully theirs, ensuring they never leave free money on the table. By automating and simplifying the import tax recovery process, Pax is revolutionizing how global trade companies manage their finance and customs compliance.
Active Founders
Penny Chen, Founder
Penny is the Co-Founder and CEO of Pax AI. She has designed and built algorithms for pricing, forecasting, fulfillment, and capacity planning to optimize workflows, costs, and quality across logistics and supply chain. She has extensive experience driving projects at MIT, Flexport, and Amazon, addressing real-world problems through a mixture of AI/ML, statistics, and optimization.
Chris Le, Founder
Chris is the Co-Founder and CTO of Pax AI. Before Pax AI, Chris worked on scaling up Amazon's supply chain network where he was introduced to the logistics space. After Amazon, Chris built the TikTok E-Commerce merchant systems from 0-1 and took that learning to build Kyros, a live streaming e-commerce platform in Singapore. Most recently, Chris built the financial rewards and billing systems at Brex.
Company Launches
TL;DR - Billions of dollars paid on import duties are eligible for return every year, but the claim process is costly and time-consuming. That’s where Pax comes in. We turn complex regulations into algorithms, so importers of all sizes can reclaim the money that's rightfully theirs effortlessly. We can give sub $50m sales ecommerce brands 3-5% back on their sales.
Hi everyone, we’re Penny and Chris, aka the team behind Pax.
🧠 Penny: 8+ years in research, built algorithms for supply chain and logistics @ Flexport, Amazon & MIT. Chat with me about #optimization #sauna #Taiwan.
🎯 Chris: 6+ years in software engineering, built financial systems and supply chain solutions @ Amazon, Brex & TikTok. Chat with me about #boxing #meditation #Vancouver.
Problem
U.S. companies spend over $100 billion annually on import taxes. The good news is that Duty Drawback—a tax refund program—lets companies reclaim that cash! Astonishingly, $10 billion (80% of eligible refunds) goes unclaimed each year. Why? The process is a real headache.
Today, dealing with the government and customs brokerages takes months, as they take 10-20% of the refund and refuse to work on claims under $100k. As a result, only large enterprises file drawbacks, leaving smaller businesses out in the cold. With trade wars heating up, duty drawbacks are more important than ever—new rules like Tariff 301 include an additional 25%- 100% duty on $50 billion of Chinese goods. It’s time to make the process simple and accessible!
Solution
Pax creates a TurboTax-like experience, requiring no duty drawback expertise. Our product uses AI to handle the heavy lifting of collecting, extracting, and validating data and maximizes claim amounts with optimization algorithms. Pax democratizes duty drawback, enabling importers of all sizes to recover money that is rightfully theirs.
Using Pax, companies:
- Save hundreds of hours dealing with manual data entry.
- Reclaim millions of dollars spent on import duties.
- Full in-suite dashboard and analytic reporting.
😀 Ask: If you or any companies you know import goods into the U.S. (e.g., retailers like Nike or manufacturers like Zero Motorcycles) or customs brokerages, we’d love to chat! Please reach us at founders@getpaxai.com!
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