Inbound defect fees waived on delayed international FBA shipments
Amazon has loosened its inbound rules for sellers shipping FBA stock from overseas during peak season, after widespread ocean transit delays, port congestion and customs holds. The change is applied automatically to international shipment plans created between 1 August and 30 November 2026, and fees already charged on qualifying shipments are being refunded.
What exactly is changing
- In a multi-destination plan, related shipments now have 45 days to arrive after the first is received — up from 30.
- No deleted or abandoned defect fee as long as the remaining shipments land inside that 45-day window.
- Automatic shipment closure moves out to 90 days, giving in-transit freight more room.
- Defect fees already charged on eligible shipments are reimbursed — check your Reimbursement report.
- The defect is still recorded against Inbound Performance, so the metric impact remains.
Why this matters for sellers
Inbound defect fees on a multi-destination ocean plan can run into real money across a peak-season replenishment, and until now a delay at the port was charged to you even though nothing in it was under your control. The waiver removes that penalty for the window that matters most. The catch is that the defect is still logged against Inbound Performance, so the metric damage stays even when the money comes back — if your inbound score is already marginal, a string of delayed plans can still cost you placement limits later.
What to do next
- 1Pull your Reimbursement report and confirm any defect fees already charged on August–November plans have been credited back.
- 2Check the arrival status of every open multi-destination plan against the new 45-day clock, not the old 30.
- 3Keep monitoring Inbound Performance — the fee is waived, the defect is not.
- 4Where ocean transit is unpredictable, split high-velocity SKUs across plans so one delayed container does not hold up a whole shipment group.
This summary is written from Amazon's own Seller Central and Amazon Ads announcements and is general guidance, not advice on your specific account. Amazon revises policies, dates and fees regularly and terms differ by marketplace — confirm the current rule in Seller Central for your store before acting on it.