Table of Contents
- What Exactly Changed and When
- Which Claim Types Are Affected
- How the 60-Day Clock Works
- Why Old Tools and Old Processes Now Fail
- What You Need to Do Immediately
- FAQ — 60-Day Window
What Exactly Changed and When
Amazon’s previous FBA reimbursement policy gave sellers up to 18 months to identify and file claims for reimbursable discrepancies. This was a generous window that allowed sellers to review their accounts periodically and still recover money from errors that happened months earlier.
From January 2025, Amazon reduced this window to 60 calendar days. The change applies globally across all Amazon marketplaces — US, UK, India, Canada, and EU.
To understand the scale of this change: the window reduced by 97%. Sellers went from having 540 days to file a claim to having just 60 days. Any process, tool, or workflow that was not specifically redesigned for this new window will regularly miss claims.
Which Claim Types Are Affected
The 60-day window applies to all standard FBA reimbursement claim types. There are no exceptions based on claim type or marketplace:
- Lost inventory — Units received at an FBA centre but not in your inventory
- Damaged inventory — Items damaged in Amazon’s warehouse not reimbursed automatically
- Return discrepancies — Customer returns not put back into sellable inventory or reimbursed
- Fee overcharges — Incorrect weight, dimensions, category, or duplicate fee charges
- Inbound shipment shortfalls — Units tracked to FBA but not checked in by Amazon’s receiving team
- Removal and disposal errors — Units not returned correctly or not properly compensated
The clock starts from the date of the original discrepancy event — not from when you discover it. A lost inventory event that occurred on March 1 has a filing deadline of April 30, whether you know about it on March 2 or April 25.
How the 60-Day Clock Works
Understanding exactly when the 60-day clock starts is critical for knowing how much time you actually have to file.
| Claim Type | Clock Starts From |
|---|---|
| Lost inventory | Date Amazon marked the unit as received at FBA but lost |
| Damaged inventory | Date of the damage event in Amazon’s system |
| Return discrepancy | Date the customer return was processed by Amazon |
| Fee overcharge | Date the incorrect fee was charged to your account |
| Inbound shortfall | Date Amazon closed the inbound shipment |
| Disposal/removal error | Date the removal or disposal order was processed |
A key practical implication: for inbound shipment shortfalls, the clock starts from when Amazon closes the shipment — not when you sent it. Amazon can take 2–4 weeks to fully process an inbound shipment. If Amazon closes your shipment on day 1 and you only notice the shortfall on day 45, you have just 15 days left to file. This is why daily monitoring of shipment closures is essential.
Why Old Tools and Old Processes Now Fail
Most automated reimbursement tools available in the market were built when the window was 18 months. Their architecture assumes there is plenty of time — they typically:
- Audit accounts weekly or bi-weekly rather than daily
- Submit claims in bulk batches rather than individually with tailored documentation
- Generate generic claim descriptions that worked with the old system but are now rejected at higher rates
- Have no mechanism for preparing manufacturing cost documentation per individual claim
- Have minimal or no appeal capability for denied claims
Under the 60-day window, a weekly audit means every discrepancy is already 7 days old before you even know it exists. Add time for documentation preparation, case opening, and any back-and-forth with Amazon, and you are regularly operating within 30–40 days of the deadline. For high-volume accounts with many inbound shipments and returns, this creates a constant risk of missed claims.
What You Need to Do Immediately
If you have not already adapted your reconciliation process for the 60-day window, here are the immediate steps:
Step 1: Audit Your Last 60 Days Right Now
Go to Seller Central and review inventory adjustments, shipment reports, customer return reports, and fee statements for the past 60 days. Any discrepancy you find that is more than 45 days old needs to be filed immediately — today, not next week.
Step 2: Set Up Daily Monitoring
Manual daily monitoring is time-consuming but necessary. Review the following reports every day: Inventory Adjustments, Manage FBA Returns, FBA Payments, and Inbound Shipment summaries. Any new discrepancy needs to be logged and dated immediately.
Step 3: Prepare Your Cost Documentation
Compile current COGS documentation for every active ASIN. You need: supplier invoices or purchase orders, per-unit costs in a clearly documented format, and a landed cost calculation if your COGS includes freight and duties. Store these where they can be accessed quickly when filing a claim.
Step 4: Establish a Filing Calendar
Set hard deadlines for claim filing — do not wait until day 55 to file something you identified on day 10. Best practice is to file any identified discrepancy within 7–14 days of discovery, leaving buffer for the documentation and case-opening process.
Step 5: Consider Professional Help
For accounts with significant volume, daily manual auditing alongside running a business is not practical. A professional reconciliation service that genuinely audits daily and files individually with full documentation will recover more than DIY approaches while taking the operational burden off your team entirely.
FAQ — Amazon 60-Day Claim Window
Is Your Account Losing Money Right Now?
A free audit of your Seller Central account will reveal exactly how many current discrepancies are within the 60-day window and how much is recoverable. Takes 48–72 hours. No cost, no commitment.
