Walmart returns can look like one deduction problem. In practice, they are a chain of records: the return reason, product disposition, supplier agreement, handling fee, invoice, and any later credit.

The fastest way to get lost is to start with the dollar amount. Start with the program instead. A Walmart supplier reviewing AP deductions follows a different process from a Marketplace seller reviewing a customer return in Seller Center.

First, identify which returns system you are in

For Walmart suppliers, return activity can generate deductions on the remittance. The most common codes include:

  • Code 94: Goods returned or defective merchandise. This is generally the merchandise portion of the charge.
  • Code 60: A handling charge based on the supplier agreement.
  • Code 120: A defective merchandise charge tied to Walmart Discretion terms, when those terms apply.

These codes may appear together, but they should not be reviewed in isolation. The supplier agreement determines who owns defective return costs, what allowance applies, whether goods must be returned, and which fees Walmart can charge.

Marketplace sellers use a separate dispute workflow in Seller Center. Customer returns, failed deliveries, and referral fee adjustments each have their own eligibility rules and submission path.

How to review a Code 94 deduction

A Code 94 is not automatically invalid because Walmart charged for a return. The real question is whether the charge matches the commercial terms and the supporting activity.

Check four things:

  1. Responsibility: Does the supplier agreement make your company responsible for defective returns?
  2. Allowance: If you fund a defective allowance, has Walmart already recovered the applicable amount through that allowance?
  3. Disposition: If the agreement requires Walmart to return the product, did you actually receive it?
  4. Value: Do the item, quantity, and cost on the claim match your records?

A handling fee should receive the same treatment. Do not assume a standard percentage applies to your business. Compare Code 60 directly with the percentage in your current agreement.

When a returns charge may be disputable

A supplier-side returns deduction may deserve a closer look when:

  • the defective allowance covers the return, but Walmart also deducted the merchandise value
  • the agreement does not assign the excess defective cost to the supplier
  • the agreement requires the goods to be returned, but no return was received
  • the item cost or quantity does not match the claim
  • the same return was charged more than once
  • the product does not belong to your catalog
  • a handling or freight charge conflicts with the agreement or actual disposition

There are exceptions. Some damaged, leaking, hazardous, or broken items may not be safe to ship back. A missing physical return is not enough by itself to prove that every charge is invalid.

The strongest dispute is narrow. Identify the exact line, explain the mismatch, and request only the unsupported amount.

Marketplace sellers have a different path

Walmart’s Marketplace dispute standards cover eligible customer returns or refunds, failed deliveries returned to sender, and incorrectly charged referral fees.

The route depends on the issue:

  • Customer return or refund disputes go through the Returns dashboard in Seller Center.
  • Most failed-delivery disputes go through the Payments dashboard.
  • Referral fee adjustments go through Seller Center Support.

Walmart also sets general limits. A seller can dispute an item only once, must file within the stated window, and cannot dispute a return or refund the seller initiated. Keep It Rules, Extended Returns, lost-in-store treatment, and an invalid return center address can also affect eligibility.

Policies and filing windows change. Confirm the current standard in Seller Center before submitting.

A practical returns review checklist

For each charge:

  1. Identify whether it is a supplier deduction or Marketplace seller charge.
  2. Tie the charge to the return record, item, quantity, and date.
  3. Compare the merchandise value, handling fee, and freight to the governing terms.
  4. Confirm the product disposition and whether a physical return was required.
  5. Check for prior allowances, credits, duplicates, or earlier disputes.
  6. File through the correct portal with evidence for the specific mismatch.
  7. Track the decision and confirm the credit reaches the remittance or payment report.

The RetailPath perspective

Returns recovery works best as reconciliation, not a queue of disconnected claims.

RetailPath brings the return, deduction, invoice, agreement, and supporting documents into one review path. That makes it easier to separate valid charges from recoverable errors, build the right evidence, and follow credits through to cash.

The goal is not to dispute every return. It is to resolve the right exceptions quickly and understand which products, locations, and return reasons keep creating loss.