Businesses can begin filing for tariff refunds on Monday as the federal government starts unwinding billions of dollars in import duties imposed by the Trump administration under emergency powers, opening the door to what could be one of the largest repayments to importers in U.S. history.
At 8 p.m. ET on April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will launch the first phase of a new claims system that will allow importers to seek repayment of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), following a series of court rulings that invalidated the policy.
The Supreme Court ruled in February that the law President Donald Trump relied on for his signature policy did not authorize the imposition of tariffs, finding that Congress – not the president – holds authority over such taxes. The decision set the stage for lower courts to order the government to reverse course and return the funds.
A judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade subsequently directed CBP to remove the tariffs from affected entries and refund any excess duties collected, along with interest.
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The scale of the refunds could be significant for businesses across industries. Court filings show more than 330,000 importers paid duties on over 53 million shipments, totaling roughly $166 billion.
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Starting Monday, companies and their customs brokers can submit refund requests through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal using a newly developed tool known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE.
The system allows importers to file declarations listing the entries for which they are seeking refunds. Once a claim is validated, CBP will recalculate the duties without the IEEPA tariffs and reliquidate the entries, triggering repayment.
CBP said valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days after a claim is accepted, though more complex cases could take longer. The agency is rolling out the process in phases, with the initial stage limited to certain unliquidated entries and those within 80 days of final accounting.
Officials have warned the process could be complicated given the scale. In court filings, CBP described the volume of refunds as “unprecedented,” noting that existing systems were not designed to handle so many claims and may require significant manual processing.
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The refunds will be paid directly to the businesses that originally paid the tariffs, marking an early step in reversing a major trade policy with broad economic impact.
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