US launches tariff refund system after Supreme Court ruling

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Monday it has activated the first phase of a new system designed to process refunds for tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) after the Supreme Court ruled that the law did not authorize the president to impose such duties.

In an official update, CBP said it developed the new automated function, known as Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) “to efficiently process refunds for Importers of Record (IOR) who have paid duties pursuant to the IEEPA.”

The agency said CAPE “will streamline and consolidate refunds and interest payments for entries subject to the IEEPA duties, rather than issuing entry-by-entry refunds.”

CBP said Phase 1 of the system was scheduled to go live on Monday, allowing importers and customs brokers to submit CAPE declarations through the ACE Portal by uploading CSV files listing eligible entry numbers.

Under the new procedure, the system validates each declaration and then recalculates duties as if IEEPA tariffs had never applied.

CBP said refunds will be consolidated and issued electronically, with valid claims for most non-warehouse unliquidated entries generally expected to be paid within 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is accepted. That window includes 45 days for CBP review and additional time for Treasury processing.

The agency said certain entries will not be accepted in Phase 1, including those tied to drawback claims, open or suspended protests, some anti-dumping and countervailing duty cases, and entries more than 80 days past liquidation. CBP also said filers cannot use Post Summary Corrections to request IEEPA refunds.

The Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 20 that IEEPA, the statute cited by President Donald Trump when he imposed the tariffs, did not give the president authority to levy them. The decision triggered a wave of lawsuits from companies seeking reimbursement of the duties they had paid.