ANALYSIS: Tariff Refunds FAQ: What Businesses Need to Know

On March 5, the Court of International Trade ordered US Customs and Border Protection to liquidate or reliquidate “any and all” entries that were subject to the IEEPA tariffs that were ruled unlawful by the Supreme Court in February, and to refund that money to the importers of record.

That order is on hold as CBP works out a plan to process refunds on more than $130 billion paid in IEPPA tariffs.

CBP has supplied two court-ordered reports on its proposed refund process. Another report is due March 31.

The CBP proposal sheds some light on what the refund process might entail, and what businesses can do to prepare. However, many uncertainties remain.

Here’s a look at businesses’ biggest questions regarding the refunding of IEEPA tariffs, and where the answers currently stand.

What is the new proposal for refunds?

In its March 12 submission to the CIT, CBP stated it is developing a new process called “Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries” (CAPE).

CAPE will consist of four elements:

• Claim Portal
• Mass Processing
• Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation, and
• Refund

Under the proposal, importers of record will submit claims via the Claim Portal, a web-based application under development. Claims will consist of comma-separated values (CSV) files (e.g., spreadsheets) that list all entry summaries for which the importer is claiming a refund.

After mass processing that includes claim validation and duty calculations, CBP will review the claims and initiate liquidation/reliquidation for validated entries. Entries will be updated at this step to reflect the corrected tariffs.

CAPE will consolidate refunds by liquidation/reliquidation date and importer of record. Refunds will then be sent electronically to the importer of record’s designated bank account.

As of March 27, CAPE is not functional; CBP estimates that workflows are anywhere from 43% to 80% complete. It plans on a phased development with simpler processes and less complicated cases able to be processed sooner.

Notably, the CBP proposal and subsequent reports do not mention the 45-day timeline it had presented to the CIT on March 6.

Will I definitely get my money back?

Theoretically, yes. The CIT has ordered full refunds, with interest, to all importers, without regard to whether an importer has or will file a refund lawsuit.

The CIT has also stated that the government will not be allowed to challenge reliquidations, a necessary part of the refund process for many entries.

It appears, however, that the administration will take steps to limit the number of refunds that it will have to pay out.

The nature of the CAPE programs suggests that CBP is not planning automatic refunds; importers may have to specifically apply to obtain their money.

In court documents, the administration has stated that multiple factors will go into the determination of whether to issue refunds on specific entries. CBP plans to review all refund claims, including an examination of any potential customs law violations and other duties owed on the entry that may limit refunds.

What can I do to improve my chances of getting a refund?

Be aware of impending deadlines for liquidations, post-summary corrections, and protests of all entries made after Feb. 2, 2025. The liquidation date for many entries has already passed. Although the CIT has ordered CBP to reliquidate any already-liquidated entries, the clock may be running on some administrative processes.

If your business does not already have an account with CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal, apply for one immediately. CBP has indicated that all refunds will be paid exclusively through ACE; businesses lacking an ACE account will have refund claims rejected.

Ensure your business is signed up for electronic refunds through ACE. Starting Feb. 6, 2026, CBP no longer issues paper checks for refunds; it will only pay refunds electronically. An ACE Portal account is required to process refunds. Importers who have not authorized electronic payments may have refund requests denied. Businesses may sign up for electronic refunds at any time.

Closely monitor your entries in ACE, which tracks entries throughout the customs process, from pre-arrival manifests through post-release activities such as liquidation and protests. Tracking ACE entries will alert importers to significant deadlines, such as liquidation, which could impact refund availability.

Subscribe to and monitor CBP’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service for general refund information. No ACE account is required to register for CSMS messages.

Maintain detailed, accurate documentation for each entry, especially invoices, receipts, proof of payment, and any documentation that indicates that IEEPA tariffs were paid. If you use a customs broker, work closely with them to gather data, track entries, and monitor developments.

Monitor CIT filings and rulings. While that court has held that all importers of record are entitled to a refund without having to file a lawsuit, it’s also true that businesses are continuing to file cases with the CIT to ensure their refunds. Also, if the administration decides to appeal the March 5 ruling as expected, there might come a time when lawsuits remain as the only route to refunds.

Who gets the refunded money?

Only the importer of record is eligible to obtain a refund directly from CBP. The importer of record is the party to an entry transaction who is ultimately responsible for the payment to CBP of all duties and taxes due on the transaction.

The importer of record, however, is not necessarily the entity who was contractually allocated to pay the tariff costs in the relevant supply agreements. If the entity contractually paying for some or all tariffs wishes to recover the refund amount paid to the importer of record, that process will be governed by the underlying contracts. Absent any specific contractual language, however, the contractual payer of the tariffs is unlikely to have any recourse.

What could slow refunds?

As a matter of logistics, existing CBP procedures cover refund processing due to administrative errors, so some infrastructure exists for CBP to build on. CBP has also paid refunds against duties collected in violation of laws before.

But refunds on this scale lack precedent. In the most similar legal proceeding, Customs refunded over $600 million to over 100,000 claimants in a process that took several years. This is a small fraction of the estimated $130 billion paid in IEEPA tariffs, covering millions of entries and hundreds of thousands of businesses.

Also, it is probable that there will be additional litigation on refunds. As mentioned above, the administration is likely to appeal the CIT’s March 5 order on universal refunds, perhaps on the basis of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. Casa, which forbade universal injunctions. The CIT judge overseeing refunds addressed this issue head-on, stating that Trump v. Casa does not apply to the current tariff refund litigation.

CBP has also stated that while a properly raised IEEPA tariff challenge would be subject to” the Supreme Court’s decision in Learning Resources, it reserves the right to challenge specific complaints.

Bloomberg Law subscribers can find related content, including the new Tariffs: At the Crossroads report, on our In Focus: Tariffs resource.

For further insights on tariff refunds, access Bloomberg Law’s new webinar, Adapting to Tariff Turmoil.

If you’re reading this on the Bloomberg Terminal, please run BLAW OUT <GO> in order to access the hyperlinked content, or click here to view the web version of this article.