Federal tariff refund portal opens April 20
A federal portal will open April 20 allowing businesses to apply for refunds of Trump-era tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down, potentially unlocking cash for import‑sensitive firms. Industry coverage noted companies are contesting access to roughly $170 billion in unlawfully collected tariffs, creating a material liquidity event for some manufacturers and hardware firms. (cbsnews.com) (crainsdetroit.com)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open its tariff-refund portal on April 20, giving importers a way to claim back duties the Supreme Court threw out in February. (cbp.gov) The system is called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, and it will launch inside the agency’s Automated Commercial Environment secure portal. Phase 1 starts Monday, April 20, 2026, and covers certain unliquidated entries and some entries filed within 80 days of liquidation. (content.govdelivery.com) Only the importer of record or an authorized customs broker can file, and the claim goes in as a Comma-Separated Values file through the web portal, not through the Automated Broker Interface. Refund recipients also need bank-account information on file in the portal to get paid electronically. (cbp.gov) The money at stake is large. Reuters reported that about 330,000 importers paid roughly $166 billion in the tariffs at issue, and Customs said its first automated phase can handle about $127 billion of that total. (nbcnews.com) The Supreme Court ruling covered tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a 1977 law built for national emergencies. Thomson Reuters said the decision in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump* invalidated IEEPA-based tariffs, including certain reciprocal duties and some measures aimed at Canada, Mexico, and China. (thomsonreuters.com) The ruling did not wipe out every U.S. tariff. Thomson Reuters said tariffs imposed under Sections 232, 301, and 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 remain in force, so companies still have to separate refundable duties from tariffs that are still legally collectible. (thomsonreuters.com) Customs says CAPE is built to combine refunds, including interest, instead of sending money back one entry at a time. Once a claim is accepted, the agency removes the IEEPA tariff line, recalculates the duties owed, and liquidates or reliquidates the entry before issuing the refund. (content.govdelivery.com) Not every importer will get money quickly. Hogan Lovells, summarizing Customs guidance, said approved Phase 1 refunds are expected within 60 to 90 days after acceptance, while Reuters reported a separate $2.9 billion subset of entries will require manual processing outside the main automated track. (hoganlovells.com) (nbcnews.com) For manufacturers, wholesalers, and hardware importers that carried these duties on their books, April 20 is the start of an application process, not an automatic payout. Customs is opening the door Monday; companies still have to file clean claims and wait for the agency to process them. (cbsnews.com)
