Tariff refunds go live

U.S. importers can now start filing for refunds on Trump-era tariffs that the Supreme Court struck down, with claims opening Monday through a new Customs portal. (cbp.gov) U.S. Customs and Border Protection launched the first phase of its CAPE refund system on April 20, 2026, inside the Automated Commercial Environment, the agency’s trade portal. Phase 1 covers certain unliquidated entries and some entries filed within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov) The underlying case turned on a 1977 emergency-powers law, the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. In a 6-3 ruling on February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court said that law did not authorize President Donald Trump to impose the tariffs at issue. (supremecourt.gov) The justices did not spell out how refunds should work, so the fight moved to the U.S. Court of International Trade. On March 4, 2026, that court said all importers of record who paid those International Emergency Economic Powers Act duties were entitled to the benefit of the Supreme Court’s decision. (sullcrom.com) Customs told the court it had collected about $166 billion in those duties from more than 330,000 importers across more than 53 million shipments. As of April 14, 56,497 importers had registered for refunds totaling $127 billion, including interest, according to court filings cited by the Associated Press. (abcnews.com) The refund process is not automatic. Importers of record and customs brokers must use an ACE portal account, upload bank information, and submit a CAPE declaration listing the entries for which they want money back. (cbp.gov) Customs said each CAPE declaration can include up to 9,999 entries, and filers can submit more than one. The agency also said refunds will be consolidated into one payment with interest when applicable, instead of being processed one shipment at a time. (cbp.gov) That design shifts the hard work onto importers and their advisers. Companies have to reconstruct import histories, match entry numbers to tariff lines, and separate claims that qualify now from claims that will have to wait for later phases. (cbp.gov; abcnews.com) Customs told importers that validated claims would be paid in about 60 to 90 days, but the agency is processing refunds in phases and starting with more recent tariff payments. That means businesses counting on the cash may still have to finance inventory, payroll, or customer reimbursements while claims move through the system. (abcnews.com) Consumers are mostly outside this system. The portal is for businesses that paid the duties at the border, and any pass-through savings or reimbursements to shoppers would depend on separate decisions by the companies that imported the goods. (usatoday.com; abcnews.com) For now, the opening of the portal turns a court victory into an accounting exercise. The money is potentially enormous, but getting it back depends on whether companies can prove, line by line, what they paid and when. (cbp.gov; cnbc.com)