CBP set to issue refunds May 11

Tariff refunds are finally moving from theory to paperwork. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has told the trade court it expects the first payments on the invalidated IEEPA tariffs to start going out on or around May 11, after the Supreme Court knocked out the legal basis for those duties earlier this year. The big deal is not just the money — it’s that importers now have a real process, a real portal, and a rough clock for when cash might actually come back. (usnews.com) ### What refunds are these? These are refunds for duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA. The Supreme Court ruled that IEEPA did not authorize the Trump administration’s broad tariff program, and the Court of International Trade then moved CBP into refund mode. The scale is huge — roughly 330,000 importers paid more than $166 billion tied to these duties, spread across more than 53 million entries. (skadden.com) ### Why does May 11 matter? Because this is the first concrete payout date anyone has had. The court filing says CBP expects to begin issuing the first refunds on or about May 11, which turns an open-ended legal victory into something finance teams can plan around. But “begin” is the key word — it does not mean everyone gets paid that day. (usnews.com) ### How do companies actually claim the money? CBP built a new process inside ACE called CAPE — short for Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. Importers or their representatives submit declarations there so CBP can validate claims and process refunds in batches. CBP’s fact sheet makes clear that this is a structured claims system, not an automatic blanket repayment for every importer in every circumstance. (cbp.gov) ### Is the money coming back fast? Not necessarily. CBP says issued refunds may take 60 to 90 days, which means the first wave starting around May 11 could still leave many companies waiting well into the summer. Bloomberg also noted that some importers have already hit problems with the online portal, and early denials show this will be more like tax recovery work than a simple rebate. (thehill.com) ### Why are UPS and FedEx in this story? Because a lot of smaller importers never paid CBP directly. The carrier often acted as importer of record, advanced the duty, then billed the customer. UPS says Phase One covers certain tariff payments made starting January 30, 2026, plus pending tariff payments, and that it is processing refunds for eligible shipments where it served as importer. FedEx and UPS have both said they plan to pass eligible refunds back to customers rather than keep the money. (ups.com) ### What’s the accounting headache? The catch is timing. A company may have already booked the tariff as part of landed cost on inventory, equipment, or a project bid, but the recovery arrives later and may arrive in pieces. That means finance teams need to separate today’s actual paid cost from a possible future receivable. If they blur those together, margins, contract claims, and inventory values can all get messy. This last point is an inference from how the refund process works and how delayed recoveries typically hit accounting. (cbp.gov) ### Who should pay closest attention first? Import-heavy businesses, customs brokers, and anyone who moved goods through parcel carriers during the affected period. The practical question is not just “am I owed money?” but “who filed the entry?” If UPS or FedEx was importer of record, the refund path may run through them first. If your company filed directly, the CAPE submission process matters a lot more. (ups.com) ### Bottom line May 11 looks like the start of the refund era, not the end of it. The legal fight is mostly settled, but the operational fight has just started — claim validation, carrier pass-throughs, and 60-to-90-day payment timing will decide when this money actually lands. (usnews.com)