U.S. Customs and Border Protection Launches Tariff Refund Process

Two months after the Supreme Court ruled that most tariffs imposed by the Trump administration were unconstitutional, businesses can now begin applying for refunds.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched its new electronic tariff refund system on April 20, which allows importers of record or licensed customs brokers to file a Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Declaration. During the first phase of the refund process, only unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation will be processed. Refunds for older, finalized tariff payments will be processed in future phases. As much as $175 billion in tariffs could eventually be returned to companies.

Businesses must file a CAPE Declaration through the Automated Commercial Environment system to receive a refund. Instructions for completing and submitting a declaration may be found here. Once the declaration is validated and accepted, full refunds, plus interest, will be issued within 60 to 90 days and will be paid out electronically via Automated Clearing House.

To help businesses navigate the refund process, CBP has set up a webpage with more information and published a fact sheet. This page will be updated regularly as new information and guidance becomes available.

The refunds cover only tariff payments that were illegally imposed through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). These include the country-specific tariffs announced by the Trump administration in April 2025. However, tariffs created by other mechanisms, such as the Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum imports and Section 301 tariffs on some Chinese goods, remain in place.