Importers and their brokers will be able to begin claiming refunds through an online portal starting at 8 a.m. Monday, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. To receive refunds, importers have to register for CBP's electronic payment system, and companies must submit declarations listing the goods on which they paid billions of dollars toward the import taxes the court struck down. If CBP approves a claim, it will take 60-90 days for a refund to be issued, the agency said. The government expects to process refunds in phases, focusing first on more recent tariff payments, and not all taxed imports are immediately eligible for the first phase, which is limited to cases where tariffs were estimated but not finalized or within 80 days of receiving a final accounting.
Customs and Border Protection said in court filings that over 330,000 importers paid a total of about $166 billion on over 53 million shipments. As of April 14, 56,497 importers had completed registration and were eligible for refunds totaling $127 billion, including interest, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The refund process might eventually lead to refunds for consumers who were billed for some or all of the tariffs on products shipped to them from outside the United States. However, any number of technical factors and procedural issues could delay an importer's application, so any reimbursements businesses plan to make to customers likely would trickle down slowly. It remains unclear how many importers will successfully receive refunds in the first phase or when consumers might start receiving refunds under what conditions.