Businesses across the US gained access Monday to a federal refund portal for duties paid under Trump-era tariffs, following a Supreme Court ruling on February 20 that found the administration lacked the legal authority to impose them.
US Customs and Border Protection launched the first phase of its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system at 8 a.m. ET, allowing importers to file claims through the ACE Secure Data Portal for duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
CBP said in court filings that more than 330,000 importers paid approximately $166 billion across more than 53 million shipments — calling the refund volume “unprecedented” and warning that current infrastructure may not handle the workload without manual intervention. As of April 14, some 56,497 importers had completed registration and were eligible for refunds totaling $127 billion, including interest.
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Phase 1 covers unliquidated entries and those within 80 days of final accounting. Entries subject to antidumping or countervailing duties are excluded, with additional phases planned later in 2026 for more complex cases.
Rather than processing claims one entry at a time, CAPE batches refunds by importer — a structure built to absorb the volume. CBP expects validated claims to pay out within 60 to 90 days, with funds going directly to the businesses that originally paid the duties.
The February 20 ruling was written by Chief Justice John Roberts, who held that IEEPA “contains no reference to tariffs or duties” and that its text could not support the sweeping levy authority the administration claimed. The majority applied the “major questions” doctrine — the same standard used to strike down Biden-era student loan forgiveness — finding Congress had not clearly granted the president power to impose tariffs at this scale.
The court left refunds unaddressed; a Court of International Trade judge subsequently ruled importers were entitled to them.
In dissent, Justice Brett Kavanaugh warned the decision could force the government to “refund billions of dollars to importers who paid the IEEPA tariffs, even though some importers may have already passed on costs to consumers or others,” and flagged uncertainty over trade deals struck using tariffs as leverage.
At $166 billion, the repayment program ranks among the largest reverse flows in US customs history. Importers must have an active ACE Portal account and electronic payment details on file to receive funds.
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