top of page

Tariff Refund Primer

IEEPA Tariff Refund Litigation: What Importers Need to Know

1. Refunds Will Only Be Issued Electronically Through ACE

CBP’s February 2, 2026 interim rule (91 CFR 21) requires all IEEPA tariff refunds to be issued electronically via ACH. To receive payments, importers must:

  • Be registered in the ACE portal, and

  • Have valid ACH banking information on file.

​

CBP has emphasized that refunds will be automatically rejected until importers complete these steps. The scale of the issue is significant: while approximately 330,566 importers paid IEEPA duties, only 21,423 entities have entered ACH data into ACE. CBP has not confirmed whether those entities include the importers who actually paid IEEPA tariffs.

 

Importers who have not updated their ACE profiles should do so immediately to avoid delays.

2. Refunds Will Require Manual Review and Certification

Even for importers who are fully set up in ACE, refunds will not be automatic. CBP clarified that:

  • ACE cannot automatically calculate refund amounts or associated interest;

  • Interest is owed on all IEEPA duty refunds;

  • Many interest calculations must be performed manually; and

  • Refunds require certification by two separate CBP offices before being sent to the Treasury for payment.

 

With over 53 million IEEPA‑related entry summaries potentially eligible for refunds, this manual review process will be lengthy. CBP noted that after the Harbor Maintenance Fee was struck down in United States Shoe Corp. v. United States (1998), its predecessor agency required several years to complete refund processing. Importers should expect a similarly extended timeline here.

3. CBP Is Developing a New Refund Submission Process

CBP is currently building a dedicated electronic process within ACE for IEEPA refund submissions. According to the March 6 declaration, the anticipated workflow will include:

  1. Importer files a declaration in ACE identifying all affected entries;

  2. ACE validates each entry and recalculates duties and interest;

  3. CBP verifies the declaration and initiates refund processing;

  4. ACE liquidates or reliquidates the entries;

  5. Refund amounts are aggregated by importer and liquidation date;

  6. CBP certifies the refund package; and

  7. Treasury issues the refund electronically.

CBP expects to publish the details of this process around April 20, 2026, along with guidance for filing declarations.

4. What Importers Should Expect

  • Importers must affirmatively submit refund declarations to CBP; refunds will not issue automatically.

  • Interest rates are expected to fall between 4.5% and 6%.

  • Because the process is data‑intensive, much of the work involves compiling entry information and preparing accurate declarations.

  • Errors—including miscalculations or improper rejection of refund submissions—may lead to additional litigation.

This will be a multi‑year refund cycle, and proactive preparation will be essential.

How Our Firm Assists Importers

We assist clients by:

 

  • Preparing and submitting refund declarations to CBP;

  • Ensuring entries, ACH information, and ACE profiles are accurate and complete;

  • Monitoring CBP’s evolving refund procedures;

  • Reviewing duty and interest calculations; and

  • Challenging CBP decisions where refunds are miscalculated or improperly denied.

 

Given the scale of the refund program and the complexity of the process, a 10% fee after the refund is received for handling submissions is both standard and cost‑effective. Our team of attorneys and trained paralegals is equipped to manage the significant data-entry and verification work required to ensure timely and complete refunds. If litigation results, we charge a 30% fee after the litigation results in the refund amount.

\

What should importers who paid IEEPA tariffs do to secure refunds after the Supreme Court invalidated the tariffs?

I. Background—the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs.

On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (“IEEPA”) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs, striking down all IEEPA-based tariff programs, including those imposed in 2025 and 2026.

 

The Supreme Court did not instruct the Court of International Trade (“CIT”) or Customs & Border Protection (“CBP”) on how to handle refund requests. Uncertainty remains as to how an importer who paid IEEPA tariffs can seek a refund of these tariffs.

II. Three avenues to IEEPA tariff refunds.

· For unliquidated tariffs, an importer should file a Post-Summary Correction with CBP through CBP’s ACE portal.

· For liquidated tariffs, an importer should file a Protest with CBP through CBP’s ACE portal.

· In all cases, an importer should file suit with the CIT seeking a refund of the tariffs it paid.

Seeking a refund through CBP and filing a suit with the CIT to compel CBP to refund the unlawful IEEPA tariffs reduces risks that an importer may miss a refund. To be sure, CBP will take time to process the refunds, whether in response to a Post-Summary Correction, a Protest, or an order from the CIT to refund tariffs. The sheer volume of importers who paid IEEPA tariffs and the number of tariffs assessed creates a significant administrative burden in processing IEEPA tariff refunds.

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

​

A. Challenging IEEPA Tariffs on Unliquidated Entries through Post-Summary Corrections

Unliquidated entries are the initial tariff assessed and paid when importing goods into the United States. Importers may challenge unliquidated entries through Post-Summary Corrections (“PSCs”) via CBP’s ACE portal, requesting removal of IEEPA duties.

 

· PSCs must be filed within 300 days of entry and at least 15 days before scheduled

liquidation, assuming the entry is otherwise eligible.

· PSCs are not available for liquidated entries.

· Some reports suggest CBP may not currently be accepting PSCs for IEEPA refunds, so importers should attempt submission and document any rejection.

 

CBP liquidates tariffs around 314 days after entry. Importers should determine urgently which entries remain open or unliquidated and file PSCs as soon as possible.

B. Challenging IEEPA Tariffs on Liquidated Entries

Liquidation is when CBP finalizes the assessed duty. Challenge a liquidated entry ordinarily requires filing a Protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514.

​

· Importers must file a protest within 180 days of liquidation, seeking removal of IEEPA-based duties.

 

The CIT has held that even after liquidation, it retains authority to order CBP to reliquidate and issue refunds under 28 U.S.C. § 1581(i) if IEEPA tariffs are unlawful.

 

Thus, even “final” liquidations may be reopened judicially.

​

​

​

C. Filing suit at the U.S. Court of International Trade to compel CBP to refund IEEPA tariffs.

Federal gives the CIT jurisdiction to review Protests that CBP denies (28 U.S.C. § 1581(a)) and jurisdiction over challenges to unlawful tariffs (28 U.S.C. § 1581(i)).

​

Importers should file suit in the CIT compelling CBP to refund the unlawful IEEPA tariffs (whether unliquidated or liquidated) to ensure their tariff refund is not missed.

 

On March 4, 2026, Judge Eaton of the CIT ordered CBP to liquidate all unliquidated IEEPA duties and to reliquidate all liquidated entries under IEEPA.

Judge Eaton appears to be ordering CBP to refund IEEPA tariffs broadly. Judge Eaton indicated that he is the only judge assigned at the CIT to IEEPA tariff refund cases.

 

Practically speaking, the tens of millions of entries under IEEPA in 2025 and 2026 make a broad refund to all importers administratively difficult. The sheer volume of IEEPA entries to refund may also introduce human error to the process. Some tariff refunds may be inaccurate. Some may be missed all together. To protect against these possibilities, filing a PSC for unliquidated tariffs, a Protest for liquidated tariffs, and a suit in the CIT compelling CBP to refund tariffs should protect importers from missing the tariff refund they are owed.

bottom of page