The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is planning to build a four-part system to refund $166bn in illegal tariff collections with interest. The system is between 40% and 80% complete, according to a court filing on March 13, reported Reuters.
Brandon Lord, an official with US Customs and Border Protection, said in a court filing that the agency is developing an online claim portal for importers and brokers to submit refund requests.
2 March 2026
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Process of Refunds
According to the filing, the claims will be processed, reviewed and refunded after they are submitted. In a filing last week, Lord stated that the system might start working as early as mid-April. In order to comply with Judge Richard Eaton's directive to reimburse tariff payments, Lord filed a case at the US Court of International Trade last week.
The Supreme Court overturned the majority of US tariffs in February, undermining President Donald Trump's main economic strategy. The Supreme Court did not, however, offer any guidance regarding the reimbursement of tariff payments collected from importers since February 2024.
Reuters further reported that government lawyers also began meeting with Judge Richard Eaton, who is overseeing about 2,000 lawsuits filed by importers, including companies such as FedEx and L’Oréal, seeking repayment of the duties.
Last week, Eaton had ordered CBP to begin processing refunds using its existing system but the agency instead proposed a new process that would be ready to accept refund applications as soon as next month and would not require importers to sue.
According to a court filing last week, only around 21,000 were registered with its system to receive a refund, while Over 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on 53mn shipments.
Refunds will only be issued to importers who paid them. Consumer groups and lawmakers have urged companies to pass along the refunds to consumers, although there is no obligation to do so.
Legal Basis for Refunds
The United States Court of International Trade decides US trade disputes and has the authority to order the government to return import duties that were illegally collected.
The Congressional Research Service website stated that in order to implement tariff refunds, complicated shipment, payment and claim eligibility verification is frequently necessary before reimbursements are made.
