WASHINGTON — A new refund mechanism is set to roll out on Monday for businesses affected by tariffs deemed unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. These tariffs, imposed by former President Donald Trump, were struck down by the court for exceeding presidential authority.
Starting at 8 a.m., importers and their brokers will be able to access an online portal to submit their refund claims, as announced by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency overseeing the process.
This marks the beginning of what is expected to be a complex journey towards potential refunds, one that might eventually extend to consumers who were charged tariffs on products imported from abroad.
To initiate the refund process, companies are required to provide detailed declarations of goods on which they collectively paid billions in tariffs that have since been nullified by the court decision. According to the CBP, once a claim is approved, the refund could take between 60 to 90 days to be processed.
The government intends to handle the refunds in stages, with priority given to more recent tariff payments. However, various technical and procedural hurdles could slow an importer’s claim. Consequently, any customer reimbursements businesses might plan to make will likely be gradual.
The Supreme Court, in a 6-3 ruling on February 20, determined that Trump had overstepped by altering import tax rates on goods from nearly every other nation. He justified the move by citing the U.S. trade deficit as a national emergency, thus invoking a 1977 emergency powers law, a move the court ruled exceeded the powers granted by Congress.
Although the court majority did not address refunds in its ruling, a judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade determined last month that companies subjected to IEEPA tariffs were entitled to money back.
Not all taxed imports immediately eligible
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.
Not all of those orders qualify for the first phase of the refund system’s rollout, which is limited to cases in which tariffs were estimated but not finalized or within 80 days of a final accounting.
To receive refunds, importers have to register for the CPB’s electronic payment system. As of April 14, 56,497 importers had completed registration and were eligible for refunds totaling $127 billion, including interest, the agency said.
System requires accuracy
Meghann Supino, a partner at Ice Miller, said the law firm has advised clients to carefully list in their declarations all of the document numbers for forms that went to CBP to describe imported goods and their value.
“If there is an entry on that file that does not qualify, it may cause the entire entry to be rejected or that line item might be rejected by Customs,” she said.
Supino thinks the portal going live will require composure as well as diligence.
“Like any electronic online program that goes live with a lot of interest, I would expect that there might be some hiccups with the program on Monday,” she said. “So we continue to ask everyone to be patient, because we think that patience will pay off.”
Nghi Huynh, the partner-in-charge of transfer pricing at accounting and consulting firm Armanino, said most companies claiming refunds will have imported a mix of items, and not all will qualify right away.
“It’s about having a clear process in place and keeping track of what’s been submitted and what’s been paid, so nothing falls through the cracks,” she said. “Each file can include thousands of entries, but accuracy is critical, as submissions can be rejected if formatting or data is incorrect.”
Patience with the process
Small businesses have eagerly awaited the chance to apply for refunds. Brad Jackson, co-founder of After Action Cigars in Rochester, Minnesota, said he starting compiling records and preparing to enter information into the system the minute CPB announced the launch date.
The company imports cigars and accessories from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. Last year, it paid $34,000 in tariffs and absorbed much of the cost instead of raising customer prices, Jackson said.
Last spring, he had a two-week delay in a shipment due to a missing document, so he is being more careful with refund documents, he said.
“My main concern is the turnaround time,” Jackson said. “A refund process that takes several months to complete doesn’t solve the cash flow problem that it is supposed to fix.”
Will consumers see refunds?
Tariffs are paid by importers, and some companies pass on the tax costs to consumers via higher prices.
The system starting up Monday will refund tariffs directly to the businesses that paid them, which are not obligated to share the proceeds with customers. However, class-action lawsuits that aim to force companies, ranging from Costco to Ray-Ban maker Essilor Luxottica, to reimburse shoppers are winding their way through the U.S. legal system.
Individuals may be more likely to receive refunds from delivery companies like FedEx and UPS, which collected tariffs on imports directly from consumers. FedEx has said it would return tariff refunds to customers when it receives them from the CPB.
“Supporting our customers as they navigate regulatory changes remains our top priority,” FedEx said in a statement. “We are working with our customers as CBP begins processing refunds and plan to begin filing claims on April 20.”
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