US new 'Tariff Refund System': Know how it works

US launches new tariff refund system as thousands of importers line up for long awaited change.

The refund system set up to allow companies to recover illegally collected tariffs from the United States government has gone live as thousands of companies rushed to file claims.

One of the professional marketer said “So far, so good” – though the system is a little glitchy, ready to start filing when the system went live at 8am US Eastern time (12:00 GMT) on Monday.

Companies contacted by several news outlets in recent days expressed concerns about the durability of the new system, created by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in response to a court order that it prepare to return up to $166bn to importers.

The US Supreme Court in February struck down the tariffs that President Donald Trump pursued under a law meant for use in national emergencies, handing the Republican president a stinging defeat.

In court filings, customs officials said as of April 9, some 56,497 importers had completed the necessary steps to receive electronic refunds, an amount totalling $127bn, or more than three-quarters of the total eligible to be refunded.

Notably, more than 330,000 importers paid the tariffs at issue on 53 million shipments of imported goods.

The government expects to process refunds in phases, however, focusing first on more recent tariff payments. Any number of technical factors and procedural issues could delay an importer’s application, so any reimbursements that businesses plan to make to customers would likely have to trickle down slowly.

CBP suggests companies must submit declarations listing the goods on which they collectively put billions of dollars towards the import taxes the court subsequently struck down.

If CBP approves a claim, it will take 60-90 days for a refund to be issued, the agency said.

The constantly shifting tariffs roiled global business as companies rushed to move supply chains to avoid them as well as figure out who would ultimately pay the taxes.

A CBP spokesman said on Friday that the agency created a system that will “efficiently process refunds, pursuant to court order, for importers and brokers who paid” the duties.

The government expects to process refunds in phases, however, focusing first on more recent tariff payments. Any number of technical factors and procedural issues could delay an importer’s application, so any reimbursements that businesses plan to make to customers would likely have to trickle down slowly.

While it is unclear whether getting a refund claim into the portal as soon as possible will impact how quickly it’s processed, but many companies decided to not take the risk of waiting.