Businesses can soon begin to request refunds for tariffs that were ruled illegal by the Supreme Court.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection is set to launch a system Monday, April 20 called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries or CAPE., which will begin refunding companies that paid tariffs on imports.
The CAPE system is meant to consolidate the refund process so importers will receive one electronic payment rather than CBP processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis, the agency said on its website.
In February, the Supreme Court struck down sweeping tariffs, ruling that President Donald Trump did not have the authority to impose duties on companies importing goods from other countries. The justices, in a 6-3 ruling authored by conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, upheld a lower court’s decision that the Republican president’s use of this 1977 law exceeded his authority.
Roberts, citing a prior Supreme Court ruling, wrote that “the president must ‘point to clear congressional authorization’ to justify his extraordinary assertion of the power to impose tariffs,” adding: “He cannot.”
The following month, a U.S. trade court judge ordered the government to refund importers who paid a total of $166 billion in tariffs, Reuters reported.
The government could owe businesses up to $175 billion, according to CBS News.
Here’s what to know about requesting refunds for tariffs.
What is the tariff refund?
Trump used a law known as the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on nearly all goods imported into the U.S., beginning in early 2025, as part of his economic policy, according to USA TODAY.
Importers who paid tariffs under IEEPA are eligible to request refunds using the CAPE system. To do so, importers can submit a filing known as the CAPE Declaration in the agency’s Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal.
The portal will be available beginning 6 a.m. MT/7 a.m. CT on Monday, April 20.
Tariff refund process
After requesting a refund through the CAPE system, importers and authorized brokers should anticipate that refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days following acceptance of the CAPE Declaration, “unless a compliance concern requires further CBP review,” the website states.
Tariff refund for individuals
While these refunds are for companies who paid tariffs on imports, it’s still unknown whether Americans will receive the $2,000 stimulus checks first floated by Trump back in November in 2025.
Trump has said there could be tariff dividend checks going out to eligible Americans in 2026, but no official date has been announced — also Trump would need Congress to vote on the checks.
There are a pair of bills that have been proposed to send money to Americans.
Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, introduced the “American Consumer Tariff Rebate Act of 2026” on March 9. The bill calls for $231,350,000,000 – roughly how much consumers are said to have paid due to tariffs, according to the Congressional Budget Office and the Joint Economic Committee – to fund tariff rebate payments to Americans, The Hill reported.
Only taxpayers with an adjusted gross income below $400,000 would qualify, according to the Hill. Payments would be calculated based on the number of taxpayers per filing status who qualify. An additional $125 would be paid for each qualifying child.
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM, introduced the “Tariff Refunds for Working Families Act” to the Senate on March 12. According to CNBC, the rebate would pay $1,200 to joint filers making under $180,000 annually and $600 for each additional child.
USA TODAY contributed to this story.
Natassia Paloma may be reached at npaloma@gannett.com, @NatassiaPaloma on x; natassia_paloma on Instagram, and Natassia Paloma Thompson on Facebook.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What is the tariff refund? Details on applying, tariff refund process
Reporting by Natassia Paloma, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
