U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it is building an electronic system to return tariffs to importers and expects the tool to be ready within about 45 days.
The move follows a Supreme Court decision last month that invalidated many of the tariffs imposed during the previous administration. Businesses that paid those duties have been waiting to learn how and when refunds will be issued, and small firms had worried they might have to sue individually to recover the money.
CBP told the U.S. Court of International Trade that its current computer systems cannot immediately process a very large volume of refunds, but the agency is working on a streamlined approach that would avoid forcing importers into separate lawsuits. Officials said the refund mechanism will use the same online portal importers already use to track and correct customs filings.
The government estimates it collected about $166 billion from more than 330,000 businesses in tariffs that the Supreme Court has now ruled unconstitutional. Judge Richard Eaton of the Court of International Trade ordered Customs to begin returning those funds with interest and asked the agency for a status update.
An appeals court recently denied the Justice Department’s request for a 90-day pause on refunds. During the Supreme Court litigation, the government had repeatedly said that any unlawful collections would be returned, and that assurance helped justify continuing to collect the duties after a lower court earlier found them illegal.
Advocates who brought the case say the government’s own promises make it difficult to argue it cannot pay refunds. CBP’s new system aims to make the reimbursement process automated and accessible to the large number of affected importers.