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April 14, 2026 | Legal Advisory

Although the legal landscape for tariff refunds continues to shift, it is time for businesses to take concrete steps to “get in line” for a refund of the tariff duties they paid from January 2025 through February 2026 under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). In this advisory, we outline key courses of action that companies should consider now to ensure they are eligible for these refunds.

Background

On February 20, 2026, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the U.S. Supreme Court held that IEEPA did not authorize the president to impose tariffs on imports to the United States. The Supreme Court’s ruling did not provide any guidance on the refund process, though it made clear that the president’s IEEPA tariffs were unlawful.

In the weeks after the Supreme Court decision, the battle over tariff refunds turned to the Court of International Trade (CIT). On March 4, CIT issued an order directing Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund all import duties collected under the justification of IEEPA. At the same time, the Trump Administration imposed new tariffs under other justifications; these new tariffs remain in effect and are not subject to a refund order at this time.

Understanding CIT’s order requires an understanding of how customs liquidation works. Importers are liable for all duties imposed upon entry to the United States. CBP then has a set period of time to “liquidate” the entries. Liquidation is the method by which CBP computes duties, fees, and taxes owed upon entry. Liquidation starts the clock on a 180-day period for importers to file a protest with CBP to challenge the assessment of duties. If the importer does not file a protest within 180 days, the liquidation becomes final and the importer ordinarily cannot claim a refund. In the context of IEEPA tariffs, there was much confusion over liquidation dates, and many importers may have missed their 180-day window.

CIT’s March 4 order, taken together with an additional March 27 order, requires CBP to liquidate all unliquidated entries, and to reliquidate any final or non-final liquidated entries, excluding all duties imposed under IEEPA. If the CIT orders stand, this eliminates any confusion about whether importers who have not filed protests are entitled to refunds of IEEPA duties paid. The March 27 order eliminates any duty on importers to file protests with CBP to protect their refund rights, but only if the CIT orders are not overturned.[1]

The CIT orders also require CBP to provide weekly updates on their progress developing the tariff refund system. The CBP refund system is on track to be finalized by the end of April. There is a portal, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE), where importers should create an account and upload the documentation of all of their IEEPA tariffs, whether liquidated or unliquidated, final or not final. This critical step ensures that importers will receive a refund from CBP whenever its system is finalized. The CBP system still under development is called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE). CAPE will be located in the existing ACE portal. The CAPE system will approve claims and wire refunds to the importer’s U.S. bank account through the ACE portal based on the documented tariffs paid.[2] As of April 14, CBP informed CIT they are between 90-95% complete with creating and testing the CAPE system.

Potential Obstacles: A CBP Appeal

CBP has not yet appealed CIT’s March 4 and March 27 orders, though it is very likely CBP will choose to appeal. CBP has until early May to file an appeal. An appeal could pause the whole CAPE system. As a result, some large importers such as FedEx and Costco are preemptively filing their own lawsuits in CIT to protect their interests in case the CAPE system is never finalized and the case is appealed. This step requires incurring legal fees. To date, approximately 2,500 importers have filed lawsuits with CIT out of the estimated 330,000 importers that have paid IEEPA tariffs.

The situation is changing day-by-day and timing remains ambiguous. But most do not expect the Trump Administration to provide refunds without a fight. CBP’s current position, as described in the quote below from their April 14 filing with CIT, is that the majority of IEEPA duty refunds can be processed through CAPE without a lawsuit:

“In total, refunds can be issued electronically for approximately 82% of entries with IEEPA duty payments and/or duty deposits. The principal amount of IEEPA duty payments and/or duty deposits for these entries is approximately $127 billion.”

Concrete Courses of Action

The following steps are the recommended actions to protect a business’s tariff refund rights and officially “get in line.” For now, steps 1-3 should be the priority, with step 4 remaining a consideration as the legal landscape continues to evolve.

1. Track liquidation dates on all tariff duties imposed from all goods brought into the country.
2. Document all claims thoroughly to have a record of all tariffs paid.
3. Sign up for an ACE account and input records of all tariffs paid to prepare for a refund through CAPE without filing a lawsuit. (Enrollment in CBP’s ACE Portal). Participation in CAPE is not yet available as the CAPE system is still in development.
4. File suit in the Court of International Trade. This step requires legal fees and may not be necessary at this time. With major importers at the forefront and a potential appeal by CBP, it may be sufficient for midsize and small businesses to monitor developments and simply “stay ready” with their attorneys for now.

If you have any questions on how to navigate these filings, please contact one of our attorneys.

[1] On April 6, the case in which the March 4 and March 27 orders were issued—Atmus Filtration Inc. v. United States—was dismissed. CIT immediately issued an order in an identical case—Euro-Notions Florida, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, et al. (Court No. 25-00595)—re-issuing the March 4 and March 27 orders under this new case. There was no change in the substance of the orders or the time of their effectiveness, only in the case under which the orders were issued.

[2] The CAPE system will have four components: a claim portal to file claims of IEEPA duties paid; mass processing of claims; review, liquidation, and reliquidation of documented entries; and refund processing to U.S. bank accounts.

This advisory was prepared by Will Bernat  in Nutter’s Corporate and Transactions Department, and David Ferrera and Ben Fink in Nutter’s Litigation Department. For more information, please contact the authors or your Nutter attorney at 617.439.2000.

This advisory is for information purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice on any specific facts or circumstances. Under the rules of the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, this material may be considered as advertising.