How to request tariff refunds if the Supreme Court rules against IEEPA tariffs

Any day now, the United States Supreme Court will announce its decision on tariffs established under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). Since IEEPA tariffs apply to imports from most countries, the decision will be impactful no matter how the court rules. And if the Supreme Court finds IEEPA tariffs to be unlawful, businesses may be able to request a tariff refund. 

Businesses may be eligible for IEEPA tariff refunds if the Supreme Court invalidates the tariffs. If the court rules that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) are unlawful, importers of record may be able to obtain refunds for duties paid. Refund eligibility and process could hinge on whether entries are liquidated or unliquidated and whether timely action is taken.

Importers that prepare now should be well positioned to obtain potential IEEPA tariff refunds. To support potential refund claims, importers should identify all entries subject to IEEPA tariffs, confirm liquidation status, gather entry summaries and proof of payment, and monitor filing deadlines.

Accurate documentation and automation can help businesses prepare for potential refunds. Importers will likely need detailed entry summaries and proof of IEEPA duties paid. Companies that have automated tariff classification, duty calculation, and transaction recordkeeping are better positioned to identify impacted entries, quantify refund amounts, and support refund claims with historical data.

In April 2025, a group of U.S. importers and states separately filed lawsuits arguing that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose broad, permanent tariffs. Most lower courts agreed. The administration maintains that IEEPA does grant the president power to impose tariffs and that its use of IEEPA is merited.

The Supreme Court consolidated the two cases and heard oral arguments on November 5, 2025. If it rules against the IEEPA tariffs, it could require the federal government to refund some or all IEEPA duties collected.

Refunding IEEPA duties would be an enormous undertaking. As of December 10, 2025, more than 301,000 importers had made more than 34 million entries subject to IEEPA tariffs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had collected approximately $129 billion in IEEPA duties and estimated duty deposits.

Plenty more IEEPA tariff revenue has yet to be liquidated (i.e., finalized and transferred to the U.S. Treasury). 

Under the formal entry process required for goods valued greater than $2,500, the importer posts a bond with CBP and pays estimated duties upon entry. Within one year (and typically 314 days) of entry, CBP determines the final amount of duties during the liquidation process and the importer must pay it.

Goods with a value of less than $2,500 go through an informal entry process. These entries are generally considered to be liquidated upon payment of estimated duties. No additional duties are due.

Approximately 19.8 million imports had gone through the informal entry process as of December 10, 2025, and about 19.2 million entries remained unliquidated. Whether imported goods are liquidated or unliquidated matters because the tariff refund process for liquidated entries is different from the refund process for unliquidated entries.

For qualifying unliquidated entries, importers can typically file a Post-Summary Correction (PSC) with CBP. This is the way to electronically correct entry summary data presented to and accepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Importers can also officially request an extension of the liquidation period from CBP.

For liquidated entries, there are ordinarily two ways for importers to request a refund:

• File a formal protest with CBP.
• Sue the United States in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT)

File a formal protest. Importers typically need to file a formal protest with CBP to obtain a tariff refund within 180 days after the date of liquidation. It may also be possible to file a formal protest to reclaim tariffs paid the day a decision is made. If CBP allows the protest, it generally has up to two years to review the protest unless an accelerated disposition is requested.

Sue the government. Under the statute of limitations, lawsuits must be filed within 180 days after the denial of a protest, or within two years “after the cause of action first accrues.” This could be the date the tariffs were paid.

Exactly how IEEPA tariff refunds would be handled is unknown because this is an unprecedented situation. Given the uncertainty, some businesses with unliquidated entries have already filed lawsuits in the U.S. CIT requesting an injunction suspending liquidation of IEEPA tariffs.

On December 15, 2025, the CIT concluded that the government “has taken the ‘unequivocal position’ that ‘liquidation will not affect the availability of refunds after a final decision’” and would be stopped from assuming a contrary position in the future. It added that the CIT itself “has the authority to order reliquidation in cases involving constitutional challenges to duties.”

On December 23, 2025, CIT Chief Judge Mark A. Barnett entered an administrative order automatically staying new IEEPA tariff refund cases, “to facilitate the administration of new cases that continue to be filed challenging the imposition of tariffs” under IEEPA. The court expects to determine the appropriate next steps following a final, unappealable decision by the Supreme Court.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said the U.S. Treasury will refund IEEPA tariffs if required to do so by the Supreme Court.

If the court finds the IEEPA tariffs to be invalid and orders the government to refund duties collected under IEEPA, the registered importer of record would likely need to request the refund. The importer of record is the party responsible for making sure imported goods comply with all customs and legal requirements.

The owner of the goods is usually the importer of record, but the owner may designate another individual or customs broker to be the importer of record on their behalf, provided they’re eligible to be an importer.

Should IEEPA tariff refunds be authorized, importers eligible for a refund will need documentation proving they paid IEEPA duties. Entry summaries detailing whether and how much an importer has paid in IEEPA duties should be obtainable from CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

Having incomplete or inaccurate documentation could lead to a delay or denial of refunds.

Businesses that have automated cross-border tax compliance should be in a strong position to request tariff refunds if the Supreme Court invalidates the IEEPA duties.

When duty calculations, tariff code classifications, and import tax amounts are consistently captured and stored, companies have a clear audit trail of what was paid, when, and why. Avalara international trade compliance solutions streamline tariff code classification and duty calculation as well as create detailed transaction records that support accurate reporting and documentation.

If refunds become available, businesses using Avalara will likely be better equipped to identify impacted entries, quantify duties paid, and assemble the documentation needed to support refund claims.

“Avalara cross-border trade content tools empower global trade teams with access to comprehensive historical duty rate data, enabling detailed lookbacks to understand how rates have changed over time,” explains Shane Bogdan, Director of Cross-Border Sales at Avalara. “This visibility helps businesses assess the impact of tariff shifts and determine eligibility for duty drawback or refund opportunities. By combining accurate classification with historical rate transparency, organizations can strengthen compliance, improve audit readiness, and proactively prepare refund filings with confidence.”

Cross-border trade compliance is challenging in the best of times. Since February 2025, cross-border compliance has been downright chaotic.

According to a recent survey of 1,500 senior business decision-makers within businesses that trade and/or sell goods cross-border across the U.S., U.K., India, and Australia, 83% of respondents find cross-border operations to be more complex than a year ago, and 52% say tariffs and duties create the greatest operational burden for their companies.

Whatever the Supreme Court decides about the IEEPA tariffs, cross-border trade compliance will probably remain chaotic for the foreseeable future. Learn how Avalara can help uncomplicate cross-border trade and tariff compliance.

What are IEEPA tariffs?

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, grants the president of the United States power to regulate economic transactions following declaration of a national emergency. IEEPA specifies that such authority may only be exercised to deal with an “unusual and extraordinary” threat following the declaration of a national emergency. 

Donald Trump is the first president to use IEEPA to establish tariffs. He has imposed IEEPA tariffs on most countries.

How do IEEPA tariffs differ from other tariffs?

There are different types of U.S. trade measures, including Section 122 tariffs, Section 201 tariffs, Section 232 tariffs, Section 301 tariffs, and of course, IEEPA tariffs.

Each type of tariff has distinct legal applications, authorities, and purposes that can affect reporting requirements, how the tariffs stack, and even how the tariffs can be challenged.

How are tariff refunds issued?

CBP began issuing all refunds electronically via Automated Clearing House (ACH) on February 6, 2026 (subject to limited exceptions). If IEEPA tariff refunds are granted, they will likely be issued electronically.

How can I prepare for a potential refund of IEEPA duties?

The exact process for obtaining IEEPA tariff refunds, if they’re mandated, isn’t yet known: The court may recommend or require a specialized refund process. However, you’ll almost certainly need to identify and verify all entries subject to IEEPA tariffs along with their country of origin, and monitor the liquidations of those entries. You may need to set up an ACE portal account if you don’t already have one, and enroll as an ACH Refund participant.

You may also want to consult with trusted attorneys, customs brokers, and tax and trade advisors.