SAN ANTONIO – Although Texas spent the second-most money on tariffs in 2025, according to We Pay the Tariffs, select people have an opportunity to request refunds from paying those tariffs through a new program beginning April 20.
In February, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) unlawful and illegal for President Donald Trump to continue collecting mass tariffs on importers.
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According to SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts, tariffs are taxes, and the taxing power belongs to Congress.
On Monday, April 20, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will roll out its IEEPA refund portal — Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) — which allows people to request refunds from paid tariffs deemed illegal by SCOTUS.
Can my small business request a refund?
Short answer: probably not. It depends on what kind of goods are being imported and where they came from.
People can request refunds only if they are an importer of record or an authorized Customs broker.
Specific goods that fall under the IEEPA tariffs can qualify for the CBP refund program.
Reuters reported some Chinese-origin goods (Section 301); steel, aluminum and copper (Section 232); do not qualify under the IEEPA duty refund.
However, exempted Section 122 tariffs — which include specific food used for religious purposes and donations intended to relieve human suffering — can be requested for refunds.
Steps to submit a refund request
Requesting tariff refunds falls under three steps, according to the CAPE portal website:
- Importers and authorized customs brokers must have an established ACE Secure Data Portal account.
- Recipients use the ACE Portal account to provide CBP with bank account information.
- Importers and authorized customs brokers must submit CAPE Declarations.
More details for submitting declarations can be found on the CAPE website.
Once accepted, refunds will be sent electronically through the government’s online import and export system — Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system — with current bank information on file. Starting from scratch to create an account or updating the current one can be a long process, Reuters reported.
Validated refunds won’t be instant, and could take months to process, according to CBP.
The website stated to expect a waiting period of 60 to 90 days after a declaration is accepted.
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