Businesses can begin claiming refunds Monday for tariffs that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled President Donald Trump imposed without constitutional authority. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will launch an online portal at 8 a.m. for importers and their brokers to submit refund claims.

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on February 20 that Trump exceeded his authority when he set new import tax rates on products from almost every other country last April, citing the U.S. trade deficit as a national emergency under the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act. A judge at the U.S. Court of International Trade subsequently determined that companies subjected to these tariffs were entitled to refunds.

Customs and Border Protection said over 330,000 importers paid approximately $166 billion on more than 53 million shipments subject to the struck-down tariffs. However, not all taxed imports are immediately eligible for refunds. The first phase is limited to cases where tariffs were estimated but not finalized or are within 80 days of receiving final accounting. As of April 14, 56,497 importers had registered for the system and were eligible for refunds totaling $127 billion, including interest.

The refund process requires careful documentation and accuracy. Companies must submit declarations listing goods and corresponding document numbers for forms filed with CBP. If approved, refunds will take 60-90 days to process, with the government handling claims in phases starting with more recent payments. Legal experts warn that formatting errors or incorrect data could result in rejected submissions.

While the system refunds tariffs directly to businesses that paid them, companies are not obligated to pass savings to consumers. However, class-action lawsuits against retailers including Costco and Ray-Ban maker Essilor Luxottica seek to force companies to reimburse customers. Delivery companies like FedEx, which collected tariffs directly from consumers, have indicated they plan to return refunds to customers when received from CBP.