In tariff refund process, US says 15% of entries denied so far

WASHINGTON – Thousands of US importers who are seeking the return of their cut of US$166 billion (S$212 billion) in tariffs that were overturned by the Supreme Court are having trouble getting their refunds approved through a new online portal that was designed to be largely automated.

Out of the 13.3 million import entries that have cleared an initial review since the portal went live on April 20, about 15 per cent were then denied for failing “entry-specific validations” as of April 26, Mr Brandon Lord, an executive director at Customs and Border Protection, said in an update filed on April 28 with the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan.

Importers can seek to fix any errors and refile, Customs said. About 1.74 million approved entries are in the refund process, the US said. Businesses and individuals paid the contested tariffs on approximately 53 million entries, according to information shared earlier by the government.

The agency previously said that entries may be denied if all submitted data isn’t formatted properly or if the file is corrupted. Entries can also be rejected if the submitter isn’t the listed importer of record or the broker who filed the entry summaries on their behalf, the US said.

The scramble for refunds started immediately after the Supreme Court ruled Feb 20 that President Donald Trump unlawfully used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, to impose tariffs on goods entering the country.

The 6-3 decision didn’t address the question of refunds, leaving it to the lower courts to hash out.

Before the portal was announced, Judge Richard Eaton, who is overseeing the refund process, expressed concern in court about any plan that requires importers to request refunds rather than have it automatically sent back by the government based on the existing data. BLOOMBERG