When the Supreme Court struck down Donald Trump’s tariffs, many small importers assumed that any refunds would be fraught with bureaucratic headaches for years. Surprisingly, that is not the case.
Around 330,000 importers are estimated to have paid more than $166 billion in tariffs imposed by Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). If your business was affected, here’s some good news: you can get your rates refunded. You just have to have a little patience.
That’s the advice from Melissa Alvarado Quisenberry, vice president of Michigan-based Supply Chain Solutions. Your company helps companies manage freight forwarding, transportation, customs clearance, warehousing, inventory and shipping operations. And in recent weeks – since the federal government announced there would be a duty refund after all, despite the president’s grumblings – Quisenberry’s company has been busy filing refund claims on behalf of many of its customers to get their money back.
The process, which began at the end of April, is, unsurprisingly, not easy. But – surprisingly – it works. Until now. Federal authorities have quietly established a workable reimbursement process.
To get your money, you’ll need to work with the import company that originally handled the paperwork and collected the fees. The government requires that your original customs agent – the “importer of record” – must be the one requesting the refund. It can’t be just any broker, consultant, or fly-by-night company offering these services, and I’m betting that’s because the government learned its lesson from the employee retention tax credit debacle during the pandemic, which spawned an industry of questionable service providers that fraudulently filed refund claims until the IRS eventually restricted the program.
Quisenberry acknowledged that if your company is unhappy with that company, forcing you to use your original customs broker can cause problems – for example, if the customs broker is unresponsive or charges excessive fees to collect duties due. Unfortunately, it is not easy, if at all possible, to switch brokers to get a tariff refund.
“You can work with another broker in an advisory capacity, but your options are limited right now,” Quisenberry said.
But assuming all is well with your customs agent, they will submit your refund request electronically through Customs’ Ace Secure Data Portal. The first phase of the process is limited to shipments that have been “liquidated” or completed within the last 80 days, although some shipments that have not yet been “liquidated” or completed will also be processed. The government says importers or brokers must upload a digital file containing the Consolidated Entry Declaration Administration and Processing Statement, which details eligible entries.
Yes, some glitches have been reported. But overall, Quisenberry says, things were going “pretty well” and this process “seems to be more organized and operational than many of us expected.”
How long will it take until you see your money? Quisenberry says she tells her clients to expect between 60 and 90 days. And yes, there are costs. Companies like theirs are service providers and this is an additional service, so fees apply. But for many companies that didn’t expect a refund, cash is welcome and paying a percentage of something is better than paying a percentage of nothing.
A hidden cost that some people don’t take into account is taxes. Many of my clients who paid duties claimed a legitimate tax deduction for the cost in 2025. Duty refunds made in 2026 are taxable and this must be taken into account when a business owner estimates their taxes due for that year.
Recently, FedEx and UPS committed to returning duty refunds to their customers. The shipping company DHL also does the same. Small business owners who rely on these shippers should pay close attention to what they do to deliver on their promise. Unfortunately, Amazon, Apple, Costco and other big brands are still silent about whether or not they share their duty refunds with their customers.
Immediately after the Supreme Court ruling, I wrote that small businesses should not seek duty refunds. I was wrong. The reality is that the refund process is ongoing and appears to be progressing satisfactorily. The tariff debate is far from over. But for companies willing to struggle with the paperwork, this is a rare case in which Washington bureaucracy actually works in their favor.
