U.S. Customs is working on a system to refund tariffs : NPR

Cargo containers are placed near cranes at the Port of Tacoma in Washington.

Ted S. Warren/AP

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Ted S. Warren/AP

U.S. customs officials say they are working on a system to refund customs duties and hope to have it up and running within 45 days.

Since the Supreme Court struck down numerous tariffs imposed by President Trump last month, companies that paid those import taxes have been wondering when and how they will get their money back.

Many small business owners fear they will have to file individual lawsuits to get their refunds, as lawyers have suggested that may be the case. These fears are not unfounded given that Trump and other administration officials have repeatedly suggested that the reimbursement process could become bogged down in litigation.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials told the U.S. Court of International Trade on Friday that the agency’s computer system was not equipped to immediately process all refunds, but that they were working on a streamlined process that would not require importers to file individual lawsuits.

The agency expects to use the same electronic portal that importers already rely on to track or correct their customs declarations.

The government estimates it collected some $166 billion from more than 330,000 companies in tariffs that the Supreme Court has now ruled are unconstitutional.

“The law is clear,” said Judge Richard Eaton of the International Trade Tribunal. “The duties were illegal from the moment they were imposed. This means every penny must be returned to the importer.”

On Wednesday, Eaton ordered U.S. Customs to begin refunding the tariffs immediately and with interest. He also asked the agency to provide an update Friday.

Earlier this week, an appeals court rejected a Justice Department request to halt the process for 90 days. During the Supreme Court trial, the Justice Department repeatedly assured that if the tariffs were canceled the money would be returned. That’s why the government was allowed to continue collecting the tariffs for months after a lower court ruled them illegal last May.

“They said, ‘There’s no harm, because we can always pay the money back.’ And they even included it ‘with interest,'” says Sara Albrecht, who heads the Liberty Justice Center that took the tariff case to the Supreme Court. “It’s clear to me that they don’t have much room to say they can’t repay.”