Refund Process for $166 Billion in US Tariffs Ruled Illegal to Begin June 20

The refund process for $166 billion in tariffs ruled unlawful by the U.S. Supreme Court will begin on June 20. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently announced it is developing the Consolidated Automated Payment Evaluation system, or CAPE, to streamline requests for refunds of previously imposed duties and their processing.

The system will allow refunds to be handled on a consolidated basis rather than by individual import entry. It will also calculate interest accrued between the date the duties were paid and the date the refund is issued. CBP said importers will be able to process refunds together even if they filed multiple import declarations.

Refunds through CAPE will begin with relatively simple cases. The main targets are entries for which duties have not been finalized or declarations that are within 80 days of liquidation. Excluded from the first round are cases subject to post-entry reconciliation, claims already seeking drawback, pending protests, filings made outside the Automated Commercial Environment, and entries with final liquidation already completed. CBP added that it plans to expand the system later to cover those cases. The agency said refunds will be paid within 60 to 90 days of approval of the filing.

KOTRA's Washington office said the refund application process has been clarified, but uncertainty remains over who will ultimately be entitled to the money and whether it must be returned to customers and business counterparties.

Washington=Lee Sang-eun, correspondent selee@hankyung.com