US government begins reimbursement of 166 billion dollars in tariffs declared illegal

The Estados Unidos government puts into operation this Monday a new system to process the refund of up to 166 billion dollars in tariffs paid by importers. The measure complies with the Suprema Corte decision that invalidated the tariffs in February 2025. The portal allows the sending of declarations to recover the amounts, with interest added when applicable.

Alfândega and Proteção of Fronteiras prepare the launch of the first phase of the CAPE system within the ACE portal. Mais of 330,000 importers paid the tariffs on about 53 million entries. Até At the beginning of April, 56,497 importers have already completed preliminary stages representing 127 billion dollars. The process consolidates refunds into a single electronic payment.

Sistema CAPE begins accepting refund statements

Empresas access the Secure Data Portal ACE portal starting at 8am Eastern Time from Estados Unidos. The importer of record or authorized broker submits the CAPE declaration by uploading a CSV file with the eligible entry numbers. The system recalculates the values ​​without the invalidated rates and updates the entries.

The initial phase covers unsettled entries and those settled less than 80 days ago. Fases following will expand the scope to more complex cases. The government plans to process applications in a consolidated manner to avoid individual examination of each import.

• Registry Importadores who paid fees under IEEPA
• Corretor customs officer authorized to act on behalf of the importer
• Empresas who maintain an account on the ACE portal with updated bank details
• Entidades involved in lawsuits that questioned tariffs
• Fabricantes of toys, household appliances and equipment that registered high values

Decisão court overturned legal basis for tariffs

Suprema Corte decided in February 2025 that the use of Lei of Poderes Econômicos of Emergência Internacional did not authorize the imposition of global tariffs. The ministers understood that the definition of taxes is up to Congresso. Comércio Internacional’s Tribunal reinforced the refund order in March.

CBP initially resisted the scale of the return, but followed court orders. The agency informed the court that manual processing would require millions of hours of work. The development of CAPE emerged as a solution to speed up the operation.

Payments Volume raises concerns about overload

Mais of 330 thousand companies contributed to the values ​​over the previous year. The total collected reached close to 166 billion dollars in some calculations and could reach 175 billion with interest. The new system avoids reprocessing entry by entry.

Especialistas warn of the risk of instability at launch due to the large number of simultaneous accesses. Algumas companies hired consultancies such as PwC to prepare documentation and access customs records. Registration requires exact company name matching.

Specific Setores seek expressive values

Fabricantes of toys like Learning Resources and Basic Fun prepare orders reaching millions of dollars each. Learning Resources, one of the authors of the action, seeks more than 10 million. Basic Fun targets 7 million. Fabricantes of heavy trucks like Oshkosh also recorded significant impact.

Empresas German companies such as ebm-papst and Canadian or Mexican home appliance manufacturers appear on the list of those affected. The refund goes directly to the importer of record, not to consumers who paid higher retail prices.

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Processo includes interest and single payment per company

The amounts returned total the principal plus interest calculated in accordance with federal rules. CAPE combines all eligible entries into a single electronic credit by importer or settlement date. Isso reduces bureaucracy for the government and companies.

Autoridades estimates a period of 60 to 90 days for issuing payment after acceptance of the declaration. The government can still appeal Tribunal’s order from Comércio Internacional until early May. Qualquer additional delay causes interest to continue to accrue.

Empresas report challenges with initial registration

Alguns importers faced difficulties aligning the exact company name in the system with customs records. Small Diferenças like “company” versus “co” generated automatic rejections. Outros needed to update bank details on the ACE portal before submitting the declaration.

CBP has published quick guides and training videos for easy access. The agency also opened a specific email channel for technical questions about CAPE. The objective is to reduce errors and speed up the flow of requests.

Impacto in supply chains still under evaluation

High tariffs last year forced many companies to readjust suppliers and inventories. Algumas absorbed costs, others passed on prices to the consumer. Reimbursement provides a return of capital that can help recover margins.

The final effect on shelf prices depends on decisions made by each business. Most of the resources return to importers and do not automatically reach the final consumer. Executivos financial statements indicate that the return will be treated as an extraordinary gain in accounting.

Fases future CAPE will expand reach

The first phase launched this Monday focuses on simpler cases. Later Fases will include entries settled longer ago and complex situations such as tariff classification disputes. CBP plans gradual updates to the system.

The agency continues to issue communications through Cargo Systems Messaging Service to guide the industry. Importadores and brokers are encouraged to prepare ACE accounts and banking details in advance. The process marks a practical reversal of previous tariff policy.

The launch of CAPE represents the operational outcome of a legal dispute that lasted months. The total involved places the operation among the largest returns ever carried out by American customs. Empresas from different segments closely followed the first days of the portal’s operation.