The Statue of Contemplation of Justice at the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 in Washington, DC, USA.
Pete Keyhart Bloomberg | Getty Images
If the Supreme Court rules that President Donald Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are illegal, there will be a new deadline for U.S. importers to file for electronic refunds.
On January 2, U.S. Customs released details of a new electronic refund process enacted as part of President Trump’s March 25 executive order on modernizing government payments and phasing out physical checks.
A Supreme Court ruling on the legality of President Trump’s tariffs could come as early as this Friday. The mandatory deadline for importers to register to receive electronic refunds through Customs’ Automated Clearing House (ACH) network is February 6th.
The new digital customs system is called ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) and is a secure electronic portal that allows businesses to file import and export data, manage trade information and comply with regulations. ACE manages ACH refunds.
Previously, importers had to manually set up an account with Customs’ ACH network to pay duties and receive funds via email. Once Customs received that email, someone at Customs had to enter the data and confirm that the account was set up, said Lori Mullins, director of operations at Rogers & Brown Custom Brokers.
“Customs couldn’t do it at this scale, so we had to create an electronic process,” Mullins said.
On December 15, US Customs announced that $200 billion had been collected in new tariffs imposed during President Trump’s second term. The country’s trade deficit has reached its lowest level since 2009.
Mr Mullins said it was imperative that importers set up their accounts by the February 6 deadline to avoid losing the possibility of a refund from customs.
“Given the short window provided by Customs, the potential SCOTUS ruling in January, and Customs no longer issuing paper checks, now is the time to set up electronic ACH in preparation for refunds,” Mullins said.
From the effective date of February 6, Customs will no longer issue physical checks as before.
Lawyers representing the Trump administration argued in the nation’s highest court that refunds would be “disruptive” to importers. U.S. importers disputed this claim, telling CNBC that reimbursing duties is relatively easy.
Importers pointed to U.S. Customs documents that clearly detail the duties they pay on goods brought into the United States, and CNBC reviewed the customs collection documents to verify these claims.
Rick Muscat, CEO of footwear company Dear Stags, said: “Every time you go into customs, you detail a specific item that shows you the duty rate you’re paying.”
In the customs declaration summary, importers identify the specific product code, country of origin, and type of duty payable.
If the tariffs are determined to be illegal, the International Trade Court has legal authority to require refunds from U.S. importers and retains jurisdiction over refund claims during the two-year statute of limitations period.
Although the justices appeared skeptical of the administration’s position during oral arguments, the Trump administration also said it has the option of continuing to impose tariffs through other legal means if SCOTUS rules against current policy.
“While we are optimistic that SCOTUS will rule favorably on behalf of the importing community, we also know that the refund process will very likely take longer,” Mullins said. “We also know that the administration is stockpiling other measures it can and likely will introduce if IEEPA is declared unconstitutional, which we anticipate could continue to create uncertainty in sourcing imports into the United States in 2026.”
