WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection plans to launch the first phase of its new online portal for refunding tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act by mid-April, according to a court filing. The agency estimates it will ultimately return approximately $166 billion to importers affected by the now-invalidated duties.

In February, the Supreme Court struck down tariffs that the Trump administration had imposed under IEEPA nearly a year earlier. The Court of International Trade subsequently ordered CBP to begin recalculating duties and issuing refunds to affected importers. The agency has since been developing a multi-phase online system to process the refund claims.

The main tariff refunds claim portal is 85% complete and undergoing critical testing required before deployment, according to the court filing. Other components of the broader refund system are between 60% and 80% complete. Despite the progress on the technology, CBP is not yet ready to begin rolling out the refunds to importers.

As of March 26, the online registration system had drawn 26,664 sign-ups from importers across the country. Registered importers are confirmed to be eligible for refunds through the portal once it becomes operational.

The initial rollout of the portal will cover roughly 63% of the 53 million import entries tied to the Supreme Court ruling, according to the court filing. The remaining claims will require additional time to process. About one-third of the total entries have undergone liquidation, a customs process that occurs within a year of an import's entry and usually makes the associated tariffs permanent. Those liquidated entries will be handled in later refund phases when additional system capabilities come online.

It remains unclear when funds tied to liquidated entries will be returned to importers. On March 27, Judge Richard Eaton of the Court of International Trade expanded his ruling to clarify that liquidated tariffs are also eligible for reimbursement.

CBP is responsible for paying interest on the held tariffs, estimated at approximately $700 million per month, or roughly $23 million per day, for each day the refunds are delayed, according to a court ruling. With the portal still in its testing phase and additional system components yet to be completed, the total interest obligation continues to grow as the agency works toward full deployment of the refund system.