Customs & Border Protection on Monday launched its tariff refund portal to allow importers to get money back after the Supreme Court struck down the global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration. But companies reported error messages as they tried to get through the first phase of the process.
Companies have been preparing for weeks to file and many tried to do so as soon as the portal launched. While some were able to file, others got error warnings such as, “The system is currently experiencing high volume, please try again.”
Others ran into issues trying to upload documents and businesses calling CBP to try to get answers weren’t able to get through, said Shawn Phetteplace, national campaigns director at Main Street Alliance, an advocacy group for 30,000 small businesses.
A CBP spokeswoman didn’t directly address the error messages and recommended checking the agency’s site periodically. She added that the agency has developed a new tool “to efficiently process refunds” and has issued guidance to the trade community to help them prepare to use the new tool.
Matthew Seligman, founder of Grayhawk Law, who advises small and medium-size businesses, said most of his clients were waiting to file in hopes of avoiding delays and errors.
“This is a huge administrative system. CBP built it in about six weeks so that’s really fast-paced,” Seligman said. “It remains to be seen how well functioning this system will be once past initial submission and validation and process.”
Analysts expect tariff refunds to take roughly 45 days if not more. In its filing last week, the CBP said it can issue electronic refunds for about $127 billion, or 82% of tariffs paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Yale Budget Lab estimated that the IEEPA tariff revenue amounted to about $165 billion.