A US court has asked CBP to clarify compliance on tariff refund procedures.

Order and request addressed to CBP

A US court has ordered the customs chief to respond to compliance requirements linked to refunds of duties and taxes collected under tariffs . The original source states that the article sets out the background to the litigation and the request made to the administration to clarify the refund procedure .

The request concerns refunds of duties and taxes collected under tariffs that were subsequently challenged: the original source refers to duties and taxes collected under tariffs, and the New York Post links the refunds to tariffs invalidated by the Supreme Court . The newspaper links those tariffs to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, and mentions duties applied to imports from China, Canada, Mexico and other countries . It also describes a contested tariff system built through a series of presidential executive orders from February 2025 onwards .

The available extracts provide neither the name of the court that issued the order nor the case number .

Refunded amounts and payments still pending

The New York Post reports that US Customs and Border Protection has processed about $20.6 billion in refunds following the Supreme Court decision that invalidated tariffs based on the IEEPA, according to court filings recently made public . The same article cites $85 billion in potential and certified refunds still in the processing pipeline .

The Guardian refers to $20 billion already refunded to importers and shippers, according to court documents filed on Tuesday . The newspaper mentions about $65 billion more still pending . It also states that US importers are expected to receive $85 billion in tariff refunds, according to US Customs and Border Protection .

The Los Angeles Times states that Customs and Border Protection opened a refund portal on 20 April . The portal is intended for more than 330,000 companies that paid import taxes under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA . The newspaper cites a possible total of $166 billion in refunds, including interest . It also mentions about $7.3 billion in IEEPA duties paid or refunds expected in S&P 500 company documents compiled by Bloomberg .

Scope of the contested IEEPA tariffs

The New York Post links the refunds to duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, after a US Supreme Court decision delivered in February . The Los Angeles Times also describes import taxes paid under Donald Trump's use of the IEEPA, followed by refund claims after the Supreme Court invalidated that authority .

According to the New York Post, the IEEPA tariff regime included a baseline reciprocal tariff of 10% on most imports . The newspaper states that Donald Trump had invoked the IEEPA to impose duties on imports from China, Canada, Mexico and dozens of other countries . It also mentions country-specific charges that reached 125% on Chinese products .

The Guardian attributes the refunds to a February ruling in which the Supreme Court held that Donald Trump had exceeded his authority in adopting broad tariffs .

Procedure cited and documentary limits

The Guardian states that some companies sought refunds directly through a portal created by US Customs and Border Protection after the Supreme Court ruling on Donald Trump's tariffs . The same article states that FedEx brought an action against the federal government to obtain a refund after that ruling .

The New York Post cites recent court filings stating that "4,185 consolidated refunds have not been transmitted to Treasury" because the importers concerned had not provided the account information needed to process electronic transfers . The article also reports that the White House attributes part of the pending payments to the absence of bank details supplied by some companies .

The available extracts from the New York Post and The Guardian cite court filings or court documents without reproducing those materials . The original source describes a decision ordering the customs chief to respond to compliance requirements linked to refunds of duties and taxes, but does not reproduce the full text of the order .