President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to launch the system to begin repaying the billions in tariffs paid before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the fees were unlawful.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said this week that the first phase of the CAPE system has been developed, Reuters reported.
CAPE stands for under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which is intended for use, according to Politico.
CAPE will collect all refunds to which importers are entitled and combine them into a single electronic payment, rather than processing them separately.
The system is expected to be launched on April 20 and will refund importers $165 billion, the agency said in a filing.
Refunds will include interest for some importers, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“CAPE Phase 1 is limited to certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation,” the agency said. Politico said the rules may limit older entries.
The refunds may take an additional 45 days to get the money back into importers’ hands, The Hill said.
The Supreme Court said Trump overstepped his authority by authorizing tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which is intended for use in national emergencies, according to Reuters.
As of April 14, about 56,497 importers have submitted refund requests totaling about $127 billion.
More than 330,000 importers paid tariffs on about 53 million shipments, The Hill and Reuters reported.
Only the importer of record or an authorized customs broker can file for a refund, according to Politico.
Monday’s rollout is the first phase of a series, Customs officials said.
For more information on how to apply for a refund, click here.
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