Businesses Seek Tariff Refunds but Face Login and Documentation Issues

Businesses are attempting to obtain refunds on tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act after the Supreme Court ruled those tariffs unconstitutional in February. Access to the Customs and Border Protection online portal ACE has become a bottleneck for some applicants.

Megan Sweeney, CEO of Pacific International Bearing, said her company has spent several weeks trying to regain access to the portal. No one at the firm had logged in for years, and Sweeney spent an hour and a half on the phone with CBP on Tuesday before resetting the password.

"We never had the need to be active on the ACE portal," Sweeney said. The company is seeking several hundred thousand dollars in refunds for tariffs paid over the past year.

Justin Sherlock, cofounder and CEO of Caspian, said some of the firm's clients have also spent weeks contacting CBP support to regain login credentials. Sherlock compared the portal to IRS tax transcripts, noting that companies making fewer than a couple thousand shipments a year often relied on brokers and never maintained direct access.

Alexandra Fine, cofounder of Dame Products, said the company spent more than a week verifying login credentials before filing its refund application on April 28. Fine expects the refund within the next few weeks.

Stefanutti, CEO of Gaia Dynamics, said the government is rejecting refund claims that contain errors on customs entries. As of late April, CBP reported rejecting about 19 percent of claims. Stefanutti said some entries listed incorrect tariff amounts or misidentified imported goods.

One recent example involved a Louis Vuitton bag classified as a turbo propeller, he said. Companies must correct the errors and resubmit their requests. 5 billion in tariff refunds as of May 11. The agency did not respond to a request for comment on current processing times.