IEEPA Tariff Refund Guide: How Importers Can Reclaim Duties After the Supreme Court Ruling

You paid those Section 122 tariffs. Maybe hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then the Supreme Court struck them down. Now you want your money back. Here is the reality: the refund process is real, it is legal, and it is already moving. But if you do not file correctly, you will leave cash on the table.

The Legal Door Is Open - But Not for Long

In May 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that Section 122 of the IEEPA tariffs were imposed without proper constitutional authority. That decision instantly retroactively invalidated billions in duties collected since October 2024. GM filed for a 00 million refund within days. Small and mid-size importers are now lining up behind them.

I have been through three major tariff disputes in fifteen years of China sourcing. The pattern never changes. The government opens a narrow window for refund claims, the big corporations jump first, and by the time smaller importers figure out the process, the deadline has passed or the paperwork requirements have tightened. Do not let that be you.

Who Qualifies for a Section 122 Tariff Refund

Not everyone who paid tariffs automatically gets a check. The refund applies to duties collected under the now-invalidated IEEPA Section 122 authority. If your shipments entered the U.S. between October 2024 and May 2026 and you paid these particular tariffs, you likely qualify.

Here is where it gets messy. A client of mine imported 40,000 units of kitchen appliances from Guangdong in January 2025. They paid roughly 7,000 in Section 122 duties. But their customs broker had commingled the Section 122 payments with regular Section 301 duties in the accounting records. We spent three weeks separating them. That is the kind of headache that determines whether you get refunded.

Qualifying criteria include:

• Goods entered under HTSUS codes covered by the IEEPA proclamation

• Duties actually paid (not bonded or deferred)

• Timely filed protest or refund application with CBP

• Proper documentation linking the payment to the invalidated authority

• No prior settlement or waiver of refund rights

Step-by-Step: How to File Your Duty Refund Claim

The refund process follows CBP established protest and prior disclosure framework, with one critical twist: the timeline is compressed because of the volume of claims expected. Here is the sequence that works:

Step 1: Audit Your Imports

Pull every entry summary from October 2024 forward. Identify which entries included Section 122/IEEPA duties. This is where most importers stumble - their brokers coded the payments inconsistently. One of my suppliers had six different HTS codes for the same product across three months.

You need: entry numbers, payment dates, duty amounts, HTS codes, and the specific proclamation reference. Without this baseline, your claim is dead.

Step 2: Prepare Your Protest (CBP Form 19)

CBP Form 19 is the standard protest document. But generic protests get rejected. Your protest must cite the Supreme Court ruling, specify the IEEPA authority, and reference each entry individually. A single protest can cover multiple entries if they share the same legal basis.

I watched a 20,000 claim get denied because the importer wrote tariff too high in the protest reason box. That is not how this works. You need precise legal language. If you do not have in-house customs counsel, hire a licensed customs broker who has handled Section 122 protests before.

Step 3: Submit Within the Deadline

Standard CBP protests must be filed within 180 days of liquidation. For entries that already liquidated, you have a narrower window. The Supreme Court ruling creates a special circumstance, but do not rely on leniency. File as soon as your documentation is ready.

A Shenzhen electronics exporter I work with had their U.S. importer of record submit a blanket protest covering twelve shipments in one filing. It took their customs broker two hours to prepare. Two hours to unlock 40,000 in potential refunds. That is the return on preparation.

Step 4: Follow Up and Escalate

CBP has 30 days to acknowledge receipt, then up to two years to rule on protested entries. Do not just wait. Track each protest number. If CBP misses the timeline, the protest is deemed denied and you can appeal to the Court of International Trade.

Five Mistakes That Kill Your Refund Claim

After a decade-plus in this business, I have seen the same errors repeat. Here is what to avoid:

• Mixing Section 122 and Section 301 entries in the same protest (different legal bases will get the protest rejected)

• Filing without the Supreme Court citation - CBP processors need the legal hook to approve

• Missing the liquidation date - if your entry liquidated more than 180 days ago, the standard window is closed

• Using the wrong HTS codes - the IEEPA proclamations targeted specific classifications

• Waiting for a broker to call you - the proactive importers are already filing

How a China Sourcing Agent Accelerates Your Refund

You might wonder: what does a sourcing agent know about U.S. customs law? Fair question. The answer is that we are the ones holding the paper trail. When your refund claim requires factory invoices, Bill of Lading copies, packing lists, and proof of declared value - all of that originates in China.

One client factory in Ningbo changed their invoicing format halfway through 2025. Their U.S. customs broker could not match the purchase orders to the entries. I flew to Ningbo, sat down with the factory manager, and reconciled six months of invoices in two days. That single trip unlocked 15,000 in refund-eligible duties.

Your sourcing agent or supply chain partner should be working alongside your customs broker on refund claims. If they are not, you are missing half the puzzle.

Timeline: What to Expect

The refund process is not instant. Here is a realistic timeline based on what we are seeing from early filers: Refund timeline at a glance:

• Phase: Document audit - Duration: 1-3 weeks - Key Action: Identify all Section 122 entries and duties paid

• Phase: Protest preparation - Duration: 1-2 weeks - Key Action: Draft CBP Form 19 with legal citations

• Phase: CBP review - Duration: 30 days-2 years - Key Action: CBP acknowledges, then rules on protest

• Phase: Payment if approved - Duration: 60-90 days - Key Action: Treasury issues refund check

The bottleneck is always the document audit. Factories in China keep records differently than U.S. importers expect. The sooner you start, the sooner you file.

Why This Matters Beyond the Refund Check

Here is what most articles miss. The Supreme Court decision on Section 122 is not just about refunding past payments. It signals that the executive branch tariff authority has boundaries. Future tariff actions will be more carefully structured, and importers who understand the legal framework will have a strategic advantage.

A buyer I work with in Chicago redirected their entire Q3 sourcing plan after the ruling. They had been avoiding Chinese suppliers because of Section 122 uncertainty. Now they are back in negotiations with four factories in Zhejiang. The refund is good. The strategic flexibility is better.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long do I have to file a Section 122 tariff refund claim?

For most entries, you have 180 days from liquidation to file a CBP protest. If your entry already liquidated, the window may be narrower. File immediately.

Do customs brokers charge extra for refund filings?

Yes, most charge a separate fee for protest preparation, typically 00-00 per protest. Some offer contingency-based fees (a percentage of the refund).

Can I claim refunds for entries liquidated before the Supreme Court ruling?

Yes, but the timeline is tighter. You need to file a protest within 180 days of liquidation or show that the ruling constitutes a new legal basis for reopening the entry.

Does this refund apply to Section 301 tariffs too?

No. Section 301 tariffs (List 3, List 4A, etc.) are a separate legal framework and were not affected by this ruling. Only IEEPA Section 122 tariffs are eligible.

How much can I realistically expect to recover?

Typical refunds range from 5-25% of the duty paid, depending on the HTS codes and entry documentation quality. Large claims (00K+) have a higher approval rate because they justify the legal investment.

Need Help Filing Your Tariff Refund Claim?

China Cart Bridge handles the China-side documentation that makes or breaks your customs refund claim. We audit your factory invoices, reconcile BOLs with entry summaries, and coordinate with your customs broker. If you have Section 122 duties in your import history, contact us to audit your eligibility before the filing window closes.