Customs Duty Recovery

Dear US Importers, The Supreme Court did not just put money back in your bank account. What they did was remove the legal foundation for a set of duties that many of you have been paying for years. The difference matters. Refunds are not automatic, they are procedural. If you want your cash back, you are going to have to go through the same channels we always use: PSCs for unliquidated entries, protests for anything still inside the statutory window, and test cases at the Court of International Trade for older entries that are already closed. Same rules, higher stakes. Your first priority should be understanding your entry universe. Open entries are the fastest path — remove the IEEPA duty through a post-summary correction and let Customs reliquidate. Liquidated entries within the protest period move into bulk protests, which will likely be held while CBP waits for headquarters guidance. The real recovery effort, and where most of the dollars will sit, is in the closed-entry population. That is a litigation-driven process at the CIT and it will take time. This is not a one-quarter event; it is a multi-year recovery program. Do not underestimate the importance of your data. Refund eligibility will depend on whether you can tie duty payments to specific entries, document what was paid, and ensure there is no overlap with drawback, transfer pricing adjustments, or other duty recovery mechanisms. Customs is not going to relax its documentation standards just because the underlying tariff was struck down. Clean records will determine who gets paid and who gets denied. Interest will accrue, and for large importers that interest component alone can become material. You also need to bring your tax department into the conversation immediately. Duty refunds are not just cash — they are prior-period cost recoveries. That means you may be looking at income recognition in the year the refund is received, potential amended returns depending on how the duties were treated, and book-to-tax adjustments that will need to be modeled. If you capitalized duties into inventory, the unwind hits cost of goods sold. If you expensed them, you may be dealing with income pickup when the refund arrives. State tax, transfer pricing, and financial statement implications all follow. This is a customs event with a tax shadow. So, no filings, no refunds. The path runs through PSCs, protests, and the CIT, and the companies that move quickly and methodically — with customs, legal, and tax aligned — will be the ones that actually recover their money and report it correctly. This is no longer a legal debate; it is an operational and financial workflow. Let's go get your money - all my love, Uncle Pete

A Fortune 500 company just recovered €2.8M. Here's exactly how they did it. Sometime ago, I finished an engagement with smallish importer. In 3 years, they went from "we might have some recovery opportunities" to recovering €2.8M. This isn't luck. This is what happens when you build a system. Here's what changed everything: The Situation: decent import/export operation. Multiple tariff lines. Complex supply chain. They knew they were probably missing opportunities, but they didn't know where to start. What Didn't Work (At First): ❌ Hiring a new compliance person  ❌ Buying a software without a strategy ❌ Running audits without a plan  ❌ Hoping their broker would catch issues All of that cost money and produced nothing. What Actually Worked: 1️⃣ BUILD A TARIFF LINE STRATEGY Not random. Deliberate. For every tariff line: origin rules, classification, duty rates, trade agreements. This company discovered they were missing preferential trade agreement benefits on 40% of their lines. First year recovery: €1.1M 2️⃣ EMBED COMPLIANCE IN PROCUREMENT Every purchase order now includes: origin requirements, classification data, documentation standards. Compliance became a procurement conversation, not a downstream fix. Year 2 recovery: €500k 3️⃣ AUDIT YOURSELF FIRST Before Customs came, they pulled 36 months of entries and audited everything. Found €1.2M in classification errors they could proactively correct. This prevented penalties and showed Customs they were serious. 4️⃣ BUILD AN AUDIT-READY CULTURE Not a compliance department working in silos. A company where the CFO understands tariff strategy. Where ops knows why origin matters. Where procurement owns accuracy. This took 6 months to embed. It transformed everything. 5️⃣ MEASURE WHAT MATTERS Duty accuracy. FTA capture rate. Audit results. Cost per shipment. Measured monthly. Reported to leadership. When your CEO sees "we just recovered €1M this month," compliance becomes a priority. Year 3 Results: ✅ €2.8M in total recovery  ✅ Zero audit findings  ✅ 98%+ accuracy rate  ✅ Compliance became competitive advantage  ✅ Procurement and trade aligned The Proof: They're not unique. They just built a system. I've helped lots of companies do versions of this, and the pattern is always the same: Startups scaling: €250K - €5M recoveries Mid-market: €250k - €10M recoveries Enterprise: €15M+ recoveries The size of the recovery depends on your volume. The methodology is universal. The Ask: Your recovery opportunity is sitting there. Unclaimed. Unaudited. Unknown. The question isn't whether you can recover money. The question is: How much is it costing you to wait? Your Turn: What's the biggest barrier preventing your company from treating compliance as a revenue center? Drop your answer below. ♻️ Repost to help other leaders see compliance as a competitive edge, not a cost center.

We've been terribly busy assisting clients with IEEPA the last few weeks, so I haven't been able to post much on LinkedIn, but I wanted to share a significant development out of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) today (March 27th) that will have far-reaching implications for importers impacted by IEEPA tariffs. Today, the CIT expanded its prior order in the Atums Filtration, Inc. v. United States case to clarify that refund relief is not limited to unliquidated or non-final entries...it now expressly includes finally liquidated entries, directing CBP to reliquidate all such entries without regard to IEEPA duties. This is big news. However, the Court also maintained its suspension of the order to the extent it requires immediate compliance, leaving importers in a holding pattern. Why this matters: - The potential pool of recoverable duties has expanded significantly - Relief may extend to entries previously thought “closed” -nBut timing and process remain uncertain What’s next? Expect an appeal. - Given the billions of dollars at stake and the precedent-setting nature of this decision, it is highly likely the government will appeal to the Federal Circuit. - The government has a 60-day window to submit an appeal, so looking at mid/late May 2026 between the two (2) main CIT decisions in the Atmus Filtration case. Key legal tension on appeal: - The CIT is relying on its broad equitable authority and the argument that protests would be futile - The government will likely challenge this based on the strict finality of liquidation under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 and the traditional protest framework - Translation: While this is a favorable development for importers, there is real risk the decision could be narrowed or partially reversed especially for finally liquidated entries. What importers should consider now: - Quantify exposure across both final and non-final entries - Monitor appeal developments closely - Carefully evaluate whether to file protests given ongoing uncertainty - Align with advisors on strategies to preserve refund opportunities without unnecessary cost The path to recovery is becoming clearer but it is far from settled. Ryan's Customs & Trade team is actively advising clients through this evolving landscape. #InternationalTrade #Customs #Tariffs #IEEPA #TradeLaw #Importers #SupplyChain #TradeCompliance #CBP #DutyRecovery #GlobalTrade

𝗛𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗜𝗘𝗘𝗣𝗔 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝘀? Don’t just sit and wait, the refunds may be available, but getting there isn’t as simple as filing a claim and waiting for a check. One of the things I’m spending a lot of time on right now is helping clients think through their IEEPA tariff recovery options and actually move on them. Here’s what the process actually looks like: 𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 𝗖𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 & 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Pull ACE data, identify eligible entries, and segment by liquidation status, drawback overlaps, and any AD/CVD exposure. 𝗘𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 & 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗔𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘆𝘀𝗶𝘀 Not every entry that looks recoverable actually is. Validate entries before submitting, flagging anything high-risk and checking for conflicts like prior drawback filings. 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆 & 𝗣𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Focus on clean entries first to accelerate cash recovery, track liquidation windows, and align filing with CAPE availability. 𝗙𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗦𝘂𝗯𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 Prepare and submit through CAPE, review where protests are needed, and manage timing against program deadlines. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗜𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 Monitor responses, address rejections and RFIs, and keep a live tracker on statuses and expected recoveries. 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗥𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 & 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 Finance teams need to see this clearly, expected vs. received, refund timing, interest, and documentation that holds up to audit. 𝗢𝗻𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘆 The program is still evolving. Staying current on regulatory changes and stakeholder questions is part of the job. If you’re an importer trying to figure out where to start, or whether you even have exposure worth pursuing, feel free to reach out! #IEEPA #TradeCompliance #TariffRecovery #Customs #KPMG

Today, February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs. But for companies that paid those tariffs, the real issue is procedural: can you actually get your money back? If your entries have already liquidated and you didn’t file a timely protest, recovery may be barred. If you preserved your rights through protests or litigation in the Court of International Trade, you’re in a very different position. This is where trade policy turns into technical execution: ·      Track liquidation dates ·      Review protest windows ·      Assess whether litigation was filed ·      Quantify potential refund exposure A favorable Supreme Court ruling does not automatically mean automatic refunds. Customs law is deadline-driven and unforgiving. For importers, this is not a political moment. It’s a compliance and cash recovery moment. #SupremeCourt #Tariffs #Customs #TradeCompliance #Importers #RefundClaims #GlobalTrade #RiskManagement

Tariff Update: The Supreme Court just limited IEEPA tariff authority. In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that the law called IEEPA does not give the President the power to impose these tariffs, and it upheld the earlier decision from the Federal Circuit court. Here is what it means: → IEEPA-based tariffs lack statutory authority. IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose these tariffs. That means this specific law cannot be used as a general tool to create import taxes. → Immediate focus shifts to tariff recovery. Companies that paid duties under IEEPA will now evaluate refund eligibility. Expect: - A Customs-administered refund process - Heavy documentation requirements - Potential procedural similarities to duty drawback, but not automatic Key implications for importers into the US: - Refund timing uncertainty - Margin recapture potential in future quarters - Increased scrutiny on prior entries and classifications The second order question: What happens next? Limiting IEEPA does not eliminate tariff authority. Expect increased reliance on: - Section 301 - Section 232 - Section 201 This ruling does not remove trade volatility. If you lead supply chain in 2026, the advantage goes to companies that can pivot between mitigation and recovery faster than competitors.