Application for Refund of American Customs Duties

Deadlines to Maintain Eligibility for Potential IEEPA Duty Refunds

You must request an extension from U.S. Customs before the end of 2025 for the liquidation of duties on imports into the U.S. made from mid-April 2025 to preserve the right to IEEPA duty refunds if deemed illegitimate by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Supreme Court will review the legitimacy of U.S. customs duties imposed under IEEPA in November, but a final decision is not expected until mid-2026. Depending on this timeline, your eligibility to apply for a refund could be compromised if the Court declares the duties illegitimate.

The first imports into America subject to IEEPA duties were cleared in mid-April 2025. The duties for many of them will therefore be liquidated before the final ruling, causing the deadlines to file for a duty refund to expire. To protect your potential right to a refund, you can use one of the two tools available before the liquidation of duties:

• Request an extension of the liquidation from U.S. Customs: extensions are discretionary and are generally granted for one-year periods, up to a maximum of three years. Approval is not guaranteed, so it will be necessary to constantly monitor the status of the request.
• If the import has already been liquidated, you can file a formal protest to get a refund of the overpaid duties: the deadline to file for a refund is generally 180 days from the date of liquidation.

Each option has its pros and cons, but they are the only means to ensure eligibility for potential future refunds of duties already paid or to be paid. In summary: the extension grants time, the protest preserves the right to a refund after duty liquidation.

It is recommended to file protests, as they can be submitted electronically and are easier to track. In any case, it is strongly advised to carefully consider your options to avoid missing the opportunity to obtain a refund on duties already paid.

For imports made in  April 2025, the corresponding time windows will start closing between the end of 2025 and January 2026, depending on the expected date of liquidation. It is therefore essential to know your exact deadlines.

Refund of American Customs Duties in Case of Export to Canada

It is possible to apply for a refund of American customs duties paid to import goods or products into the United States if, within five years, these same goods or products are exported to Canada in whole or in part.

The refund application must be made to U.S. Customs and the refund is equivalent to 99% of the American customs duties paid upon import. The customs refund procedure is not particularly complex to prepare and the timeframes to obtain the refund are not excessive.

This is an American customs regulation that has been in place for a long time and not a recent change. The procedure must be managed by an American customs operator experienced in this type of operation and ExportUSA can assist you through the network of American customs professionals they collaborate with.