India May Get $10-12 Billion As US Processes Trump Tariff Refunds: Report
Last year, the US under President Donald Trump slapped steep tariffs across a wide range of imports -- including many from India -- using an emergency power law that didn't have clear backing from Congress. However, in February this year, the US Supreme Court ruled that those tariffs were unconstitutional, effectively voiding them. The decision could trigger one of the largest refund processes in US trade history.
Following the Supreme Court ruling, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched a new online portal called CAPE -- the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system -- which opened on April 20, 2026. The portal lets businesses begin filing claims to recover duties they paid under the struck-down tariff regime.
Not all tariffs were linked to India, but a GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative) report estimates that roughly $10-12 billion of the total refunds (over $166 billion) touch on Indian goods that were imported into the US during the tariff period.
Sharing his insights on the development, Sohrab Bararia, Partner - Indirect Tax, Grant Thornton Bharat, said, "CBP's upcoming deployment of Phase 1 of the CAPE platform on April 20, 2026, marks a significant milestone for Importers of Record (IORs) and customs brokers in relation to IEEPA duty refunds. The introduction of CAPE allows bulk processing of refund claims thereby reducing reliance on manual, entry-wise filings and minimising administrative bottlenecks. For IORs and brokers, this is expected to accelerate refund realisation, improve cash flows, and bring procedural clarity."
He added, "At the same time, it also places immediate responsibility on stakeholders to identify and compile eligible entries across historical periods. While this could result in substantial cash inflows, it also necessitates timely data collation, validation of entry details, and coordination with brokers to ensure accurate submissions."
