Trump Tariff Refund 2026: What Indian Exporters Must Know

On February 20, 2026, the US Supreme Court struck down Trump's IEEPA tariffs, the sweeping import duties that had been hitting Indian goods since early 2025. India was among the worst affected countries, with rates that climbed all the way to 50% at their peak. Indian exporters across textiles, gems, seafood, chemicals, and dozens of other sectors watched their US orders shrink, their margins compress, and in some cases their American buyers disappear entirely.

That Supreme Court ruling set off a $166 billion refund process. And while the headlines have been loud, the details of who actually qualifies have been murky, especially for exporters on the Indian side of the transaction.

This blog walks you through who is eligible, what you can realistically recover, and exactly what to do before the window closes.

What Were Trump's IEEPA Tariffs and Why Did the Court Strike it Down?

Trump's IEEPA tariffs were import taxes imposed through emergency executive orders, starting in early 2025. Indian exports were among the hardest hit.

It started with a 26% reciprocal tariff in April 2025, applied broadly across most countries under the argument that foreign trade practices were hurting American workers. Then in August 2025, India got an additional 25% penalty on top, specifically because India had continued buying Russian oil. That brought the combined rate on Indian goods to 50%, the highest imposed on any major US trading partner, higher than China, higher than Vietnam, higher than anyone.

The tariffs had already been challenged in lower courts, with judges ruling them unlawful, but the duties kept being collected while the legal process played out. On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court of the United States settled it: the law Trump used to impose these tariffs did not give him the authority to do so. Collection stopped on February 24, 2026.

That ruling is what triggered the refund process. The US Court of International Trade (CIT) has since ordered Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund all IEEPA duties collected, with interest. CBP is building a dedicated portal called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) to handle this, expected to go live around April 20, 2026.

Are Indian Exporters Eligible for a Refund?

The refund goes to whoever actually paid the import duty at the US border. That entity is called the Importer of Record, and it is the name that appears on the US customs entry paperwork. Whether that is you or your US buyer comes down to the shipping terms you used.

If you shipped on DDP (Delivered Duty Paid) terms: you as the Indian seller were responsible for getting the goods through US customs, which includes paying the import duty. That makes you the Importer of Record. You paid the IEEPA tariff. You are directly eligible for the refund.

If you shipped on FOB (Free on Board) or CIF (Cost Insurance Freight) terms: the US buyer took responsibility for customs clearance and duty payment on their side. They are the Importer of Record. They paid the tariff. The refund goes to them.

If you are a D2C seller shipping through platforms like Amazon US, Etsy, or Shopify: it depends on your fulfillment model. If you were listed as the Importer of Record on CBP Form 7501 (the customs entry form), you are eligible. If Amazon, a third-party logistics provider, or a freight forwarder was listed as the importer, you are not directly eligible.

If you are a service exporter, an IT professional, a freelancer, or a consultant: the IEEPA tariffs simply did not apply to you. These were tariffs on physical goods. Services were not covered, so there is nothing to claim.

On what goods were covered: most physical goods fell under these tariffs. The main exemptions were pharmaceuticals, electronics including smartphones and laptops, and certain food items like spices, tea, and coffee. If your goods fell under those categories, they may not have attracted IEEPA duties at all.

If you are unsure whether you were the Importer of Record, the simplest way to check is to ask your freight forwarder for your CBP Form 7501. If your company name appears as the importer on that document, you qualify.

If you are the importer of record and expecting a refund from CBP, you will need a US bank account enrolled in CBP's ACH system to receive it. Skydo gives Indian exporters a virtual USD account for exactly this.

What If Your US Buyer Was the Importer of Record?

When the US buyer is the Importer of Record, it means they were the party responsible for clearing your goods through US customs and paying the import duty. Under the CAPE refund process, that refund belongs to them legally.

But if you reduced your prices during the tariff period to help your buyer absorb their higher landed costs, you effectively shared the burden of those tariffs through your own margin. The refund restores their cost. Yours does not get restored automatically.

You do have options here. Here is what they look like:

What you can ask for: Go back to your buyer and ask for the difference between your original contract price and the lower price you accepted during the tariff period. This is not a demand for a share of their refund. It is a request to restore your pricing to where it was before the tariff disruption changed the terms of your trade.

What gives you standing to ask: Your ongoing business relationship and future order volumes matter here. So does the fact that your buyer's landed cost is being fully restored by the refund, while your margins have not moved. That asymmetry is a fair basis for a conversation.

What to pull together before that conversation:

If there was no formal contract, email threads and purchase order terms still hold up as evidence. Bank records that show the lower payments you received are useful supporting material.

If your US buyer agrees to share a portion and sends it to you as a USD payment, receiving it compliantly into India matters. Skydo handles inward USD remittances with proper documentation, so the money lands cleanly without bank delays or compliance confusion.

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How Much Could Indian Exporters Receive from the Trump Tariff Refund?

The refund is the IEEPA duty you overpaid, plus interest at 6% per annum from the date of payment. Working out your number is a three-step process.

Step 1: Find your entry summaries. Pull these from CBP's ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) portal, or ask your US customs broker for the Entry Summary Details report. This gives you a record of every shipment you cleared through US customs during the covered period, February 2025 to February 2026.

Step 2: Identify which duty lines are IEEPA-related. On your entry documents, IEEPA duties appear under HTS (Harmonized Tariff Schedule) Chapter 99 sub-headings, specifically codes in the 9903.01.XX and 9903.02.XX ranges. These are the amounts you are claiming back.

Step 3: Apply the rate that was in effect when each entry was made. India had three different rates across the covered period:

A shipment entered in October 2025 and one entered in February 2026 will carry different duty amounts, so each entry needs its own calculation.

For example, an exporter with $300,000 in DDP shipments entered between August 2025 and February 2026 would have paid roughly $150,000 in IEEPA duties at the 50% rate, plus around $4,500 in interest at 6% annually over six months, bringing the total to approximately $154,500. Your actual number depends on your specific entries, liquidation status, and whether other duty programs applied. Your US customs broker will give you the accurate figure.

 How to File for the IEEPA Tariff Refund with CBP?

Filing for the refund is not something you can do on your own from India. The process runs through the US customs system and requires a US-licensed customs broker or trade attorney to represent you. That said, there is preparation work you can and should be doing right now, before the portal even opens.

Step 1: Confirm your Importer of Record status. Pull CBP Form 7501 from your freight forwarder or customs broker. Your company name must appear as the importer on that form. If it does not, the filing process below does not apply to you.

Step 2: Pull all relevant entry summaries. You need summaries for every shipment entered between February 4, 2025 and February 24, 2026. Ask your US customs broker for the ACE Entry Summary Details report filtered for HTS Chapter 99 codes. This gives you a clean list of every entry where IEEPA duties were assessed.

Step 3: Identify IEEPA duty lines on each entry. Look for codes in the 9903.01.XX and 9903.02.XX ranges. Separate IEEPA duties from regular duties line by line. This is the foundation of your claim.

Step 4: Check the liquidation status of each entry. Liquidation is CBP's final duty assessment on a customs entry. The status of your entries determines which filing path you take.

Unliquidated entries will be processed through the CAPE portal once it opens. No separate action is needed right now.

Liquidated entries that are still within 180 days of their liquidation date require a formal Protest filed under 19 U.S.C. §1514. Note that the 180-day deadline runs from each entry's individual liquidation date, not from a single universal cutoff date.

Liquidated entries where the 180-day window has already passed may be outside the standard refund process. A trade attorney may be able to identify other avenues, but they are more complex and less certain.

Step 5: Engage a US-licensed customs broker or trade attorney. Indian exporters cannot file CAPE declarations or CBP protests directly. You need US-side representation. The sooner you engage one, the better positioned you will be when the portal opens.

Step 6: Enroll in ACH on CBP's ACE portal. CBP stopped issuing paper cheques on February 6, 2026. All refunds are now sent electronically via ACH (Automated Clearing House) to a registered US bank account. If you are not enrolled, your refund will sit in reject status indefinitely. As of late March 2026, only approximately 26,664 of 330,000 eligible importers had enrolled. This is the most time-sensitive step right now.

Step 7: File your CAPE declaration when the portal opens. Once CAPE goes live around April 20, 2026, your US customs broker uploads your entry summaries in CBP's standardised format. CBP validates the data, removes IEEPA duties, recalculates the amounts owed, and issues the refund. CBP estimates up to 45 days from entry acceptance to refund delivery. Phase 1 covers approximately 63% of entries. More complex entries involving antidumping or countervailing duties will be handled in later phases.

Already confirmed you are the importer of record and want to make sure your refund lands in the right account? Skydo gives Indian exporters a virtual USD account that receives international transfers directly, with transparent forex rates and documentation built in.

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How to Receive the Refund Into India

CBP sends all refunds via ACH, a US domestic bank transfer system. There are no wire transfers, no SWIFT payments, and no paper cheques. To receive the refund, you need a US bank account that is enrolled in CBP's ACE system.

Indian bank accounts cannot receive ACH transfers directly. Even if your bank has a US correspondent relationship, routing a CBP government refund through that chain is operationally difficult, and most Indian banks have not handled this type of inflow before.

The practical solution is a virtual USD account held within the US banking system, which can be enrolled directly in CBP's ACE portal. Skydo's virtual USD account is set up for exactly this. Once enrolled, your refund lands in your account when CBP processes it, and you can convert to INR at live forex rates or hold in USD as you prefer.

There is also a compliance aspect on the Indian side worth being aware of. Any inward USD remittance into India requires a purpose code and generates documentation in the form of a FIRC (Foreign Inward Remittance Certificate) and eBRC (Electronic Bank Realisation Certificate). A duty refund from a US government agency is an unusual type of inflow, not a standard export payment, and needs to be classified correctly for RBI (Reserve Bank of India) compliance. Getting that right upfront saves a lot of back and forth with your bank later.

To receive your IEEPA tariff refund from CBP, you need a US account enrolled in ACH before the CAPE portal opens around April 20. Get set up in time. Join Skydo