The US Court of International Trade (CIT) has ordered the government to pay back taxes the Trump administration collected, which have since been deemed unlawful.

Last month, the US Supreme Court nixed the tariffs, which the government collected as part of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) US President Donald Trump invoked and which potentially amount to billions of dollars. The new decision, handed down by CIT last week, calls for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to pay back all importers, rather than only those that have filed lawsuits, according to law firm Holland & Knight.

The solution is not a simple one, according to CBP. In a declaration to the court, Brandon Lord, an executive director for US Customs, stated it would need 45 days to prepare a system of repayment. To date, it has collected approximately $166 billion from more than 330,000 importers, it added. However, about 20.1 million entries remain unliquidated, or unprocessed through the system.

“CBP is making all possible efforts to have this new ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) functionality ready for use in 45 days,” Lord said in the filing. “Currently, it is not possible for CBP to immediately prevent any additional entries from liquidating without IEEPA duties.”

Lord did explain that customs would try to ease the process as much as possible.

“This new process will require minimal submission from importers,” he stated in the filing. “CBP will provide guidance on how to file to refund declarations in the new system.”

A stay request by the US government that would allow it to appeal the refund order to the US Court of Appeals was denied, but the administration is still likely to appeal the decision. The government also indicated it believed that if refunds were granted, it should not be to all, and only to those parties who have filed lawsuits.

The Supreme Court’s repeal on taxes gave way to Trump invoking a 10% tariff, separate from IEEPA rules. The new tax, which is expected to rise to 15%, once again rocked the diamond and gemstone industries, which had previously worked out deals to minimize levies or to receive full exemptions on imports.

Image: Shipping containers. (Shutterstock)