US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on Tuesday said applications for refunds of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), which the Supreme Court found unlawful, could take up to 45 days to review and process.

In a filing submitted by CBP to the US Court of International Trade, the agency provided an update on the status of the Consolidated ACE Processing Environment (CAPE) system developed for refunding customs duties collected under IEEPA.

The filing said the system consists of four components: a claims portal, bulk processing, review and liquidation, and refund issuance. It added that the claims portal is 85% complete, bulk processing 60% complete, review and liquidation 80% complete, and the refund component 75% complete.

CBP noted that, unless there is an eligibility issue requiring more detailed examination, it would take no more than 45 days to review and process applications.

The filing also said that 26,664 importers, representing 78% of entries on which IEEPA duties or bond payments had been made, have completed the process required to receive electronic refunds.

For those entries, the principal amount of customs duties paid or deposited is about $120 billion, it added.

In a separate filing previously submitted by CBP to the US Court of International Trade, the agency said duties collected and expected to be collected under IEEPA had totaled about $166 billion as of March 4.

The Supreme Court ruled on Feb. 20 that IEEPA, which Trump relied on to implement the tariffs, does not grant the president authority to impose tariffs.

Following the ruling, thousands of companies filed lawsuits against the US administration seeking refunds of the duties paid.

*Writing by Mucahithan Avcioglu in Istanbul