After the Supreme Court declared the comprehensive duties imposed by US President Donald Trump illegal, the situation regarding the amount of Rs 177 billion (according to foreign media reports) or Rs 16 lakh crore collected as customs duties is not yet clear. Companies have queued up to get a refund of this fee amount, but experts say that the path may be complicated and long. According to trade law experts, American importers can eventually get back the amount paid as customs duty, but for this they may have to go through a lengthy legal process.
it may take time
Joyce Adetutu, a business lawyer and partner at Vinson & Elkins law firm, said it is going to be a bumpy ride for some time. Lawyers at the Clark Hill firm say it may take time to get a refund due to the process at the US Customs and Border Protection Agency, New York’s International Trade Special Court and other lower courts. A bench of the US Supreme Court, in a 6-3 majority decision on Friday, said that Trump’s move to impose import duties on other countries through the Emergency Powers Act (IEPA, 1977) was not legal. Under this law the President did not have the right to impose tax on imports.
Common people will not benefit
According to foreign media reports, the US Customs Agency has collected a total of $177 billion till December under the duty orders issued under IEPA. However, experts say that even though importers may get the refund of this duty amount, it is very difficult for the common people to get this refund. The reason for this is that the companies had passed the burden of increased duty on consumers in the form of price increase. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, while giving a different opinion from the majority decision, said that the court did not make it clear how the government should now proceed with the refund process. He expressed apprehension that the refund process of tax collected from importers could be very complicated.