There’s one question that determines whether you can claim an IEEPA tariff refund: are you the importer of record? If you are, the refund is yours. If you’re not, it belongs to whoever is — even if you’re the one who ultimately paid for the goods and absorbed the tariff cost.
This might sound like a technicality. It’s not. The importer of record (IOR) is the single most important concept in the entire IEEPA recovery process. Get this wrong and you could spend weeks pursuing a refund you’re not entitled to, or worse, miss out on a refund that is legitimately yours.
Let’s break it down from scratch.
What “Importer of Record” Actually Means
The importer of record is the entity — person or company — that is legally responsible for an import transaction with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). When goods cross the U.S. border, someone has to sign off on the entry, declare the contents, classify the products, and pay the duties. That someone is the importer of record.
Think of it like signing a lease. The landlord doesn’t care who actually sleeps in the apartment — they care whose name is on the lease. That’s who’s responsible for rent, and that’s who gets the security deposit back. In the same way, CBP doesn’t care who designed the product, who manufactured it, or who sells it to the end customer. They care whose name is on the entry filing. That’s who pays the duties, and that’s who gets the refund.
The IOR is identified by their CBP importer number, which is typically either their IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN) or their Social Security Number (for sole proprietors), preceded by a two-digit prefix. Every entry filed with CBP carries this number, and it’s the primary identifier CBP uses to track duties, entries, and refunds.
Why This Matters for IEEPA Recovery
When the Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs in February 2026, it created a right to refund for every dollar of IEEPA duties that was collected. But that right belongs specifically to the entity that paid those duties to CBP — the importer of record.
Here’s why this creates complications:
- If you buy goods from a foreign supplier using a freight forwarder that acts as the IOR, the forwarder has the refund claim — not you.
- If you purchase through a trading company that imports on your behalf, they’re the IOR and they hold the claim.
- If you’re a retailer buying from a domestic distributor who imported the goods, the distributor is the IOR.
- If you use a customs broker (which you almost certainly do), they file on your behalf but you remain the IOR — the claim is yours.
The distinction between a customs broker (who files paperwork on your behalf) and a freight forwarder or trading company (who may act as the IOR) is critical. We’ll cover this more in the section on common IOR arrangements below.
For a thorough overview of who qualifies for IEEPA refunds, see our eligibility guide.
The Three Common IOR Arrangements
Not every business handles imports the same way. There are three primary structures, and each has different implications for refund claims.
Arrangement 1: You Are the IOR (Most Common)
In this setup, your company’s EIN is on the entry. Your customs broker files the paperwork on your behalf, but your company is the named importer of record. This is the standard arrangement for most established importers.
Refund implication: You own the claim. You can pursue recovery through any of the four recovery paths — post-summary correction, formal protest, CIT litigation, or claim assignment.
How to verify: Look at your entry summaries (the CF-7501 form). Your company name and EIN should appear in the “Importer of Record” field. Your customs broker can also confirm this by pulling your records from the ACE portal.
Arrangement 2: A Third Party Is the IOR
Some companies — particularly smaller importers, newer importers, or those who use full-service logistics providers — have a third party act as the IOR. This might be a freight forwarder, a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC), a trading company, or a fulfillment service.
In this arrangement, the third party’s name and EIN are on the entry. As far as CBP is concerned, that third party is the importer. They paid the duties (using your money, probably, but they were the payer of record), and they hold the refund claim.
Refund implication: The third party technically owns the claim. However, you may have contractual rights depending on your agreement with them. Some logistics contracts include provisions for duty refunds. Others don’t.
What to do: Contact your logistics provider immediately. Ask whether your entries were filed under their IOR number or yours. If theirs, ask about their plan for IEEPA refund recovery and how refunds will be passed through to you. Get any agreements in writing.
Arrangement 3: Consignee-Based Entry
In some cases, particularly for less formal or lower-volume imports, the entry is filed with the consignee (the person or company receiving the goods) as the IOR. This is common for e-commerce sellers importing small quantities, personal imports, or companies that don’t have a formal importing operation.
Refund implication: The consignee listed on the entry holds the claim. If that’s you, great. If it’s an Amazon fulfillment center, a warehouse, or another intermediary, the situation gets complicated.
What to do: Pull your entry records and check the IOR field. If you’re unsure, your customs broker can clarify.
How to Verify You’re the IOR
This is simpler than most people expect. Here are three ways to confirm your IOR status:
Method 1: Check your customs broker’s records. Call your customs broker and ask them to confirm your IOR status for entries during the IEEPA period (February 4, 2025, through February 24, 2026). They can pull this from their records or from the ACE portal. This is the fastest method.
Method 2: Review your entry summary documents. The CF-7501 (Entry Summary) form has a specific field for the importer of record. If you receive these from your broker, check the form. Your company name and EIN should be in the IOR section. Our guide to reading the CF-7501 explains what each field means.
Method 3: Request an ACE portal report. If you have direct access to CBP’s ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) portal, you can pull an ES-003 Entry Summary Details report. This will show every entry filed under your IOR number, including which ones carry IEEPA duty codes.
If you don’t currently have ACE access, your customs broker can pull this report on your behalf. It’s one of the first things we look at during an Impact Assessment.
Get your free Impact Assessment →
IOR Responsibilities: What You Signed Up For
Being the importer of record isn’t just about having your name on a form. It comes with legal obligations under 19 U.S.C. Section 1484 that every importer should understand:
Reasonable care. You’re required to use “reasonable care” in classifying your goods, declaring their value, and providing accurate information to CBP. This doesn’t mean you need to be a customs expert — that’s why you hire a broker — but you can’t be willfully ignorant about what you’re importing.
Duty payment. You’re liable for all duties, taxes, and fees assessed on your entries. If CBP determines you underpaid, they can come after you for the difference — plus penalties and interest.
Recordkeeping. You must maintain all import records for five years from the date of entry. This includes purchase orders, invoices, packing lists, entry summaries, broker correspondence, and payment records. Under 19 U.S.C. Section 1508, failure to maintain records can result in penalties.
Refund claims. And here’s the upside — as the IOR, you’re also the entity entitled to any duty refunds, whether they come from a classification correction, a drawback claim, or (in this case) the invalidation of an entire tariff program.
The five-year recordkeeping obligation is particularly relevant right now. If you imported under IEEPA tariffs in 2025 and you’ve been good about keeping records, you have everything you need to support your refund claim. If your records are spotty, now is the time to reconstruct them — ideally through your broker’s ACE access.
Common Misconceptions About the IOR
Let’s clear up some frequent misunderstandings:
“My supplier pays the tariff, not me.”
This is the most common misconception in all of trade. Your foreign supplier does not pay U.S. import duties. Ever. They may factor the tariff into their pricing (by lowering their price so the landed cost stays competitive), but the actual duty payment is made by the U.S. importer of record to CBP. If you’re the IOR, you paid the duty, and the refund is yours.
”My broker is the importer of record.”
Almost never true. Customs brokers are licensed agents who file paperwork on your behalf, much like a tax preparer files your tax return. Your name is on the return, not the preparer’s. Similarly, your company name is on the entry, not the broker’s. There are rare exceptions, but for the vast majority of importers, the broker is not the IOR. Check our IEEPA tariff refund glossary for more on how brokers fit into the picture.
”I passed the tariff cost to my customers, so I don’t have a claim.”
Incorrect. The legal right to a refund belongs to the IOR — the entity that paid the duty to CBP. Whether you absorbed the cost, passed it through as a price increase, or split it with your supplier doesn’t change your legal claim. You paid CBP. CBP owes you back.
Now, there may be contractual obligations with your customers or suppliers regarding tariff cost sharing, and those agreements might create secondary obligations. But the primary refund claim against CBP is yours as the IOR.
”I only import small volumes, so I’m probably not the IOR.”
Volume doesn’t determine IOR status. If you filed entries with CBP — even one entry — using your company’s EIN as the importer number, you’re the IOR for those entries. Small importers often have proportionally smaller claims, but a claim is a claim. And with statutory interest accruing on the refund amount, even smaller claims grow over time.
Multiple IOR Numbers: When It Gets Complicated
Some companies have more than one IOR number, which can make recovery tricky. This happens when:
- A company has multiple subsidiaries or divisions, each with its own EIN and IOR registration.
- A company changed its EIN during the IEEPA period (due to a merger, restructuring, or reincorporation).
- A company used different importing arrangements for different product lines — some direct, some through a trading company.
If you have multiple IOR numbers, each one needs to be tracked separately. The refund claims are tied to the specific IOR number on each entry, not to the parent company. An Impact Assessment will identify all entries across all IOR numbers associated with your business.
How IOR Status Affects Each Recovery Path
Your IOR status interacts with the four recovery paths in important ways:
Post-Summary Correction (PSC): Filed by your customs broker on behalf of the IOR. You need to authorize your broker to file the correction. If you’ve changed brokers since the original entry, the new broker can still file if you provide authorization.
Formal Protest: Must be filed by the IOR or an authorized agent (typically your broker or a trade attorney). The protest is filed against the liquidation of specific entries under your IOR number.
CIT Litigation: The lawsuit must be brought by or on behalf of the IOR. A trade attorney files on your behalf, but your company (as IOR) is the plaintiff.
Claim Assignment: Only the IOR can assign the refund claim. If a third party is the IOR on your entries, they — not you — would need to be the assignor.
In every case, IOR status is the gateway. No IOR, no claim. If you’re not the IOR on some or all of your entries, your first step is figuring out who is and what arrangements exist for passing refunds through.
IOR and Corporate Structures: Special Situations
Certain corporate structures create unique IOR situations that need attention during IEEPA recovery:
Mergers and Acquisitions
If your company acquired another company (or was acquired) during the IEEPA period, entries may exist under both entities’ IOR numbers. The surviving entity typically inherits the refund claims, but this needs to be documented and potentially requires CBP notification.
Bankruptcies
If an importer of record entered bankruptcy, the refund claim becomes an asset of the bankruptcy estate. The trustee or debtor-in-possession controls the claim. If you purchased assets from a bankrupt importer, check whether the IEEPA refund claims were included in the asset purchase agreement.
Name Changes and Restructurings
If your company changed its legal name or restructured (e.g., from an LLC to a corporation), entries filed under the old entity may need to be linked to the new entity for refund purposes. CBP tracks entities by EIN, so if your EIN didn’t change, this is usually straightforward. If the EIN changed, you’ll need to demonstrate continuity.
Foreign-Owned U.S. Subsidiaries
Many foreign manufacturers have U.S. subsidiaries that act as the importer of record. If you’re a U.S. subsidiary of a foreign parent, you (the U.S. entity) hold the IOR status and the refund claim. The foreign parent doesn’t have a direct claim against CBP — it flows through the U.S. subsidiary.
Joint Ventures and Partnerships
If a joint venture or partnership acted as the IOR, the refund claim belongs to the entity whose IOR number appears on the entries. Partners may have contractual claims against each other depending on the JV agreement, but the primary claim against CBP runs through the IOR.
These situations require careful attention. If your corporate structure is anything other than a straightforward single-entity setup, get professional guidance early in the recovery process to ensure your claims are properly documented and filed.
What to Do Right Now
Here’s your action plan:
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Confirm your IOR status. Call your customs broker today. Ask them to confirm that your company is the importer of record on your entries from February 2025 through February 2026. If there’s any ambiguity, get it documented.
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Identify all IOR numbers. If your company has multiple divisions, subsidiaries, or historical EINs, make sure you’re tracking entries under all of them.
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Check for third-party IOR situations. If you used a freight forwarder, trading company, or fulfillment service that may have acted as IOR, find out now — before you invest time in a recovery process for entries you don’t control.
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Pull your entry records. Your broker can generate an ACE report showing every entry under your IOR number during the IEEPA period, including HTS codes 9903.01 and 9903.02 that identify IEEPA duties.
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Assess your total exposure. Once you know you’re the IOR and you have your entry data, you can calculate your estimated refund — or let us do it for you.
The 180-day protest window is running on liquidated entries right now. If you’re the IOR and you haven’t started the recovery process, every day of delay is a day closer to losing the simplest and cheapest recovery path on your earliest entries.
Don’t guess about your IOR status or your refund amount. Get the facts.
