When the Supreme Court struck down some of President Trump's tariffs in February, Asher Rapkin was so happy he jumped up and down in his kitchen with his kids.

But the owner of a California watch retailer has spent a frustrating nine months trying to get his $164,000 back. He blames FedEx.

Rapkin says he submitted his paperwork in March but his business-Collective Horology-didn't receive any money until September. The $59,200 wire transfer came without any explanation about which transactions were refunded.

"It's a process that's deeply flawed," Rapkin said. When the tables are turned, he said, FedEx demands payments within a few weeks and threatens to close his business accounts: "It's ironic given how much they pursue payments from us."

FedEx says it is focusing on precision and regulatory compliance and has released hundreds of millions of dollars already. But it needs to check each claim, verify millions of entries, and match them with corresponding data from the U.S. government. Once customers have submitted accurate and complete information, FedEx says it can disburse refunds within 30 days.

The company is the "importer of record" for thousands of small businesses. FedEx said it was the importer of 43% of the 53 million tariff entries collected by the government. In June, the company said that it had received $800 million in refunds that belong to its customers and that it would start disbursing the funds in August. The government had to refund $166 billion in tariffs collected in the year that they were in place.

The struggle customers face at FedEx and rivals like DHL Express and United Parcel Service shows the gap between how the refund process has unfolded for the biggest tariff payers and the smallest ones. Large importers including Walmart and Apple serve as their own "importers of record" for many of their products-and those two retailers have received $2.9 billion and $2.2 billion back from the U.S., respectively. But smaller businesses who often pay tariffs through FedEx, DHL and UPS have had to wait longer to put the funds back into payroll, inventory and capital expenses.

Derek Swanson, who imports and resells kitchen knives from Japan, paid tariffs on shipments through UPS, FedEx and DHL. In August, he received around $6,000 in refunds from UPS, refunded to the same credit card used to pay the tariffs. "No action was required on my behalf," said Swanson. "That's not the case for the other two."

Swanson said that FedEx and DHL had made the process "unduly difficult," adding that he estimates that he is still owed around $5,000 from FedEx and $9,000 from DHL.

At those two package carriers, he said, there were more administrative hoops to jump through. Swanson had to dig up multiple documents to kick-start his refund claims at DHL and FedEx, register with U.S. Customs and Border Protection and provide his account number at a business-intelligence firm that analyzes the creditworthiness of companies. None of that was required last year when he paid the tariffs, he said.

"My sense is that the process was designed to discourage small businesses from seeking refunds," said Swanson. He plans to use the funds to hire back some part-time sales positions.

DHL said it proactively filed refund claims for all shipments where DHL acted as the importer of record. It added that around 92% of eligible customer refunds have been returned to customers as of mid-September.

FedEx said it has improved its web portal so customers can more easily submit and track multiple submissions within their accounts. In the future, it will also implement features that allow customers to update or edit their submissions. At the back end, FedEx said it was adding more automation to streamline validation and the refund process.

The refunds include interest, which is taxable, requiring FedEx to collect information like Social Security numbers or employer identification numbers for tax forms, the company says. Incomplete tax verification could result in reporting errors or penalties from the Internal Revenue Service.

Some small businesses said their earlier emails to FedEx went unanswered and they got the runaround when they placed calls to customer service.

Lenny Merryman, who runs the daily operations of Man & Machine, a keyboard and mouse retailer, is waiting for a few thousand dollars from FedEx and DHL. Merryman said he was unsure about how much effort to put in to chase the refunds, especially if it means hours on hold on a phone call with customer service who can't provide specific answers about refunds.

"Is it really worth it? I could end up spending more of my time than what it's worth," said Merryman.

He recently made another attempt to get his refund from FedEx, setting up an account, submitting an invoice with tariff fees to enter the information. He also had to include his company's tax ID, W9 form and ACH bank payment information. FedEx accepted the submission. When he gets the money back, he plans to buy more inventory.

For Rapkin, the California watch retailer, later in September, he received another $91,000 from FedEx, after The Wall Street Journal reached out to the company about his situation. He said he plans to use the funds for regular operations like payroll, inventory purchases, employee health insurance and rent.

He is still waiting on FedEx for the remaining balance of more than $7,000, and another roughly $6,000 more from the government.