U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently provided additional details on what its system for refunding IEEPA tariffs will handle and when.
The Court of International Trade has directed CBP to refund IEEPA tariffs, including those imposed on imports from Brazil and India, to the importers that paid them. In response, CBP has been developing within its Automated Commercial Environment new functionality for submitting and processing refund claims that will be called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. In a March 31 update CBP said the four components of CAPE were between 60 and 85 percent complete.
Phase 1
Covered entries. CBP stated that phase 1 of CAPE will only process entries that are unliquidated or for which the 90-day voluntary reliquidation period has not expired, which should cover about 63 percent of entries for which IEEPA tariffs were paid or have been deposited.
CBP also clarified that phase 1 will accept declarations that contain (1) entries for which the liquidation status is “suspended,” “extended,” or “under review or (2) warehouse and warehouse withdrawal entries. CAPE will remove the IEEPA HTSUS numbers for such entries but will not liquidate or process IEEPA tariff refunds on them, which will instead be done in the normal course upon liquidation. This includes entries subject to antidumping and/or countervailing duties if their liquidation is suspended pending instructions from the Department of Commerce.
Non-covered entries. The following categories of entries subject to IEEPA tariffs will not be accepted in phase 1 of CAPE.
- entries flagged for reconciliation and entry type 09 (reconciliation summary)
- entries designated on a drawback claim
- entries covered by an open protest
- entries not filed in ACE and entries without a liquidation status in ACE
- entries subject to AD/CVD duties for which the DOC has issued liquidation instructions that are pending liquidation in accordance with 19 USC 1504(d)
Timeframes. In phase 1, CAPE will accept declarations containing entries liquidated within the preceding 80 days to ensure processing is complete and the entries are reliquidated by the 90th day to meet the legal timeframe for voluntary reliquidation. Further, CBP will take up to 45 days from its acceptance of a declaration to review and liquidate the identified entry summaries, unless there is a compliance concern necessitating further review.
Future Phases
CBP said it expects to develop the following functionalities in subsequent phases of CAPE.
- enhanced tools and validations to ensure compliance, facilitate entry summary processing, and expedite CBP’s review process
- enhanced financial reporting and security tools
- tools to further streamline revenue enforcement when there is an outstanding bill for non-IEEPA duties associated with an entry included on a declaration
- processing entries flagged for reconciliation and entries designated on drawback claims
- processing complex interest calculations related to multiple collection dates on a single entry summary included on a declaration
- processing entries for which liquidation is final
- processing non-Automated Broker Interface entries where no entry summary lines exist
Electronic Refunds
CBP also continued to emphasize that importers must be able to receive refunds electronically to receive IEEPA tariff refunds, noting that importers filing 22 percent of entries subject to IEEPA tariffs had not completed the associated process as of March 26. ST&R has produced this video (which is free to view, though registration is required) providing a practical, step‑by‑step walkthrough of how to ensure your company is fully enrolled for electronic refunds through the ACE Secure Data Portal.
Importer Action
In light of this update, ST&R continues to recommend that importers monitor the dates of liquidation of their affected entries and file timely protests of any such liquidations with CBP. ST&R continues to believe there is no immediate need for importers to file their own lawsuits at the CIT, although (1) a suit may be the only way to recover refunds for finally liquidated entries and (2) there may other be considerations that support a decision to file now (click here for more details).
For more information or assistance, please contact us at messages@strtrade.com or via your usual ST&R contact.
Copyright © 2026 Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg, P.A.; WorldTrade Interactive, Inc. All rights reserved.