With the next phase of the IEEPA tariff refund process now anticipated to go live Oct. 6, STR is hosting a webinar Sept. 24 to review this and other recent developments.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently told the Court of International Trade that it will deploy Phase 3 of its CAPE tariff refund system on Oct. 6. Phase 3 will cover entries that are liquidated more than 80 days and filed by plaintiffs (1) for which the CIT has ordered reliquidation and (2) that submitted a valid importer of record number to CBP by July 30, 2026.
Nevertheless, filing an individual lawsuit at the CIT still appears to be the quickest way to obtain tariff refunds for entries more than 80 days liquidated, including those under protest. The CIT has been entering individual reliquidation orders at a steady clip, and importers can expect to receive a reliquidation order within a week or two of filing suit, if not sooner.
STR continues to advise that IEEPA-only protests (i.e., those that raise no other issues) should not be withdrawn until an importer receives an individual reliquidation order and counsel has verified the importer’s CAPE Phase 3 eligibility with CBP. The most conservative approach would be to wait to withdraw IEEPA-only protests until right before making a Phase 3 submission.
To help importers better understand the refund process, STR will hold a webinar Sept. 24 that will review:
- the current status of the underlying litigation, including recent statements from the presiding judge and CBP and the motion for class certification;
- CBP’s status reports;
- timing considerations for filing protests; and
- immediate steps importers should take to protect refund eligibility, including enrolling in electronic refunds in ACE, monitoring liquidation, filing protests, and evaluating potential litigation options.
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