Corporate Legal Alert – CBP Issues Guidance on IEEPA Duty Refunds via New CAPE Process

Estrella LLC is issuing this alert to inform clients of an important development regarding refunds of duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). On April 10, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced that it will launch Phase 1 of its Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal on April 20, 2026. CAPE will serve as the exclusive electronic mechanism for submitting IEEPA duty refund claims for entries that include at least one dutiable IEEPA Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTSUS) Chapter 99 code. This development follows the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 2026 ruling invalidating IEEPA tariffs, as well as subsequent orders from the Court of International Trade (CIT) directing CBP to issue refunds. Below is a summary of the key steps and considerations for navigating this new process.

Background

CAPE was developed under the oversight of the CIT to address the administration of IEEPA duty refunds at scale. CBP reported to the Court that more than 330,000 importers paid or deposited approximately $166 billion in IEEPA duties over more than 53 million entries, making entry-by-entry processing infeasible. CAPE is designed to consolidate refunds of IEEPA duties, including interest, rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis.

Scope of Phase 1

Phase 1 of CAPE applies to: (1) unliquidated entries subject to IEEPA duties; (2) entries liquidated within 80 days before the CAPE filing date; (3) entries with a liquidation status of suspended, extended, or under review; and (4) certain warehouse and warehouse withdrawal entries, with refunds issued upon liquidation. CBP has explained that the 80-day limitation is designed to allow processing within the agency’s 90-day voluntary reliquidation window under 19 U.S.C. § 1501.

Phase 1 expressly excludes several categories of entries, including entries flagged for reconciliation, entries on drawback claims, entries covered by an open protest, non-ACE entries, entries subject to certain antidumping or countervailing duty liquidation instructions, entries for which liquidation is final or more than 80 days have elapsed since liquidation, and certain additional entry types such as Duty Deferral (Type 08) and Temporary Importation Under Bond (Type 23) entries. CBP has indicated that additional functionality will be added in later phases to address these more complex entry types.

Threshold Requirements

Before submitting any claim, importers of record (IORs) and customs brokers must ensure: (1) they have an ACE Portal account, including an importer sub-account; (2) they have completed Automated Clearing House (ACH) refund enrollment, with current bank account information designated specifically for refunds (separate from payment instructions); and (3) they have authority to file as either the IOR or the broker that filed the entry. CBP will not issue refunds until these requirements are satisfied and will hold funds until valid ACH refund information is provided. All refunds will be issued electronically via ACH; no paper checks will be issued.

Filing a CAPE Declaration

Refund requests must be submitted by uploading a comma-separated values (.CSV) file—referred to as a “CAPE Declaration”—through the new CAPE tab in the ACE Portal. The CAPE Declaration consists of a list of entry numbers for which refunds of IEEPA duties are being requested; CBP does not require any other information in the .CSV file beyond the entry numbers. Each filing may include up to 9,999 entry numbers, and brokers may submit entries across multiple importers in a single declaration. Filers will not use the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) to file a CAPE Declaration; filings must be made through the ACE Portal.

Once submitted, CBP validates both the file and the underlying entries. File-level errors result in rejection of the entire CAPE Declaration and require resubmission of a corrected file, while entry-level errors result in rejection of only the affected entries. No amendments are permitted after a CAPE Declaration is accepted; additional entries require a new filing, and duplicate entries are prohibited within a CAPE Declaration and across previously submitted declarations. Only the IOR or the licensed customs broker who filed the entries can file a CAPE Declaration—attorneys cannot file on behalf of an importer. CBP has also clarified that post summary corrections (PSCs) may not be used to initiate IEEPA refund claims, making CAPE the exclusive mechanism.

Processing and Refund Timeline

For validated entries, CBP will remove the IEEPA-related duties under HTSUS Chapter 99, recalculate the entry, and proceed with liquidation or reliquidation as appropriate. Unliquidated entries will generally be scheduled to liquidate 45 days from the CAPE Declaration acceptance date, while entries that have already been liquidated will be reliquidated the next business day. CBP expects approved IEEPA refunds to be issued electronically within approximately 60 to 90 days following acceptance of a CAPE Declaration, absent compliance concerns requiring further review. Refunds will generally be distributed in a consolidated lump sum by recipient and liquidation date rather than on an entry-by-entry basis. IORs can monitor refund activity using the new REV-615 Trade CAPE Detail Refund Report accessible through the ACE Portal.

Practical Steps for Importers

Given the April 20 launch, we recommend that clients take the following preparatory steps promptly. First, confirm that you have access to the ACE Portal, including the importer sub-account view required for CAPE filings and refund monitoring. Second, verify that your ACH refund enrollment is active and that your banking information on file for refunds is accurate and complete. Third, compile and validate lists of entries potentially eligible for Phase 1 processing, using February 1, 2025, as a starting date (when multiple IEEPA duty programs began) and February 23, 2026, as the outer-bound end date (when the collection of ad valorem IEEPA duties ceased). Fourth, review any pending protests filed on entries that liquidated within 80 days of the planned CAPE submission date and consider withdrawing those protests to enable faster CAPE processing. Fifth, ensure that any necessary PSCs addressing non-IEEPA issues are filed before submitting CAPE declarations.

Open Issues and Future Phases

Importers should be aware that several important questions remain unresolved. CBP has indicated that later phases of CAPE will address more complex entry scenarios, including reconciliation entries, drawback claims, and historically liquidated entries. For entries beyond CBP’s 90-day voluntary reliquidation window, importers should closely monitor protest deadlines—180 days from liquidation—as filing protests may become the necessary administrative pathway to preserve refund rights. CBP has also indicated that when reviewing CAPE declarations, it may consider whether an IOR has compliance issues or outstanding bills unrelated to IEEPA and that later phases may introduce tools to offset outstanding bills against IEEPA refunds. Additionally, the government may still appeal the CIT’s orders on refunds.

Contact Information

For questions regarding your eligibility for an IEEPA duty refund, assistance with ACE Portal setup and ACH enrollment, or help preparing and submitting CAPE declarations, please contact your Estrella LLC representative directly. We are committed to ensuring that our clients recover all amounts to which they are entitled in a timely and efficient manner.

This alert is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Clients should consult with their Estrella LLC advisor regarding their specific circumstances.