Tariff Refund System To Be Launched April 20, 2026

In a further development in the court-ordered process of tariff refunds following the U.S. Supreme Court’s invalidation of so-called “emergency” tariffs imposed in April 2025 (see Lewis Brisbois alerts here and here), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced an April 20, 2026, launch date for the refund program on its new International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Duty Refunds webpage. As previously reported, the refund program will be implemented through CBP’s Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) functionality within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system. Only the first phase, limited to certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation, will go live on April 20, with subsequent phases to follow.

Importers of record (IORs) and authorized Customs brokers will be able to apply if they have established ACE accounts. The CAPE application requires information on the list of entries for which refunds are claimed. The CAPE Declarations will be validated, and once accepted, the ACE system will update the appropriate entry by removing the IEEPA duties, resulting in an updated version of the entry that contains only any non-IEEPA duties. CBP review will follow, entries will be liquidated or reliquidated, and refunds will be consolidated by IOR, or by the party the IOR has designated to receive refunds on its behalf via CBP Form 4811, and liquidation date.

CBP anticipates that refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days following acceptance of the CAPE Declaration, “unless a compliance concern requires further CBP review.” Refunds will be paid electronically through the Automated Clearing House (ACH) system, and recipients must have U.S. bank account information designated for refunds on file with CBP.

Entries that will not be accepted for phase 1 applications include:

• Entries that have been flagged for reconciliation, as well as Entry Type 09 - Reconciliation Summary;
• Entries 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 Antidumping/Countervailing Duties (AD/CVD), for which the Department of Commerce (DOC) has issued liquidation instructions, that are pending liquidation in accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d); and
• Entries for which liquidation is final.

The new system has a number of moving parts and caveats, and there is no question that strict attention to detail will be needed. For example, the new web page warns that “once a CAPE Declaration has been filed and accepted, it cannot be amended.” Also, it appears that if the CAPE system rejects a Declaration, no notice is sent; those filing for refunds must actively monitor the status of their claims, including to learn if any “compliance concern” has caused the rejection, but notably, no process has been identified for resolving such concerns. Customs brokers will file consolidated Declarations that can include up to 9,999 entries, which will put a premium on accurate record-keeping and oversight. And the treatment of entries not covered by Phase 1 remains to be seen. The CPB notice indicates that its requirements are subject to review by the Court of International Trade.

In addition to these uncertainties, observers continue to keep an eye on the question of whether the U.S. government will appeal any or all parts of the CIT-ordered refund process and, if so, whether it will seek a stay of the CIT’s orders, which has been the Administration’s practice in most challenges it has brought. The government has until June 6 to file an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and has given no indication yet of its intentions. While it has appeared there is no current need, under the CIT’s process, for importers to file individual court cases seeking tariff refunds, that could change if the government appeals and a stay order delays the refund process past the time when importers must file protests for liquidated entries.

Lewis Brisbois’s attorneys are actively engaged in the wide range of legal issues in this area and are advising clients on managing legal and business risk as events continue to develop at an accelerated pace. 

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