USA: IEEPA Tariff Refunds: CBP Launches CAPE Process

In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain tariffs imposed under IEEPA were unlawful. Subsequent proceedings before the U.S. Court of International Trade required CBP to develop a scalable refund process applicable not only to litigants but also to non-plaintiffs. According to CBP and court filings, approximately 330,000 importers paid or deposited an estimated $166 billion in IEEPA duties across more than 53 million entries. In response, CBP developed CAPE as an electronic, consolidated refund mechanism within ACE.

CAPE Phase 1 Scope

CBP launched Phase 1 of CAPE on April 20, 2026. Phase 1 is limited in scope and applies only to (a) certain unliquidated entries, and (b) certain entries liquidated within 80 days of the CAPE submission date. The following categories of entries are excluded from Phase 1 and are expected to be addressed, if at all, in later phases or through alternative remedies:

• Entries that have been flagged for reconciliation, as well as 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 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)
• Entries for which liquidation is final

How the CAPE Refund Process Works

CAPE allows an importer of record or its authorized customs broker to submit a single electronic declaration listing multiple entry numbers for which IEEPA duty refunds are sought (CAPE Declaration). Each CAPE Declaration is submitted through the ACE Portal using a CBP provided CSV template. No supporting documentation is required at the time of submission beyond the list of entry numbers. Although each CAPE Declaration has a limit of up to 9,999 entries, multiple CAPE Declarations may be filed by the same importer or broker.

Refunds are consolidated, and once approved, issued as a single payment, including applicable statutory interest. All refunds are issued electronically through an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction, and valid banking information must be on file in ACE before submission.

Validation and Processing

Upon upload, ACE performs two sequential validation series for CAPE Declarations.

The first series validates the CAPE Declaration file itself by confirming (i) that the submitter is either the importer of record for the listed entries or the customs broker who filed the entry summaries on the importer’s behalf, (ii) that the declaration includes a list of entry numbers, and (iii) that the submission is properly formatted. If the submission fails any file-level validation, ACE rejects the entire CAPE Declaration. The results appear in the File Upload Status column of the CAPE tab, and applicants may download the Validation Result File to identify issues, correct them, and resubmit a new declaration. Successful submissions proceed to entry-level validations.

The second series validates each individual entry listed in the submitted file. ACE checks (i) whether each entry summary exists in ACE, (ii) whether at least one dutiable IEEPA Chapter 99 HTS code was declared on each entry, and (iii) whether any entry summary number is duplicated in the same or a prior declaration. If an entry fails these validations, ACE rejects only that specific entry while continuing to process the remaining entries. Applicants can review entry-level validation results in the CAPE Claim Status section by selecting the applicable claim number and downloading the results file.

By White and Williams, US, a Transatlantic Law International Affiliated Firm. 

For further information or for any assistance please contact us@transatlanticlaw.com

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