News

U.S. Customs and Border Protection issues FAQs on IEEPA Tariff refunds

14 April 2026

Key takeaways

CBP has released FAQs outlining how it will implement refunds of IEEPA tariffs through its new CAPE program, following the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 2026 decision invalidating the tariffs.

Phase 1 of CAPE, targeted to begin April 20, 2026, is limited to certain unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation, and requires filing through CBP’s ACE Secure Data Portal.

CBP expects approved IEEPA tariff refunds to be issued electronically within 60 to 90 days after acceptance, absent compliance concerns.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has released Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) detailing how it will implement refunds of tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision invalidating those tariffs. The guidance outlines Phase 1 of CBP's Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) program, including eligibility, filing mechanics, and expected refund timing.

CBP FAQ and CSMS Releases

On April 10, 2026, CBP published a webpage with FAQs that provide important information about the launch of CBP’s program for handling tariff refund claims, dubbed Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE). In addition, CBP’s Cargo Systems Messaging Service (CSMS) issued CSMS #68315804 “Introduction - Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) for IEEPA Refunds, April 20, 2026 Deployment” and “CSMS # 68340863 - UPDATE - Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) for IEEPA Refunds, April 20, 2026, Deployment.”

CAPE aims to process refund requests for duties imposed under IEEPA following the U.S. Supreme Court’s February 2026 invalidation of these tariffs. (See our alert on the Supreme Court’s decision in the consolidated cases Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump and Trump v. V.O.S. Selections.)

Phase 1

CBP states that “[r]efunds will be issued consistent with applicable laws and/or any applicable court order.” Beyond broadly confirming that CBP is, in fact, moving forward with Phase 1 of CAPE in accordance with CBP’s submissions to the U.S. Court of International Trade in IEEPA tariff refund litigation, the FAQs provide guidance to the international trade community, including confirming:

An April 20, 2026 target date for the start of Phase 1.
Phase 1’s scope will be limited to certain unliquidated entries and entries that liquidated within 80 days prior to a refund submission – which CBP calls a CAPE Declaration.
Filings must be made in the web-based Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal.
The CAPE Declaration, submitted by the importer of record (IOR) or its broker, must be uploaded using a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file.
Once the submission is validated and accepted by CBP, ACE will update the customs entry to remove the IEEPA tariff lines and duties.
The importer will get a claim number on acceptance.
Entries accepted and validated will be liquidated/reliquidated with refunds designated.
CBP expects refunds to be issued within 60 to 90 days following acceptance – absent a “compliance concern that requires further CBP review.”
Entries that are extended, suspended, under review, and warehouse entries will get refunds when liquidated.
CAPE declarations can’t be amended – any omitted entries will require a new Declaration.
Refunds will be issued electronically via ACH.

Subsequent phases

The FAQs also provide insight into subsequent phases of CAPE. The guidance confirms that the types of entries to be addressed in upcoming phases – but not covered by CAPE Phase 1 – will include:

Entries flagged for reconciliation as well as 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 has issued liquidation instructions, that are pending liquidation in accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d); and
Entries for which liquidation is final.

IEEPA resources

The FAQs page also lists additional IEEPA tariff refund resources:

Next steps

Given the limited scope and time‑sensitive nature of Phase 1, companies may wish to begin gathering necessary information as soon as possible, including by:

Identifying eligible entries;
Preparing CAPE Declarations; and
Evaluating future exposure for entries excluded from Phase 1 in anticipation of later CAPE phases.

Please reach out to any of the listed contacts if you have any questions regarding IEEPA duty refunds and for assistance with submissions of CAPE filings.