CBP’s New CAPE System Is Live: What Importers Need to Know About IEEPA Duty Refunds
Background: Why IEEPA Refunds Are Available
On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. As a result, tariffs collected under IEEPA — including the reciprocal tariffs announced in April 2025 and the country-specific measures imposed on Canada, Mexico, and China — were invalidated.
Following the ruling, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered CBP to issue refunds for duties collected under those invalidated tariffs. CBP estimated that approximately 330,000 importers paid roughly $166 billion in IEEPA duties — with about $127 billion, covering approximately 82% of entries, eligible for refund through the initial system rollout.
To manage the volume and complexity of processing refunds at that scale, CBP developed a new electronic system rather than handling claims entry by entry through existing processes.
What Is CAPE?
CAPE stands for Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. It is a new functionality built within CBP’s existing Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal, designed specifically to process IEEPA duty refunds at scale.
CAPE launched on April 20, 2026. As of that date, it became the exclusive mechanism for submitting IEEPA refund claims. Post Summary Corrections (PSCs) can no longer be used to request IEEPA refunds. Importers and authorized customs brokers who want to recover duties paid under invalidated IEEPA tariffs must go through CAPE.
CBP will not proactively issue refunds. Importers must affirmatively file a CAPE Declaration to receive a refund. If no claim is submitted, no refund will be issued.
How the CAPE Process Works
The filing process is straightforward in structure. The importer of record (IOR) or the licensed customs broker who originally filed the entries logs into the ACE Portal and navigates to the new CAPE tab. From there, they upload a comma-separated values (CSV) file — called a CAPE Declaration — listing the entry numbers for which a refund is being requested.
Each CAPE Declaration can include up to 9,999 entry numbers. Importers or brokers with more entries than that can file multiple CAPE Declarations. No additional information beyond the entry numbers is required in the CSV file.
Once submitted, ACE runs two rounds of validation: first checking the CAPE Declaration file itself for formatting and authorization, then checking each individual entry to confirm eligibility. For entries that pass both validations, ACE removes the applicable IEEPA HTS Chapter 99 codes from the entry summary and recalculates duties as if the IEEPA charges were never assessed. The difference becomes the refund amount.
Refunds are disbursed electronically via ACH — direct deposit to a bank account registered in ACE. CBP will not issue refunds by check. Importers who have not yet enrolled in ACH refunds through ACE must do so before a refund can be released. Note that having ACH set up for duty payments is not sufficient — a separate enrollment for ACH refunds is required.
CBP has indicated that valid refunds will generally be issued within 60 to 90 days of CAPE Declaration acceptance, including statutory interest, subject to standard compliance review.
One Important Note on Offsets
CBP will apply “netting” to refund calculations. If an importer has underpayments in other duty programs, CBP may offset those amounts against the IEEPA refund before disbursement. CBP may also divert refunds to cover existing fixed and undisputed debts owed to the U.S. government. Importers should account for this possibility when estimating expected refund amounts.
Phase 1 Eligibility: What’s In and What’s Out
CAPE is being rolled out in phases. Phase 1, which launched April 20, is limited to lower-complexity entries. Not every entry with IEEPA duties is eligible in this first phase.
| Eligible for Phase 1 | Excluded from Phase 1 |
|---|---|
| Unliquidated entries with IEEPA duties | Entries more than 80 days past liquidation date |
| Entries liquidated within 80 days of CAPE Declaration filing | Entries flagged for reconciliation (Type 09) |
| Entries with suspended, extended, or under-review status | Entries subject to a drawback claim (Type 47) |
| AD/CVD entries with issued Commerce liquidation instructions | |
| Duty Deferral (Type 08) and Temporary Importation entries | |
| Entries with unresolved protests (must be resolved first) |
Entries excluded from Phase 1 — including those more than 80 days past liquidation, entries with unresolved reconciliation flags, and AD/CVD entries with issued liquidation instructions — may be addressed in future CAPE phases. CBP has not yet announced a timeline for Phase 2.
For entries with unresolved protests, importers can request removal of the suspended protest status from their CBP processing center, then withdraw and resubmit through CAPE once the suspension is lifted.
What You Need Before Filing
Before submitting a CAPE Declaration, importers and brokers should confirm the following are in place:
- ACE Portal account: the IOR or authorized broker must have an active ACE Portal account. Instructions for establishing an account are available on CBP’s IEEPA refund page
- ACH refund enrollment: bank account information for refunds must be registered in ACE specifically for refund purposes — separate from ACH enrollment for duty payments
- Entry list: a complete list of entry numbers with IEEPA duties paid, formatted as a CSV file per CBP’s CAPE Declaration template, available through the CAPE tab in ACE
- Authorization: only the IOR or the licensed customs broker who originally filed the entries can submit a CAPE Declaration for those entries
Early reports after the April 20 launch indicated some importers experienced technical difficulties accessing the portal and reaching CBP support. If you encounter issues, CBP’s trade support resources and your licensed customs broker are the appropriate channels for resolution.
Need Help with Your CAPE Filing?
Euro-American Worldwide Logistics’ licensed customs brokerage team is available to assist importers and IORs with identifying eligible entries, preparing CAPE Declarations, and navigating the ACE Portal filing process. If you have questions about your IEEPA refund eligibility or the CAPE submission process, contact us.
