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U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has developed the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal, which importers and brokers can use to submit refund requests for duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), as authorized by a March 4 Court of International Trade ruling that deemed the duties illegal.
The refund process is being deployed in phases, with the first phase launching April 20, 2026. Phase one is limited to certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation. The most up-to-date information about the IEEPA refund process, including updates on subsequent phases, is available on the U.S. CBP website here.
How to submit refund requests
Importers or authorized customs brokers who filed the entries must submit declarations through the CAPE portal, which is within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). In order to submit a refund request through CAPE, those submitting must have an ACE portal account. For information about ACE enrollment, click here.
CAPE declarations must be submitted using .CSV files, which each have a limit of 9,999 entries, requiring some importers and customs brokers to submit multiple declarations.
Refund distribution
To be issued a refund, importers and customs brokers must have bank account information on file, which is separate from the bank account used for payments. All refunds will be paid via Automated Clearing House.
Once a CAPE declaration is validated and accepted, ACE will update the appropriate entry summary lines by removing the IEEPA Harmonized Tariff Schedule Chapter 99 provision and the corresponding IEEPA duties, thereby updating the entry. Following CBP review, entries will be liquidated or reliquidated, and refunds will be consolidated by the importer or the party designated to receive refunds on its behalf via CBP Form 4811, and the liquidation date.
According to U.S. CBP, valid IEEPA refunds will generally be issued within 60–90 days following acceptance of the CAPE declaration, unless a compliance concern requires further review.
Tracking the status of CAPE declarations
Importers can view refund activity through ACE Reports. The REV-603 Trade Refund report covers successful refunds. The REV-613 ACH Rejected Refunds report highlights any refunds that have been rejected due to the recipient not being enrolled in ACH Refunds. For help with refund reports, review the ACE Refund Report Training Guide. For more information about rejected refunds, see Replacement Refund Instructions.
Resources
For technical questions about IEEPA refunds, email: IEEPARefunds@cbp.dhs.gov.
For general inquiries about IEEPA refunds, email: TradeRelations@cbp.dhs.gov.