IEEPA refund opens

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open the first phase of its International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff refund system on April 20 through the agency’s Automated Commercial Environment portal. (cbp.gov) The new tool is called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE. Customs said it will let importers and brokers file electronic refund claims for duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, with interest, instead of handling refunds one entry at a time. (cbp.gov) Phase 1 is narrow. Customs said it covers certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation, with later phases reserved for more complicated cases. (cbp.gov) To file, an importer of record or the customs broker that filed the entry must use the web-based Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal, upload a Comma-Separated Values file listing entry numbers, and have separate Automated Clearing House refund bank details on file. Customs said it will not accept these declarations through the Automated Broker Interface. (cbp.gov) Once a declaration is accepted, Customs said it will remove the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Chapter 99 tariff line, recalculate duties, and then liquidate or reliquidate the entry. Refunds will be grouped by importer of record, or by a designated recipient on Customs Form 4811, and by liquidation date. (cbp.gov) The refund rollout follows court orders in March. Customs said the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued its mandate on March 2, and the Court of International Trade ordered on March 4 that unliquidated entries be liquidated without the International Emergency Economic Powers Act duties and that non-final liquidated entries be reliquidated without them. (cbp.gov) The Court of International Trade then paused immediate compliance so Customs could build an automated process for what the agency described as an unprecedented volume and value of refunds. A separate April 1 order in Atmus Filtration said the government was making satisfactory progress toward the April 20 Phase 1 deadline. (cbp.gov) (thompsonhinesmartrade.com) Customs is also putting practical limits on how claims move through the system. Each CAPE declaration can include up to 9,999 entries, and the agency said only the importer of record or the broker that filed those entries may submit the claim. (cbp.gov) For companies that paid these duties, the next step is administrative, not legal: portal access, bank enrollment, entry lists, and timing. Customs said it will update the refund page regularly as later phases add broader and more complex claims. (cbp.gov)