CBP to start refunds

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will start taking the first tariff refund filings on April 20 through a new online system called CAPE. (cbp.gov) The agency said importers and customs brokers will file claims in the Automated Commercial Environment portal by uploading a comma-separated values file listing entry numbers. Each filing can cover up to 9,999 entries, and companies can submit more than one. (cbp.gov) Customs and Border Protection now says valid refunds will generally be paid 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is accepted. Trade publication Supply Chain Dive reported that the agency had previously projected refunds in as little as 45 days. (cbp.gov) (supplychaindive.com) These refunds cover duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the 1977 law President Donald Trump used for broad tariffs that the Supreme Court said on February 20, 2026 did not authorize tariffs. The appeals court then sent the refund fight back to the U.S. Court of International Trade on March 2. (skadden.com) (politicopro.com) The first phase is narrower than many importers may have expected. Customs and Border Protection said Phase 1 will handle most unliquidated entries and entries up to 80 days past liquidation, plus some suspended, extended, under-review, warehouse, and warehouse-withdrawal entries. (cbp.gov) Phase 1 will not accept entries tied to reconciliation, drawback claims, open protests, or records not filed in the Automated Commercial Environment. POLITICO reported the limits leave many companies outside the first refund wave and could stretch waits beyond the agency’s 60-to-90-day estimate. (cbp.gov) (politico.com) The system also requires paperwork before any money moves. Customs and Border Protection said refunds will be paid electronically through Automated Clearing House, and companies need an active Automated Commercial Environment portal account with separate refund bank information on file. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) Customs and Border Protection built CAPE to process claims in batches instead of one customs entry at a time. The agency said it will add later phases for more complicated cases that Phase 1 cannot handle yet. (cbp.gov) Law firm Skadden said more than 330,000 importers paid these duties across more than 53 million entries, and the Court of International Trade has ordered roughly $165 billion in refunds. Those figures show why a limited first rollout could leave a long queue behind the April 20 start date. (skadden.com) For companies that have been waiting since the Supreme Court ruling, April 20 is the first opening of the refund window, not the end of the process. The speed now depends on whether their entries fit Phase 1 and whether their portal and bank records are ready when Customs and Border Protection starts accepting claims. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2)