CBP sets April 20 tariff‑refund start

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said it will open the first phase of its tariff-refund system on April 20, 2026. (cbp.gov) The agency is building the process inside the Automated Commercial Environment, the trade portal importers and customs brokers already use. Customs and Border Protection calls the new refund function Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE. (cbp.gov) Phase 1 is narrow. Customs and Border Protection said it will cover certain unliquidated entries and certain entries that are still within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov) A liquidation is Customs and Border Protection’s final duty bill on an entry, and reliquidation is the agency’s do-over window. A court filing described the first phase as focused on entries that are not yet final, including some that are suspended, extended, or under review. (thompsonhinesmartrade.com) Importers of record and authorized customs brokers will have to file a CAPE declaration through the web-based Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal, not through the Automated Broker Interface. Each declaration can list up to 9,999 entries, and filers can submit more than one declaration. (cbp.gov) Customs and Border Protection said the declaration will be a comma-separated values file that lists the entries for which refunds are requested. After the file is accepted, the system will remove the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Chapter 99 tariff line and recalculate the entry before liquidation or reliquidation. (cbp.gov) Refunds are set to move electronically. Customs and Border Protection said companies that may receive money back should have an Automated Commercial Environment portal account and Automated Clearing House refund enrollment in place before a refund is issued. (cbp.gov; federalregister.gov) The refund system exists because recent tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act have produced a growing list of correction requests and court disputes. Customs and Border Protection’s refund page says CAPE is meant to process valid refund requests authorized by court order or other law. (cbp.gov; federalregister.gov) A U.S. Court of International Trade order on April 1 said the government was on track for the April 20 deadline in the lead refund case, Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States. A declaration cited in that order said Phase 1 could cover about 63% of entries with International Emergency Economic Powers Act duties and that Customs and Border Protection expected to process refunds within 45 days after a filer submits the required information, absent a compliance review. (thompsonhinesmartrade.com) Customs and Border Protection said later phases will add more complicated cases, including entries that are already final. For importers that have been waiting for a claims process, April 20 is the first date on the calendar that comes with filing instructions. (cbp.gov; thompsonhinesmartrade.com)