CBP launches tariff‑refund portal

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open its new tariff-refund portal on April 20 at 8 a.m. Eastern, starting electronic claims from importers and customs brokers. (cbp.gov) The portal, called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, will sit inside the Automated Commercial Environment portal and accept refund requests for duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. Filers will upload a comma-separated values file listing entry numbers. (cbp.gov) Phase 1 covers most entries that are still unliquidated or are within 80 days of liquidation, plus some entries that are suspended, extended, under review, or in warehouse status. Each declaration can include up to 9,999 entries, and filers can submit more than one declaration. (cbp.gov) The money at stake is enormous. Customs and Border Protection told the Court of International Trade it expects roughly $127 billion in refunds based on current electronic-payment enrollment, while Reuters reported the broader refund pool tied to the court fight at about $166 billion with interest. (supplychaindive.com) (finance-commerce.com) The refund push follows a February 2026 Supreme Court ruling that struck down most tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. After that decision, the Court of International Trade ordered Customs and Border Protection to return duties paid on eligible entries. (finance-commerce.com) (supplychaindive.com) Customs and Border Protection is building CAPE in stages because the agency is trying to refund tens of millions of entries in batches instead of one by one. The agency says CAPE is designed to consolidate refunds, including interest, rather than process each shipment separately. (cbp.gov) Importers will not get paid unless they are set up for electronic refunds. Customs and Border Protection now issues refunds electronically in most cases, and the agency says bank-account information for Automated Clearing House payments must be on file in the portal before refunds can be sent. (federalregister.gov) (cbp.gov) The first version of CAPE does not cover every claim. Customs and Border Protection says entries tied to reconciliation, drawback claims, open protests, or records not filed in the Automated Commercial Environment are being held for later phases. (cbp.gov) Customs and Border Protection says refunds should take about 60 to 90 days after an entry is submitted and accepted. The first test of that timeline starts when the portal opens on April 20. (supplychaindive.com)