IEEPA refund process starts

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will open the first phase of its tariff refund system on April 20, letting some importers start claiming back duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. (cbp.gov) The agency said the new tool, called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, will run inside the Automated Commercial Environment, the government’s main trade portal. Phase 1 covers certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov) Importers of record and authorized customs brokers must file a CAPE declaration through the portal using a comma-separated values file, and Customs said filers will not use the Automated Broker Interface for these claims. Customs also said the process is meant to consolidate refunds, including interest, instead of paying them entry by entry. (cbp.gov) The refund process follows the Supreme Court’s February 20, 2026 decision in *Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump*, which held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act does not authorize tariffs. The U.S. Court of International Trade then ordered Customs to build a mechanism to return the duties. (skadden.com) Skadden said the court-ordered refunds total about $165 billion, covering more than 53 million entries filed by more than 330,000 importers. Customs is rolling the system out in stages because the full universe of claims includes more complicated cases, including finally liquidated entries. (skadden.com) A court filing summarized by Thompson Hine said Phase 1 is expected to cover about 63% of affected entries, including some entries marked suspended, extended, or under review, as well as warehouse entries and withdrawals. The same filing said Customs expects to process refunds within 45 days after a filer submits the required information, unless a compliance issue triggers extra review. (thompsonhinesmartrade.com) Customs is also pushing companies to set up the payment plumbing before refunds start moving. The agency said refunds are now issued electronically through Automated Clearing House, and it urged companies to complete Automated Commercial Environment portal enrollment and bank authorization before a refund is issued. (cbp.gov) That timing lands as higher energy costs are adding pressure across supply chains. Bloomberg reported on April 11 that fuel costs tied to the Iran war were pushing inflation higher and hurting consumer sentiment, while KPMG said rising diesel, jet, and bunker fuel prices were lifting shipping costs on top of tariff-related price increases. (bloomberg.com) (kpmg.com) For importers, April 20 is not the end of the fight over these tariffs. It is the first date they can start using Customs’ new system to turn a court ruling into cash back. (cbp.gov)