Tariff‑refund portal opens

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its tariff-refund system on Monday, letting importers start claims for duties the Supreme Court threw out in February. (cbp.gov) The agency says importers of record and authorized customs brokers must file through the Automated Commercial Environment, or ACE, using a new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool called CAPE. Each CAPE declaration can list up to 9,999 entries, and filers can submit more than one declaration. (cbp.gov) Customs says valid refunds will generally be paid within 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is accepted, unless the claim raises a compliance issue that needs extra review. Refunds will be sent electronically through Automated Clearing House, with limited exceptions. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) The portal covers duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, the law President Donald Trump used for some of his broad 2025 tariff actions. Customs said Phase 1 starts with certain unliquidated entries and entries still within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) That timing matters because liquidation is the step when Customs finalizes an entry’s duty bill; once that window closes, recovering money usually gets harder. The new process gives companies a direct path to reopen eligible entries instead of waiting for case-by-case fixes. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) The Supreme Court ruling set off the refund scramble two months ago, and news reports now estimate the government could owe importers roughly $166 billion plus interest. Reuters, carried by CNBC and other outlets, reported the portal was scheduled to go live at 8 a.m. Eastern on April 20. (cnbc.com) (retaildive.com) Importers told Reuters they expect heavy traffic because the refunds could quickly restore cash tied up in past shipments, especially for companies that paid large tariff bills in 2025. But the filing system does not settle the larger trade question, because Customs is still enforcing other tariff programs that were not struck down. (jsonline.com) (cbp.gov) Customs is calling this the first phase of CAPE, which signals more guidance is still coming for claims that fall outside the opening batch. For now, the immediate deadline is operational: eligible importers can file now, and then wait a few months for the money to move. (cbp.gov) (cbp.gov)