US tariff‑refund claims launch

U.S. importers can start filing tariff-refund claims on Monday, April 20, through a new Customs portal built to return duties the courts said were collected illegally. (cbp.gov) U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the first phase of the system, called CAPE, will let importers and customs brokers upload a comma-separated values file through the Automated Commercial Environment portal listing the entry numbers they want refunded. CBP said filers will get a CAPE claim number after the system validates the declaration and the entry summaries. (cbp.gov) Reuters reported the refunds could reach as much as $166 billion, and NBC News reported CBP told a court this week that it had finished the initial phase of CAPE ahead of the April 20 opening. (usnews.com) (nbcnews.com) The money is tied to tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or IEEPA, a law presidents use to restrict economic activity during a declared national emergency. The refund process now matters because those duties were later struck down, leaving Customs to build a way to send money back at scale. (cbp.gov) (usatoday.com) CBP is not taking claims through the older Automated Broker Interface for this program. It is requiring use of the web-based ACE Secure Data Portal instead, which means companies without the right portal access or refund setup have had to rush to enroll. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) That setup includes Automated Clearing House refund enrollment, because CBP moved to electronic refunds as the default in an interim final rule published January 2, 2026, and effective February 6, 2026. The agency said companies should complete enrollment before a refund is issued to avoid rejections. (federalregister.gov) (cbp.gov) CBP’s fact sheet says the Phase 1 filing is narrow: a CAPE Declaration is just a list of entry numbers for which IEEPA refunds are requested. The agency also set up separate email contacts for technical questions and general questions, a sign that it expects filing problems as claims begin. (cbp.gov) Businesses say the stakes are large enough that even small delays matter. Reuters, in a report republished by U.S. News, said Jay Foreman, chief executive of toymaker Basic Fun, was preparing to file but worried the government could still “jam things up.” (usnews.com) The portal opens with a simple promise and a complicated test: get thousands of claims in, validate millions of entry records, and start sending money back without stalling the trade system that collected it. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2)