U.S. tariff refund portal snarls

U.S. Customs and Border Protection opened its tariff-refund portal on April 20, and some importers immediately ran into error messages and account problems. (cbp.gov) (cbsnews.com) The new system is called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, and it sits inside Customs’ Automated Commercial Environment portal. Importers of record and customs brokers have to upload a CSV file listing the entries they want refunded. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) CAPE does not cover every claim yet. Phase 1 is limited to unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation, and Customs said that group accounts for 63% of International Emergency Economic Powers Act entries. (cbp.gov) (forbes.com) Some businesses said they could not get that far. Learning Resources CEO Rick Woldenberg told CBS News his company saw a “high volume” error, while Busy Baby co-founder Beth Benike said she hit a duplicate tax ID problem and spent more than four hours on hold with Customs. (cbsnews.com) The refunds exist because the Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, that President Donald Trump did not have broad authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose those tariffs. Customs says refunds will be issued for validated claims pursuant to court order and applicable law. (forbes.com) (cbp.gov) The money involved is large. Forbes reported the government collected more than $166 billion under the struck-down tariffs, and Customs told the trade community the portal is meant to process claims in batches rather than one entry at a time. (forbes.com) (cbp.gov) Customs has also said companies will not get refunds automatically. They need an Automated Commercial Environment account, electronic refund enrollment, and a CAPE declaration filed either by the importer of record or the broker that filed the entry. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2) Even before the portal opened, Customs said only about 56,500 importers had completed the electronic-payment setup needed to receive refunds, out of roughly 300,000 firms that could be eligible. (forbes.com) For smaller importers, the portal problems land on top of the tariffs’ original cash strain. Shawn Phetteplace of Main Street Alliance told CBS News some members stopped hiring or growing during the tariff fight and now need refunds processed quickly. (cbsnews.com) Customs says CAPE will roll out in phases, with harder cases such as final liquidations, open protests and some non-ACE entries left for later. That means the portal is open, but a full unwind of the IEEPA tariffs is still being built in real time. (cbp.gov 1) (cbp.gov 2)