IEEPA Tariff Refunds Start

U.S. Customs and Border Protection will start taking the first IEEPA tariff refund claims on April 20 through a new online filing tool. (cbp.gov) The agency says Phase 1 will run through the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries system, or CAPE, inside the Automated Commercial Environment portal that importers and customs brokers already use. Phase 1 covers certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation. (cbp.gov) Filers must submit a comma-separated values file listing the entries they want refunded, and each declaration can include up to 9,999 entries. Customs and Border Protection said only the importer of record or the broker that filed the entries for that importer can submit the declaration. (cbp.gov) Once a declaration is accepted, the system will remove the IEEPA Chapter 99 tariff line from the affected entry summaries and recalculate the duties. Customs and Border Protection said refunds will then be consolidated by importer of record, or by a designated refund recipient on Form 4811, and tied to the liquidation date. (cbp.gov) The refund process turns a tariff dispute into an accounting process for importers that paid duties under emergency-powers trade actions issued in 2025. One of the underlying orders, Executive Order 14257 of April 2, 2025, used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose a reciprocal tariff tied to trade deficits. (federalregister.gov) Another 2025 order, Executive Order 14289 of April 29, 2025, said overlapping tariffs on the same article should not all stack and directed Customs and Border Protection to process retroactive refunds under existing law and standard procedures. That order applied to entries made on or after March 4, 2025. (federalregister.gov) The Court of International Trade has been pressing the agency on timing as importers seek repayment. In a March 31 filing described by trade lawyers, Customs and Border Protection said Phase 1 should cover about 63% of entries on which IEEPA duties were paid or deposited. (kelleydrye.com, thompsonhinesmartrade.com) That same court update said Customs and Border Protection expects to process Phase 1 refunds within 45 days after a filer submits the required information, unless a compliance review slows the case. Later phases are supposed to cover more complicated claims, including entries beyond the normal reliquidation window. (thompsonhinesmartrade.com, kelleydrye.com) Getting the money back now also depends on payment setup. A Federal Register rule that took effect on February 6, 2026 says Customs and Border Protection will issue refunds electronically in most cases, so importers using CAPE need bank information on file in the Automated Commercial Environment. (federalregister.gov, cbp.gov) April 20 is the date when refund claims start moving from court filings and policy memos into the Customs system importers use every day. The first phase is narrow, but it gives eligible filers a defined portal, a file format, and a clock for getting duty money back. (cbp.gov), (thompsonhinesmartrade.com)