U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said it will launch the first phase of its tariff refund process on 20 April.
CBP’s latest message said it will initiate the first phase of the “Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE)” tool in its “Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal).” The agency said CAPE will simplify duty refunds by giving businesses an electronic path to submit tariff refunds.
The process is necessary thanks to a February ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court that found U.S. President Donald Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to implement sweeping worldwide tariffs was illegal, which forced the country to stop taking duties on goods and begin a refund process. However, that ruling included few details of how the refund process could work, and trade lawyers predicted the process would likely take months.
CBP’s latest message said requesting refunds will require only three summarized actions from companies: importers of record (IOR) and authorized customs brokers to have an established ACE Secure Data Portal account, refund recipients use the ACE Portal to provide CBP with bank account information for the refunds, and importers of record and authorized customs brokers submit CAPE declarations in the ACE Portal.
“IORs and brokers who will be filing CAPE Declarations are encouraged to prepare for CAPE filing by ensuring that they have an ACE Portal account and that their bank account information for refunds has been added to their account,” CBP said in its message.
The first phase of the refunds will be limited to “certain unliquidated entries” as well as “certain entries within 80 days of liquidation,” CBP said.
The agency also said the IEEPA refunds would be issued within 60 to 90 days, unless any compliance concerns arise.
Peter Quinter, a U.S. customs and international trade attorney at Florida-based law firm Gunster, told SeafoodSource the Court of International Trade has been “relentlessly” pursuing the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and CBP to create some sort of computer system to process the tens of thousands of refunds that U.S. companies are owed and the new message from CBP still leaves some questions.
Quinter said it’s unclear when the CBP will have the computer system active to process the refunds and there’s no information currently on what involvement CBP personnel will have in analyzing the claims for payment.
“What exceptions to the normal process will require CBP personnel separate review?” Quinter said. “How long after a claim is reviewed and processed will it take for the Treasury Department to electronically transfer the money to the claimant’s account?”
Quinter said that as of now, he anticipates refunds may start being issued starting in June 2026. However, he also said it is unclear whether there will be any wrenches thrown into the process by Trump, who has threatened to delay the refunds.
The federal government already made attempts to delay the court process, with the DOJ pushing for a 90-day stay on a mandate from the U.S. Court of Appeals that began the legal process on refunds.
“If anything, the court should withhold issuance of the mandate for 90 days to allow the political branches an opportunity to consider options,” a DOJ filing stated, a delay which wouldn’t have started the process moving until May at the earliest.
