CBP Launches CAPE Phase 1 for $166 Billion IEEPA Tariff Refunds Across 53 Million Entries
Summary
CBP launched Phase 1 of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool on April 20, 2026, to administer refunds of duties imposed under IEEPA following the U.S. Supreme Court's February 2026 ruling that certain IEEPA tariffs were unlawful. Approximately 330,000 importers paid or deposited an estimated $166 billion in IEEPA duties across more than 53 million entries. The CAPE tool allows importers or customs brokers to submit a single electronic declaration listing up to 9,999 entry numbers via CSV template through the ACE portal, with refunds consolidated into a single ACH payment including statutory interest. Phase 1 covers only certain unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within 80 days of submission; entries with protests, AD/CVD duties, or final liquidation are excluded.
Importers that paid IEEPA duties on unliquidated entries or entries liquidated within 80 days of the CAPE submission date should prioritize reviewing their ACE account status and banking information before filing. The two-stage validation process means a formatting error at file level rejects the entire declaration—submitters should download and review validation result files before assuming acceptance. Entries excluded from Phase 1 (those with open protests, AD/CVD duties, or reconciliation flags) may require alternative remedies through the Court of International Trade, and importers should not assume those entries will be addressed in later CAPE phases.
About this source
JD Supra is the legal industry's open library where US and international law firms publish client alerts and regulatory analysis. The Trade Law section aggregates everything from partners covering customs, tariffs, sanctions enforcement, export controls, anti-dumping, CFIUS, and supply-chain compliance. Around 310 alerts a month from across the bar. Watch this if you advise on US trade policy whiplash, manage tariff exposure for a manufacturer, run an OFAC compliance program, or track EU and UK sanctions enforcement against Russia. The signal-to-noise ratio is genuinely good because firms only publish when they have something to say to their own clients. GovPing pulls each alert with the firm name, author, and topic.
What changed
CBP has implemented CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) as a new electronic refund mechanism within the ACE portal for IEEPA duties paid following the Supreme Court's February 2026 ruling. Importers or their authorized customs brokers may now submit CAPE Declarations listing up to 9,999 entry numbers per submission using a CBP-provided CSV template; multiple declarations may be filed. CBP performs two-stage validation: file-level validation checks submitter authorization and formatting, rejecting the entire declaration on failure, while entry-level validation checks each entry individually, rejecting only failed entries while processing valid ones.
Importers and customs brokers should verify ACE account status and ensure valid banking information is on file before submission, as refunds are issued via ACH only. Phase 1 excludes entries with open protests, AD/CVD duties with pending liquidation, reconciliation flags, or entries not filed in ACE—affected parties may need alternative remedies for excluded entries. The process consolidates refunds into single payments with statutory interest, simplifying recovery but requiring careful attention to the validation criteria for each listed entry.
Archived snapshot
Apr 27, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
April 27, 2026
IEEPA Tariff Refunds: CBP Launches CAPE Process
Guido Antolini, Gary Biehn, David Creagan, Bruce MacLennan White and Williams LLP + Follow Contact LinkedIn Facebook X ;) Embed
On April 20, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) launched the first phase of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal to administer refunds of duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) through a streamlined electronic filing process.
Background
In February 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court held that certain tariffs imposed under IEEPA were unlawful. Subsequent proceedings before the U.S. Court of International Trade required CBP to develop a scalable refund process applicable not only to litigants but also to non-plaintiffs. According to CBP and court filings, approximately 330,000 importers paid or deposited an estimated $166 billion in IEEPA duties across more than 53 million entries. In response, CBP developed CAPE as an electronic, consolidated refund mechanism within ACE.
CAPE Phase 1 Scope
CBP launched Phase 1 of CAPE on April 20, 2026. Phase 1 is limited in scope and applies only to (a) certain unliquidated entries, and (b) certain entries liquidated within 80 days of the CAPE submission date. The following categories of entries are excluded from Phase 1 and are expected to be addressed, if at all, in later phases or through alternative remedies:
- Entries that have been flagged for reconciliation, as well as Entry Type 09 - Reconciliation Summary
- Entries designated on a drawback claim
- Entries covered by an open protest
- Entries not filed in ACE, and entries without a liquidation status in ACE
- Entries subject to Antidumping/Countervailing Duties (AD/CVD), for which the Department of Commerce (DOC) has issued liquidation instructions, that are pending liquidation in accordance with 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d)
- Entries for which liquidation is final
How the CAPE Refund Process Works
CAPE allows an importer of record or its authorized customs broker to submit a single electronic declaration listing multiple entry numbers for which IEEPA duty refunds are sought (CAPE Declaration). Each CAPE Declaration is submitted through the ACE Portal using a CBP provided CSV template. No supporting documentation is required at the time of submission beyond the list of entry numbers. Although each CAPE Declaration has a limit of up to 9,999 entries, multiple CAPE Declarations may be filed by the same importer or broker.
Refunds are consolidated, and once approved, issued as a single payment, including applicable statutory interest. All refunds are issued electronically through an Automated Clearing House (ACH) transaction, and valid banking information must be on file in ACE before submission.
Validation and Processing
Upon upload, ACE performs two sequential validation series for CAPE Declarations.
The first series validates the CAPE Declaration file itself by confirming (i) that the submitter is either the importer of record for the listed entries or the customs broker who filed the entry summaries on the importer’s behalf, (ii) that the declaration includes a list of entry numbers, and (iii) that the submission is properly formatted. If the submission fails any file-level validation, ACE rejects the entire CAPE Declaration. The results appear in the File Upload Status column of the CAPE tab, and applicants may download the Validation Result File to identify issues, correct them, and resubmit a new declaration. Successful submissions proceed to entry-level validations.
The second series validates each individual entry listed in the submitted file. ACE checks (i) whether each entry summary exists in ACE, (ii) whether at least one dutiable IEEPA Chapter 99 HTS code was declared on each entry, and (iii) whether any entry summary number is duplicated in the same or a prior declaration. If an entry fails these validations, ACE rejects only that specific entry while continuing to process the remaining entries. Applicants can review entry-level validation results in the CAPE Claim Status section by selecting the applicable claim number and downloading the results file.
;) ;) Report
Related Posts
Latest Posts
- IEEPA Tariff Refunds: CBP Launches CAPE Process
- Nevada’s Economic Loss Doctrine: Contract Over Tort
- Two Barriers to Recovery: UCC § 2-27 and the Economic Loss Doctrine
- First Circuit Further Clarifies Discrimination Analysis Post-Muldrow See more »
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
Attorney Advertising.
©
White and Williams LLP
Written by:
White and Williams LLP Contact + Follow Guido Antolini + Follow Gary Biehn + Follow David Creagan + Follow Bruce MacLennan + Follow more less
PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA
- ✔ Increased readership
- ✔ Actionable analytics
- ✔ Ongoing writing guidance Join more than 70,000 authors publishing their insights on JD Supra
Published In:
Court of International Trade + Follow Customs and Border Protection + Follow International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) + Follow International Trade + Follow Refunds + Follow SCOTUS + Follow Tariffs + Follow Administrative Agency + Follow International Trade + Follow more less
White and Williams LLP on:
"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"
Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra: Sign Up Log in ** By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.* - hide - hide
Related changes
Get daily alerts for JD Supra Trade Law
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from White and Williams.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when JD Supra Trade Law publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.