CAPE Opens in ACE: What Importers Need to Know About IEEPA Refund Processing

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) activated the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) functionality in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) on April 20, 2026, marking the first operational mechanism for processing refunds of duties paid under tariffs illegally imposed pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

CAPE represents CBP’s initial attempt to operationalize refund relief following the Supreme Court’s invalidation of IEEPA based tariffs and subsequent court orders directing CBP to remove and refund those duties (for prior coverage, see the trade alert, IEEPA Tariff Refunds: CIT Suspends Tariff Refund Order, CBP Develops New Refund Procedure, dated March 17, 2026). CAPE is planned to be deployed in phases, with more functionality added in subsequent stages. While CAPE creates an administrative pathway for recovery, eligibility is limited in Phase 1, with many entries deferred to later phases or requiring additional procedural action to preserve refund rights.

Background: From IEEPA Invalidation to Administrative Refund Processing

Following the Supreme Court’s decision holding that IEEPA does not authorize the imposition of tariffs, CBP was directed through subsequent orders of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) to remove IEEPA duties from affected entries through the normal administrative procedures involving entry-by-entry liquidation (closing out and final assessment of duties). However, CBP objected citing a lack of resources and other factors, and the CIT instead allowed the agency to develop a new “mass claims” refund process: CAPE.

CAPE was developed within CBP’s ACE to consolidate, validate, and process refunds of the ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA (which, in many cases, were in addition to the Normal Trade Relations duties and other trade remedy tariffs). As CBP has acknowledged, refund eligibility will be segmented based on liquidation status, timing windows, and the presence of complicating factors such as reconciliation, drawback, protests, or antidumping/countervailing duty (ADD/CVD) suspensions of liquidation.

CAPE Phase 1: Entries Eligible for Processing Beginning April 20

Phase 1 of CAPE is intentionally narrow and focuses on entries where CBP has clear administrative authority to act without additional court involvement. Eligible entries generally include:

• Unliquidated entries, including those with liquidation status shown in ACE as suspended, extended, or under review;
• Recently liquidated entries within the voluntary reliquidation window under 19 U.S.C. § 1501 (practically, entries liquidated within approximately the last 80 days to allow processing before the 90 day statutory deadline);
• Warehouse entries and warehouse withdrawals where IEEPA Chapter 99 codes were declared and refunds will issue upon liquidation in the normal course; and
• ADD/CVD entries that remain under suspension where IEEPA codes have been removed but refunds will issue only when liquidation occurs.

To be eligible in Phase 1, the entry must have had at least one IEEPA specific HTSUS Chapter 99 number declared, must exist electronically in ACE, and must not be subject to an exclusion category.

Entries Excluded from CAPE Phase 1

CBP has identified several categories that are excluded from Phase 1 processing, even though refund rights may still exist. These include:

• Entries liquidated more than 90 days ago (outside CBP’s voluntary re-liquidation window);
• Entries flagged for reconciliation or filed as Entry Type 09 reconciliation summaries;
• Entries designated on active drawback claims;
• Entries covered by open protests; and
• Entries lacking an electronic ACE record or liquidation status.

For these entries, CAPE does not provide immediate relief, and importers must evaluate alternative or interim strategies to preserve rights while later phase mechanisms develop.

CAPE Later Phases: Deferred, Not Eliminated

A substantial portion of potentially refundable IEEPA duties will fall outside Phase 1 and be addressed in later phases—or may require additional court action. Deferred categories include:

• Finally liquidated entries still within the 180 day protest period (refund rights preserved if protests are timely filed);
• Finally liquidated entries beyond the protest deadline, which are covered by the CIT’s amended March 27 order but are not yet operationally refundable through CAPE;
• Entries involving reconciliation, active drawback claims, complex interest calculations, or enhanced CBP compliance review; and
• Entries with outstanding non IEEPA duty balances, which CBP has flagged for potential offset in a later phase.

Importantly, deferral to later phases does not mean refund rights are lost but it does require careful planning, documentation, and deadline management.

Universal Rules Importers Must Observe

Across all phases of CAPE, several foundational rules apply:

• Only IEEPA duties are refundable; Section 232, Section 301, and other duties on the same entry are not;
• Refunds are issued to the importer of record, absent a properly filed CBP Form 4811 designating another party;
• Only the importer of record or the customs broker who filed the entry summary on behalf of the importer of record may file for a refund;
• ACH Refund enrollment in ACE is mandatory and refunds will be rejected without it; and
• Section 301 and Section 232 duties—particularly on China origin entries—must be carefully separated from IEEPA duties to avoid processing delays or denials.