On March 6, 2026, the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) suspended its March 4, 2026 order (as amended on March 5) directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to remove IEEPA duties from all affected entries and issue refunds to all importers of record, regardless of whether they filed suit (for prior coverage, see the trade alert, "Court of International Trade Orders Removal of All IEEPA Duties: What Importers Need to Know" dated March 9, 2026).
CBP responded to the original order on March 6, 2026 in which it outlined preliminary details on how refunds may be issued but stated it could not immediately remove and refund IEEPA duties through the entry-by-entry liquidation and reliquidation process required by the court. CBP cited an “unprecedented volume of refunds” and insufficient technology, processes, and resources to comply on the ordered timeline. Instead, CBP indicated it is developing new multi-step automated refund functionality within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) that will be used to calculate and provide valid refunds of IEEPA duties — this automated approach is expected to save considerable time compared to manual processing.
Following a closed-door status conference on March 6, Judge Eaton of the CIT issued orders suspending his March 4/5 directive requiring immediate refunds and requiring CBP to provide a status update on its refund process efforts by March 12 even though the CBP declaration did not provide any timeline for the actual issuance of refunds. In a subsequent declaration provided to the CIT on March 12, CBP estimated that the ACE upgrades are already 70% completed overall. The new functionality, called the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) will be developed in phases and currently comprises four integrated components:
- ACE claim portal
- Mass processing
- Review and liquidation/reliquidation
- Refund
The declaration indicates that in its first phase of development, CAPE will be able to process the majority of formal and informal entries on which IEEPA duties were paid (other than unliquidated entries subject to antidumping or countervailing duties) or entries for which the liquidation status in ACE is “Suspended,” “Extended,” or “Under Review,” and certain other entry types such as warehouse withdrawals, entries designated on a drawback claim, etc. CBP will provide updates on the scope and functionality of each phase of development as it is implemented.
BDO Perspective
The CIT’s suspension of the immediate refund requirement underscores that, although importers are entitled to IEEPA duty refunds, the actual timing of refund issuance remains highly dependent on CBP’s ability to complete and deploy new ACE based automation. CBP has emphasized that the unprecedented refund volume and current system limitations prevent it from complying through traditional liquidation processes, necessitating the development of new functionality.
Given this uncertainty, importers should not expect automatic refunds and should take steps now to minimize processing delays. This includes ensuring ACE accounts and Automated Clearing House (ACH) electronic refund setups are complete, organizing entry level data for eventual claim submission, and monitoring CBP’s phased rollout of the new CAPE system and related guidance once the claim portal becomes operational.
How BDO Can Help
BDO’s Customs & International Trade Services (CITS) professionals have been closely tracking IEEPA litigation from its inception at the CIT, the CAFC, and through the Supreme Court’s final ruling. We are positioned to help your business navigate every dimension of this development, including:
- Conducting comprehensive entry reviews to identify transactions where IEEPA duties were deposited, normalize multi-broker datasets, and to map liquidation status (unliquidated, liquidated/not final, final).
- Quantifying expected refunds (with interest) via data analysis for unliquidated and not‑final liquidated entries, and preparing refund‑readiness packages (entry summaries, payment proofs, document trails).
- Coordinating with customs brokers to align near‑term ACE/Chapter 99 reporting and to track transitional entries as CBP deploys programming updates and operational guidance.
- Advising on ACH refunds set up and internal cash‑application processes to facilitate timely receipt and reconciliation of CBP refund disbursements.
- Managing administrative actions, e.g., Post Summary Corrections before liquidation, Protests within 180 days after liquidation, where appropriate, to preserve rights while CBP/Treasury guidance evolves.
- Monitoring CBP CSMS and agency communications and providing real‑time updates on reliquidation procedures, timing, and any importer actions required.
- Counseling on finally-liquidated entries (not addressed by the order), including documentation preservation and strategy options pending further CBP/Treasury or CIT direction.