Thousands of shipping containers stacked at the Port Newark–Elizabeth Marine Terminal in New Jersey—one of the largest U.S. container ports affected by IEEPA tariffs.

How to File IEEPA Tariff Refunds Through the CAPE Portal

$20.6 billion in IEEPA refunds already certified to Treasury. Phase 1 is processing claims with an average 18-day turnaround — but nearly one-third of declarations fail validation. Here's how to get yours right the first time.

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CAPE Update Tracker

Track the current filing posture before you act

Use this as the quick context layer before you rely on CAPE alone. It keeps the live phase, latest official checkpoint, and main current limitation in one place.

Current phase

Phase 1 is live — $20.6B certified to Treasury, ~$85B pipeline

CAPE filing has been open since April 20, 2026. As of May 26, 2026 (per CBP Lord Declaration, CIT): 15.8M entries accepted for IEEPA-duty removal, 8.3M+ entries already liquidated or reliquidated without IEEPA, $20.6 billion in refunds certified and sent to Treasury for disbursement, and ~$85 billion in total potential + certified refunds in the CAPE pipeline. Average refund turnaround is ~18 days (~14 days for electronics/consumer goods). Nearly one-third of CAPE declarations are failing initial file validation — clean your CSV and confirm ACH banking before you file.

Last official update reviewed

June 8, 2026 — CBP FAQ refresh and appeal posture

CBP refreshed the IEEPA Duty Refunds FAQ with clearer CAPE validation-error tables and reconciliation guidance while DOJ appeal and stay activity continues in the Federal Circuit. CAPE Phase 1 processing for unliquidated and nonfinal entries continues, but reconciliation-flagged entries, finally liquidated entries, and non-litigating importers still need deadline-specific backup planning.

Most important limitation

Appeal posture makes protest/CIT backup more important

The appeal does not change the practical first move for clean Phase 1 entries: file CAPE, fix validation errors quickly, and confirm ACH banking. It does make older liquidations more sensitive. File protective protests within 180 days where the window is still open, and get trade-counsel review for finally liquidated entries that may need a Court of International Trade complaint rather than waiting for an unannounced Phase 2 reach-back.

If your entries were filed by multiple brokers, were liquidated more than 80 days ago, or are tied to a protest, start with a case-specific review.

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Three Steps to Your Refund

CAPE simplifies the intake process, but CBP still validates the entries, recalculates duties, and controls when refunds are released.

Check Your Eligibility

Confirm the entry has IEEPA Chapter 99 duties and is either still unliquidated or not more than about 80 days past liquidation. Use our interactive checker to verify.

Prepare Your Data

Set up ACE access, enroll ACH refunds, and prepare an entry-number-only CSV that matches your importer or filing account.

File via CAPE

Upload up to 9,999 entry numbers, clear ACE validations, and monitor consolidated refunds through the new CAPE reporting workflow.

Based on Official CBP Guidance

Our guide is updated from CBP CSMS releases and cross-checked against current trade commentary.

As of May 26, 2026, CBP has accepted 15.8M entries through CAPE, liquidated 8.3M+ entries IEEPA-free, and certified $20.6 billion in refunds to Treasury. Average turnaround: ~18 days.

Source: CBP Lord Declaration, CIT (May 26, 2026)

Only the importer of record or the broker that filed the entry summary can submit a CAPE declaration, and the upload is limited to entry numbers only.

Source: CBP CSMS #68340863

ACH refunds are mandatory. CBP's May 26 report confirms thousands of approved refunds remain stuck because importers have not provided valid ACH banking information — check yours before you file.

Source: CBP Lord Declaration, CIT (May 26, 2026); CSMS #68179006

For standard Phase 1 claims, CBP reports an average 18-day refund turnaround (~14 days for electronics/consumer goods) once entries clear validation — significantly faster than the published 60–90-day window.

Source: CBP May 26, 2026 CIT Progress Report; CSMS #68340863

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Latest Updates from Our Editors

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New analysis as CAPE Phase 1 unfolds — eligibility shifts, ACE workflow changes, and refund timing observations.