Time for Importers to Take Action: April 20 Starts the IEEPA Tariffs Refund Process

It’s finally time for importers to take the first step in claiming IEEPA tariff refunds. This long-awaited move forward comes after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed IEEPA tariffs imposed by the president unconstitutional and the Court of International Trade issued a ruling for Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to refund duties imposed under IEEPA tariffs to Importers of Record.

CBP has completed the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (“CAPE”) system, found in its ACE electronic customs declaration system. The process is now clear, CBP has issued instructions and the mystery of what a “Declaration” is has been solved. Essentially, importers need to add just one column of information – entry numbers – into the CAPE system in a .csv (not .xls) format. CBP will need 60-90 days to get through the remaining –six steps in the process before issuing electronic refunds. There are phases in how these refunds will be processed, with the unliquidated and newly (within 80 days) liquidated entries taking priority.

Additional Information:

Starting April 20, any importers that paid IEEPA tariffs may file claims for refunds in the CAPE system. Importers can file these “declarations” themselves via their ACE accounts or engage their customs brokers to file for them.
Importers must ensure they have active ACE Portal access, valid electronic refund payment details (ACH) on file and that they can identify applicable IEEPA entries to upload via the CAPE Declaration.
Importers/brokers enter a list of certain entries for which they have paid IEEPA tariffs in a .csv (not .xls) spreadsheet found in the CAPE system, upload it to CBP and CBP validates that its records show IEEPA tariffs paid for those entries. Note that this “declaration” is only one column of information, the entry number.
CAPE is designed to consolidate refunds of IEEPA duties, including interest, rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis. CBP plans to implement CAPE through a phased development approach, starting with the least complicated entries first, before adding more functionality in subsequent phases to process refunds for more complicated entries.
Phase 1 Refunds: CAPE will process refunds for entries that are unliquidated (i.e., less than 314 days old) and entries that have recently liquidated within the last 80 days. Given the timing of when the IEEPA tariffs were imposed, entries in this category will constitute the majority of refunds, estimated at 70%.

CBP reports that once the list of these entries has been validated and accepted, ACE will update the relevant entries to exclude IEEPA duties. Following CBP review, those entries will be liquidated – or reliquidated – and refunds for the IEEPA duties paid will be consolidated by Importer of Record, or by the customs broker that has been designated to receive refunds on its behalf.
IEEPA tariff refunds, with interest, could be paid electronically within 60-90 days.
Importers and authorized customs brokers should anticipate that valid IEEPA refunds will generally be issued within 60-90 days following acceptance of the CAPE Declaration, unless a compliance concern requires further CBP review. The refund status of entries can be monitored in the ACE system.
Types of entries falling into the categories below are still being evaluated for future phases of CAPE and will not be accepted by CBP during Phase 1 of CAPE refunds:
Entries that have been flagged for reconciliation, as well as Entry Type 09
Reconciliation Summary
Entries 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 anti-dumping and countervailing duties, 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

Consult with your customs brokers or attorneys to understand if there is the possibility to change the status of some of these excluded entries, for example, if removing the open protest will move them to Phase 1 refund status. There is an expectation for a Phase 2 refund process, but CBP has not provided a timeline or procedure yet for addressing these entries through the CAPE system.

As you navigate this process, here are some resources that can help:

Customs IEEPA Duty Refunds Home Page
Applying for an ACE Portal Importer Account and Enrolling in ACH Refunds
ACE Portal CAPE Declarations Quick Reference Guide
Fact Sheet: IEEPA Duty Refund