Amanda Athanasiou, “U.S. Customs Begins IEEPA Tariff Refund Process” (Tax Notes, April 21, 2026):
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has begun the first phase of its process for refunding tariffs deemed by the Supreme Court to have been unlawfully imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
On April 20 CBP launched the initial phase of administering refund claims, saying that phase one claimants will not need to file an action with the U.S. Court of International Trade in order to obtain their IEEPA tariff refunds.
Refund claims will be processed by CBP using the agency’s new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool, which will enable the consolidated handling of IEEPA refunds in lieu of an entry-by-entry approach, the agency said on an undated informational web page. The CAPE process operates within CBP’s existing Automated Commercial Environment portal, which claimants will use to provide bank account information and CAPE declarations, it said.
The first phase of the process is limited to “certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation,” CBP said. Later phases will add functionality “for more complicated scenarios,” it said.
