U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is upgrading how importers request refunds of duties paid under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). CBP built a new tool—Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE)—inside the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal to manage these refunds at scale.

Before an importer files for a declaration, they need to make sure that they have an ACE Portal account, and they are enrolled for ACH refunds from CBP.

The rollout of the refund process will take place in phases. Phase 1 will begin on Monday, April 20th, 2026.

Phase 1 will include the following:

• Unliquidated entries

• Entries liquidated within 80 days before the filing date

• Entries with a liquidation status of suspended, extended, or under review.

• Certain warehouse entries and warehouse withdrawals (refunds issued after normal liquidation).

Phase 1 will NOT include the following:

• Entries flagged for reconciliation (type 09)

• Entries subject to drawback claims

• Entries covered by an open protest.

• Non-ACE entries, or entries that do not have a liquidation status in ACE.

• Entries subject to antidumping/countervailing duties (AD/CVD) where Commerce has issued liquidation instructions and liquidation is pending under 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d).

• Fully liquidated and final entries

• Specific entry types (for example, Duty Deferral (08), Temporary Importation under Bond (TIB 23)

How the CAPE process works

• Prepare a single CAPE Declaration (a .csv file) listing up to 9,999 eligible entry numbers.

• Upload the file in the ACE Portal under the new CAPE tab using CBP’s Excel template.

• The portal validates the file (format, authorization, and eligibility).

• If accepted, CBP removes the IEEPA tariff charges (often shown under Chapter 99 HTSUS codes) and recalculates duties as if the tariffs did not apply.

• CBP completes liquidation or reliquidation (as applicable) and issues a consolidated refund including interest via ACH.

• Typical timing: 60–90 days after acceptance.

Allyn International is actively supporting the trade community in understanding their tariff exposure and maximizing their refund eligibility. If you have questions about tariffs or would like to explore strategies to reduce their impact on your business operations, contact Allyn today for a consultation at sales@allynintl.com.

Contributor: Matt Dreckman

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About Allyn International

Allyn International provides high quality, customer centric services and solutions for the global marketplace. Allyn's core products include transportation management, logistics sourcing, freight forwarding, supply chain consulting, tax management and global trade compliance. Allyn clients range from small local businesses to Fortune 500 firms. Allyn conducts business in more than 20 languages and has extensive experience in both developed and emerging markets. Highly trained experts are positioned throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. Allyn’s regional headquarters are strategically located in Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.A., Shanghai, P.R. China, Prague, Czech Republic, and Dubai, U.A.E. For more information, visit  www.allynintl.com.