CAPE explained: CBP's IEEPA refund process, who can file, and what each phase covers
Published Sep 16, 2026
Page updated Oct 10, 2026
CAPE — Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries — is the mechanism CBP built inside the ACE Secure Data Portal to refund duties collected under the IEEPA tariff actions the Supreme Court struck down on February 20, 2026. CBP's IEEPA refunds page (read October 8, 2026) says: "Filers do not use the Automated Broker Interface (ABI) to file a CAPE Declaration." A declaration is a CSV of entry numbers uploaded in the portal.
The three phases
| Phase | Live | Covers | Excludes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 20, 2026 (CSMS 68396594) | Consumption entries that are unliquidated (including the liquidation statuses extended, suspended and under review, for which CBP issues the refund at liquidation) or liquidated ≤80 days ago | Open protests; finally liquidated entries; reconciliation, drawback, USMCA duty-deferral, AD/CVD-pending entries; entries under injunction |
| 2 | Jun 29, 2026 (CSMS 69066837) | Entries flagged for reconciliation (types 01/02/06) where the type-09 reconciliation entry is not yet filed | Same liquidation limits |
| 3 | Set for Oct 6, 2026 (CBP declaration of Sep 15, reported; first set for Aug 20); CBP's IEEPA refunds page does not say that it is live (read Oct 8, 2026) | Finally liquidated entries — only for importers that sued at the CIT and whose entries a court ordered reliquidated | Everyone else, pending the Federal Circuit's ruling on universal refunds |
From July 7, 2026 CAPE rejects warehouse entry types 21 and 22; withdrawals for consumption (31/32/34/38) are accepted and refunded after liquidation.
The filing rules
- Who may submit: the importer of record, or the licensed customs broker that filed the entries on its behalf. Nobody else.
- What to upload: entry numbers only, up to 9,999 per declaration; multiple declarations allowed. ACE strips the Chapter 99 IEEPA lines (9903.01.xx, 9903.02.xx) and recalculates.
- Money: ACH only, to the importer of record or its Form 4811 designee; interest included. Unliquidated entries are set to liquidate 45 days after acceptance; liquidated entries reliquidate the next business day; refunds "generally within 60–90 days".
- Offsets: by using CAPE an importer agrees that IEEPA deposits can be offset against other duties it owes (CIT order of April 14, 2026).
- No removal: an entry in an accepted declaration cannot be pulled back, and no protest or PSC can be filed on it until it reliquidates.
What the numbers say
CBP's declarations to the Court of International Trade: 56,497 importers of record or their designees had completed the process for electronic refunds (CBP declaration of April 14, 2026, in the court's order of that day); $121.75 billion accepted and $86.3 billion sent to Treasury by July 10 (in the court's July 15 order); $132.5 billion accepted and $106.6 billion sent by August 21 (reported), with 22,170 refunds worth $1.7 billion held for missing ACH details; and by September 11, 2026 (CBP declaration of September 15, reported) about $134.7 billion accepted, about $122 billion (including interest) certified to the Treasury, and 20,184 refunds (about $1.3 billion) on hold because the importer has not given bank (ACH) details.
What CAPE does not solve
Finally liquidated entries without a court order. The Government's position is that refunds on those entries require an importer-specific order; it appealed the CIT's universal-refund order in June 2026 and a ruling was 'anticipated later this year' (Troutman, August 13, 2026). Until then the eligibility checker points those importers to the 180-day protest window and the two-year § 1581(i) limit, and to law firms that handle both.
General information from public sources, not legal or customs advice. Checked October 8, 2026.
Sources
- CIT order of Apr 14, 2026 (Euro-Notions Florida v. CBP, No. 25-00595; copy on CourtListener) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- CBP CSMS 68315804 — Introduction to CAPE (Apr 10, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- CBP — IEEPA duty refunds hub page (last modified Sep 30, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- CBP CSMS 68340863 — CAPE update, filing rules (Apr 13, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- CBP CSMS 69066837 — Phase 2 deployed (Jun 29, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- CBP CSMS 69127837 — warehouse entries (Jul 2, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- Troutman — appeal status (Aug 13, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- Diaz Trade Law — Phase 3 postponed (Aug 21, 2026) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- C.H. Robinson — CAPE Phase 3 set for Oct 6, 2026 (Sep 17, 2026; reports CBP's Sep 15 declaration) — checked Oct 8, 2026
- GHY — CBP CAPE refund progress (Sep 11 figures from CBP's Sep 15 declaration; updated Oct 5, 2026; reported) — checked Oct 8, 2026
Frequently asked questions
›Is CAPE only for importers who sued?
No. The Court of International Trade's April 14, 2026 order notes that CBP's instructions 'do not limit the use of CAPE to those claimants who have commenced an action in this Court', and Phases 1 and 2 are open to every importer of record. Phase 3, for finally liquidated entries, is only for importers that sued at the Court of International Trade and whose entries a court ordered reliquidated (as reported).
›Can I file a protest and a CAPE declaration on the same entry?
No. Entries under an open protest are excluded from CAPE, and once an entry is in an accepted declaration no protest or post-summary correction can be filed until it reliquidates.
›Does CAPE pay interest?
Yes. Interest runs from the deposit date to reliquidation under 19 CFR 24.36, at the IRS overpayment rate — 6% for corporations and 7% for others in Q3–Q4 2026 — and is included automatically.
This site provides general information from public sources, not legal, tax or customs advice.