We do not file refunds. Only you, or the licensed customs broker that filed your entries, can file a CAPE Declaration in ACE. CBP charges no fee. Not a government website; not affiliated with CBP. CBP says: "Do not enter any information into a website other than ACE that claims to process IEEPA refunds." (CSMS 68569567). Official CBP information: www.cbp.gov/trade/programs-administration/trade-remedies/ieepa-duty-refunds

Tariff Refund Finder
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Do you need a customs broker for a tariff refund?

Not necessarily. The importer of record can file its own CAPE declaration; the broker that filed the entries can file for you; attorneys and consultants prepare but cannot submit. When a broker is worth paying for, and how to choose one.

Published Sep 16, 2026

Page updated Oct 10, 2026

Who can actually submit the refund declaration

CBP's rule is specific. Its Trade Information Notice for CAPE Phase 1 (April 8, 2026) says CAPE declarations "may be submitted by the importer of record (IOR) for the entries listed or the customs broker that filed the entries on behalf of the IOR." CSMS 68340863 says the same in other words. That is the whole list. Attorneys, CPAs and refund consultancies prepare the entry list and advise; the submission comes from the importer's own ACE account or from the filing broker.

So the question is not "do I need a broker" but "who has ACE access to my entries, and who is going to do the work".

Three situations

You have an ACE importer account and one broker. You can file yourself: ask the broker for the ES-003 report (every entry line with the IEEPA indicator), build the CSV of entry numbers, confirm ACH details, upload. Many brokers will do this for their own clients for a flat fee, or as a service to keep the account.

You imported through several brokers or carriers. Each filing broker can submit for the entries it filed, or you can consolidate everything under your own ACE account. This is where a broker or a consultancy earns its fee: assembling one clean list across filers, catching entries that are near the 80-day limit, and handling reconciliation entries.

Your entries are finally liquidated, protested, or you have a court case. A broker cannot fix this with CAPE. You need a customs attorney for protests and Court of International Trade actions; brokers and consultancies work alongside counsel. Compare law firms on this site by capability.

How to check a broker's permit

A customs broker is licensed by CBP. CBP's national permitted customs brokers listing names the permit holders with their filer codes; it shows no licence numbers (read October 8, 2026). Profiles on this site show the filer code we matched against that listing, with the date. A broker whose listing we could not match shows that its permit is not yet checked, rather than a checked date.

What "near me" gets you

Physical proximity barely matters for a CAPE filing — it is a portal upload. It matters for ports: a broker that files at your port of entry knows the local CBP office and holds the entries. The comparison page filters by state and by capability, and each profile lists ports served where the broker states them.

What a broker cannot promise

A broker cannot make a finally liquidated entry eligible, cannot speed CBP's 60–90-day clock, and cannot be paid by CBP directly — the refund goes to you (or a Form 4811 designee). Anyone promising otherwise is selling something else.

General information from public sources, not legal or customs advice. Checked October 8, 2026; the carriers' pages were last read September 16, 2026.

Sources

  1. CBP CSMS 68340863 — who may submit a CAPE declaration — checked Oct 8, 2026
  2. CBP — Permitted customs brokers listing — checked Oct 8, 2026
  3. CBP Trade Information Notice — CAPE Phase 1 — checked Oct 8, 2026

Frequently asked questions

›Can I use UPS or FedEx as my customs broker for the refund?

If UPS or FedEx filed the original entries as your broker, yes — under CBP's rule the broker that filed the entries may file the CAPE declaration. On September 16, 2026 their pages described refund programs for those entries (not re-read since). They cannot file CAPE for entries another broker filed.

›Can a broker that did not file my entries submit the CAPE declaration?

Not under CBP's rule as stated: the declaration may be submitted by the importer of record or the customs broker that filed the entries. A new broker can help you file under your own ACE importer account.

›How much does a customs broker charge for a CAPE filing?

Where firms publish it, flat fees per declaration or per entry batch, or a success percentage. Where a firm does not publish it, its profile on this site shows 'Unknown'; where it does, the profile shows the stated fee with the date we checked it.

This site provides general information from public sources, not legal, tax or customs advice.