The US Customs and Border Protection tariff refund system could be up and running as soon as mid-April

A recent court filing by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) shows significant progress in its new tariff refund system. 

The Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) service is a new functionality the agency is developing specifically to refund the more than $166 billion in tariffs the Trump Administration illegally collected under the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) in 2025. 

In an update to the US Court of International Trade (CIT), Executive Director of the Trade Programs Directorate at CBP, Brandon Long, explained that the new functionality will be available within the agency’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal. The platform will allow the more than 330,000 importers impacted by IEEPA tariffs to obtain refunds through a four-step process, consisting of claim filing, mass processing, review/liquidation, and payment. 

Each of these steps, said Long, is at a different stage of development, ranging from 45 percent to 80 percent completion. The claim and review/liquidation steps are the most advanced and are currently undergoing testing. 

Meanwhile, the mass processing step is the one furthest from ready, as the CBP says they’re still perfecting it and working on validation methods and history tracking to generate easy-to-follow audit trails. This step is only 45 percent complete, but testing should begin next week, the official said. 

In the CIT filing, Long explained that CAPE should be operative “as soon as mid-April,” but his agency did not provide an official timeline or a tentative date for refund issuance. 

The agency will provide an update on the system on March 31. 

No lawsuits required for tariff refunds

Given the ongoing uncertainty since the US Supreme Court struck down IEEPA tariffs and the lack of a clear payment timeline, which President Trump said could be up to five years, companies have taken preventive measures. 

Currently, the US Court of International Trade has received over 3,000 lawsuits concerning tariff refunds, according to a LinkedIn post by customs and trade attorney James Kim. 

The CBP has insisted that the CAPE platform doesn’t require importers to sue with the CIT to defend their right to a tariff refund. Instead, the agency has urged stakeholders to focus their legal efforts on preventing the final liquidation of entries. Only entries that have not been liquidated or whose liquidation has not been finalized are currently eligible for tariff refunds. 

CIT orders have hinted at the possibility of protesting finalized liquidations as a viable option to obtain a refund, but as it’s not explicit, it is uncertain whether importers will be able to protect those assets. 

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