On 6 October 2026, Bloomberg Law reported that US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is opening its tariff refund system, CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries), to entries that were liquidated more than 80 days ago. This is the third phase of expanding refund eligibility, after a projected summer rollout was delayed.
According to a court declaration filed in September by CBP official Brandon Lord, Phase 3 is limited to importers of record that are plaintiffs in a pending Court of International Trade case seeking IEEPA refunds. Plaintiffs that submitted their importer-of-record numbers by 30 July can file from 6 October; CBP will give further instructions to those that submitted later. Whether non-litigating importers must sue is still being decided in ongoing litigation.
CAPE opened in April for unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation, and in June added certain entries flagged for reconciliation. CBP's IEEPA refunds page says refunds are paid only by ACH to bank details registered in the ACE Portal, are generally issued 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is accepted, and include interest. CBP charges no fee and warns importers about refund scams.
As of mid-September, CBP had sent about $122 billion in refunds, including duties and interest, to Treasury for disbursement, against roughly $166 billion in IEEPA duties paid. Entries with open protests, drawback claims, or a reconciliation entry already on file are not yet covered.