TITLE: CAPE Phase 3 IEEPA Refunds: What US Importers Must Do Before 6 October 2026
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will deploy CAPE Phase 3 inside the ACE Portal on 6 October 2026. The new phase targets IEEPA duty refunds for finally liquidated entries covered by a court-ordered reliquidation.
This update matters if you are an international seller, a non-US founder, or one of the many US importers of record supporting sales through Amazon FBA, Shopify, eBay, Etsy, or another channel.
Check your eligibility before 6 October
CAPE Phase 3 is narrower than the earlier deployments. It applies to:
- Plaintiffs in pending Court of International Trade cases seeking IEEPA tariff refunds.
- Finally liquidated entries covered by a court order requiring CBP to reliquidate those entries.
- Importers of record who submitted a valid IOR number to CBP by 30 July 2026.
Eligible plaintiffs who met the 30 July deadline may begin filing CAPE Declarations from 6 October.
If you submitted your IOR number after 30 July, CBP will issue separate filing instructions on a rolling biweekly basis. Do not assume that you can file immediately on 6 October.
The CBP IEEPA duty refunds page remains the main official source for CAPE access, refund processing, ACE requirements, and reporting.
Understand why these refunds are available
On 20 February 2026, the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287. The Court held that IEEPA does not authorise the President to impose tariffs.
The ruling covered the 2025 “fentanyl” tariffs affecting Canada, Mexico, and China, as well as the worldwide “reciprocal” tariffs. The resulting IEEPA duties are refundable with interest to the importer of record, subject to the applicable process.
Read the Supreme Court opinion for the full legal decision.
CBP has introduced CAPE in stages:
- Phase 1, 20 April 2026: Covered most eligible entries where IEEPA duties were paid, including unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation.
- Phase 2, 29 June 2026: Covered entries flagged for reconciliation, including entry types 01, 02, and 06, where the type 09 reconciliation entry was not yet on file.
- Phase 3, 6 October 2026: Covers qualifying finally liquidated entries subject to court-ordered reliquidation.
This phased approach means you must identify the correct route for each entry. Do not place the same entry into multiple processes.
Separate refundable duties from duties that remain payable
Not every tariff on an entry is refundable through CAPE.
The process does not refund:
- Section 232 national-security tariffs on steel, aluminium, and derivatives.
- Section 301 trade-remedy tariffs, including the 2026 forced-labour Section 301 duties.
- Antidumping and countervailing duties.
One shipment can contain both refundable IEEPA duties and non-refundable Section 301 or Section 232 duties. Your records must separate these amounts clearly.
This distinction is important for ecommerce businesses. A refund calculation based only on the total duty paid may be wrong. Review entry lines, HTS classifications, duty types, and the original importer records before preparing a declaration.
File the CAPE Declaration correctly
CAPE filings follow strict operational rules.
Use the right filer
Only one of the following can file a CAPE Declaration:
- The importer of record.
- The licensed customs broker that filed the relevant entries.
An attorney cannot file a CAPE Declaration merely because they represent the importer. Legal counsel may support the process, but the actual submission must come from the IOR or the eligible customs broker.
The filer must also be directly associated with the entries through the three-digit prefix of the ACE filer code.
Upload a CSV through ACE
A CAPE Declaration is a CSV file containing entry numbers. No other information is required in the CSV.
Follow these requirements:
- Upload the file through the CAPE tab in the ACE Portal.
- Do not file the declaration through ABI.
- Include no more than 9,999 entries per declaration.
- Submit a new declaration for additional entries.
- Do not include an entry on more than one accepted declaration.
- Check the entry list carefully before submission.
A declaration cannot be amended or cancelled once filed. A simple duplicate or incorrect entry can therefore create avoidable reconciliation work.
Confirm your ACE and ACH details now
Refunds are paid by ACH only. CBP will not issue these CAPE refunds by paper cheque.
Before filing, confirm that:
- Your importer or broker has an active ACE Portal account.
- The correct importer sub-account is available.
- Current refund bank details are recorded in ACE.
- The bank account belongs to the verified party entitled to receive the refund.
- Your Form 5106 and importer information are accurate.
You cannot receive a CAPE refund without the required ACE Portal and ACH information. If the bank details are missing or outdated, CBP may hold the refund until the information is corrected.
Valid refunds are generally issued within 60–90 days after CAPE Declaration acceptance. Once an entry is liquidated or reliquidated, the payment will usually reach the designated account within 3–5 weeks.
Interest is included under 19 U.S.C. § 1505. The final amount may differ from your estimate because CBP recalculates the entry and applies the applicable netting rules.
Track every declaration through ACE Reports
Do not rely on informal email updates. Use ACE Reports or work with the customs broker that filed the declaration.
The key reports include:
- ES-003: Identifies entry lines with IEEPA tariffs.
- ES-022 CAPE Entry Summary: Links CAPE declarations, entries, and refund numbers.
- REV-603 Trade Refund: Shows pending and successful refunds.
- REV-613 ACH Rejected Refunds: Identifies refunds rejected because ACH enrolment is missing or unsuccessful.
- REV-615 CAPE Detail Refund: Provides detailed CAPE refund information at entry level.
A CAPE Declaration can also result in a bill. This may happen if the recalculated duty on the entry is higher than the amount originally paid. CBP can also divert a refund to offset legally fixed, unpaid CBP debts.
Record the declaration number, accepted entries, rejected entries, refund amount, interest, liquidation date, and payment status. This will help you reconcile the refund into your accounting system accurately.
Watch two more October deadlines
15 October 2026: Form 5472 and extended US returns
Calendar-year foreign-owned US LLCs and corporations that timely filed Form 7004 must file their extended Form 1120 and Form 5472 obligations by 15 October 2026.
For a foreign-owned US disregarded entity, Form 5472 is filed with a pro forma Form 1120. The IRS requires Form 5472 to be filed by the due date of the associated return, including extensions.
Form 5472 penalties can reach $25,000 for e
