Tariff Refund Process Update: CBP Provides Status to the Court of International Trade

Recent developments continue to unfold regarding the refund of tariffs that were imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

Last week, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) informed the Court of International Trade (CIT) that it is working to implement a new process within the ACE system to handle potential tariff refunds and estimated that a procedure could be ready within approximately 45 days.

Yesterday, the CIT requested a further update on the progress of that system.

CBP Developing New System: CAPE

In its latest update, CBP reported that it is building new functionality within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system. The new system will be called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE).

According to CBP, the CAPE system will consist of four main components:

• Claim portal within ACE

• Mass processing capability

• Review and liquidation or reliquidation of entries

• Refund issuance

Importers Will Need to File Refund Claims

One key update from CBP is that importers will bear the responsibility of filing refund claims through the new system. This differs from earlier discussions that suggested refunds might be issued automatically.

Importers will be required to submit a declaration through ACE identifying the entries where IEEPA tariffs were paid. The system will then validate those entries, recalculate duties without the tariffs, and process the refund with applicable interest.

To participate in the refund process, importers must have an active ACE account capable of making payments and receiving electronic refunds.

System Development Still in Progress

CBP reported that the development of the CAPE system is still underway. The four components of the system are currently between 40% and 80% complete, and several operational details still need to be finalized.

The judge overseeing the case has ordered CBP to provide another status update on March 19, including additional details about the progress of the system and a potential implementation timeline.

As this process continues to develop, additional guidance is expected regarding how importers will submit claims and when refunds may begin to be issued.