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IEEPA Tariff Refund · CAPE Filing Service

IEEPA tariff refund filing — through the official CAPE portal.

Q: What is the IEEPA tariff refund portal called?

CBP's tariff refund portal is called CAPE — Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. It lives inside the ACE Secure Data Portal. CAPE is the only mechanism to recover IEEPA duties.

On Feb. 20, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled IEEPA tariffs unlawful. U.S. Customs and Border Protection now owes American importers up to $166 billion in tariff refunds, recoverable only through the CBP CAPE tariff refund portal. Cardinal Customs files every step of your CAPE Declaration on a pure contingency basis — no upfront fees.

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$166B+Total IEEPA refundable to U.S. importers

60–90 daysRefund timeline after CAPE acceptance

0%Upfront cost — contingency-based

— What CAPE Is

The official IEEPA tariff refund portal is called CAPE.

CAPE — Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries — is the electronic refund mechanism CBP launched on April 20, 2026 in response to the Court of International Trade's order following Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump. The submission itself is a CSV upload of entry numbers through the CAPE tab inside the ACE Secure Data Portal.

The execution, however, is unforgiving. Successful claims depend entirely on correct entry identification, valid ACH refund enrollment, eligible liquidation status, and clean documentation. Once a CAPE Declaration is accepted, it cannot be amended — missed entries must wait for a fresh declaration.

Cardinal Customs files CAPE Declarations every day. We monitor every entry through liquidation, respond to CBP information requests, and chase down rejections. Your operations team contributes about two hours total.

$35.5B

IEEPA refunds approved by CBP as of mid-May 2026, including statutory interest.

87,000+

Refund requests accepted by CBP, covering 15M+ duty payments.

53M

Total IEEPA entries across ~330,000 importers nationwide.

9,999

Maximum entries per CAPE Declaration. Split larger portfolios.

Estimate My Refund

— How We Run It

From discovery to refund in under 30 days.

— Step 01

Discovery Call

30-minute call to understand your import volume, suppliers, and which tariff codes hit your entries. Honest read on refund potential, before any commitment.

— Step 02

Entry & ACE Audit

We pull the ES-003 source-of-truth report, verify ACH enrollment, and produce a written Exposure Memo with refund estimates.

— Step 03

CAPE Declaration Filing

We submit your CAPE CSV through the ACE Portal, batch entries strategically, and respond to all CBP information requests.

— Step 04

You Get Paid

CBP issues consolidated ACH refunds 60–90 days post-acceptance, with statutory interest auto-calculated. Our fee comes out of recovery.

— Why DIY Filings Get Rejected

The rejection patterns that delay refunds by months.

If you have 10 entries or fewer and a calm afternoon, DIY is feasible. If you have hundreds across multiple brokers, ports, and liquidation dates — the rejection patterns below eat weeks of staff time and push entries past the 80-day window.

ACH bank info missing, stale, or pointing at a closed account
Duplicate entries within the same CSV (entire entry rejected, not just the row)
Entries already submitted on a prior accepted declaration
Filer is neither the IOR nor the broker who filed the original entry
Entry contains no IEEPA Chapter 99 dutiable code
Entry liquidated more than 80 days ago (Phase 2 territory)
Excluded entry types: Type 08, 09, 23, 47, AD/CVD pending liquidation
CSV header modified, extra columns, or wrong file format
Form 4811 notify-party setup never completed for refund redirection
Importer sub-account access expired or assigned to wrong user

CAPE Declarations cannot be amended

Once accepted, a declaration is final. Entries you missed must go on a brand-new declaration. We batch strategically so nothing slips through — and so duplicate-rejection patterns never trigger.

Common questions about IEEPA tariff refunds.

Who qualifies for an IEEPA tariff refund?

U.S. Importers of Record who paid IEEPA-based duties between April 5, 2025 and February 24, 2026 are eligible. CAPE Phase 1 covers unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation. Older entries are handled through Phase 2 or 19 USC §1514 protests.

What is the IEEPA tariff refund portal called?

CBP's official IEEPA tariff refund portal is called CAPE — Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. It lives inside the ACE Secure Data Portal. CAPE is the only mechanism to recover IEEPA duties.

How long does an IEEPA refund take through the CAPE portal?

CBP issues valid refunds within 60 to 90 days of CAPE Declaration acceptance. Refunds are paid via ACH to the IOR's enrolled bank account and include statutory interest under 19 CFR §24.36 — 7% for individuals, 6% for corporations — calculated from the original duty payment date.

Can my customs broker file CAPE for free?

Some brokers will file Phase 1 CAPE Declarations for entries they originally cleared. But brokers rarely audit for Section 301 exclusions, classification errors, drawback, or FTA opportunities. Cardinal Customs handles every refund pathway end-to-end and owns the outcome through final liquidation.

Find out what you’re owed.

Book a free 30-minute call with Cardinal Customs. We’ll review your import footprint, estimate your IEEPA refund window, and flag other duty recovery opportunities. No commitment, no upfront fees.

Schedule a Free Call

— Or call us directly

(347) 670-3777

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