Companies that have paid import duties under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) may soon be able to recover significant amounts without resorting to litigation. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has announced new details on a dedicated claims portal, expected to be operational by mid-April, which will allow importers to request refunds.
To support this process, CBP is developing a new feature within its digital platform, the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), the system is designed to reassess import declarations and facilitate the reimbursement of duties. The process will follow four main steps: submission of claims via the portal, automatic recalculation of duties, CBP review and reassessment where necessary, and electronic payment of refunds.
To file a claim, importers or their customs brokers will need to upload a CSV file containing the relevant declarations. Once validated, the system will remove the applicable IEEPA tariff codes and recalculate the duties that would have been due in their absence. This recalculated amount will form the basis for the refund.
However, the refund mechanism may create administrative challenges. CBP plans to aggregate payments by importer and by determination date, meaning that refunded amounts may not be directly traceable to individual shipments or products. Companies may therefore need to establish internal methods to allocate these amounts, particularly in relation to product margins, accounting for duties, or cost structures.
The system is still under development and will be rolled out in phases. According to a progress update submitted by CBP to the U.S. Court of International Trade on 12 March 2026, the claims portal is approximately 70% complete. Other components, including bulk recalculation, assessment, and refund processing, are at varying stages of development. Initial implementation is expected to prioritise standard declarations, providing early insights into how the system will function in practice.
This initiative represents a significant step towards streamlining duty recovery and improving cash flow for importers affected by IEEPA tariffs.