The first phase of a new refund portal for duties collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act is now live, and initial reports indicate a smooth rollout.
US Customs and Border Protection launched the system, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, at 8 a.m. on April 20. Thousands of importers went online to submit claims on the portal's first day.
The refund process was established after the Supreme Court's decision that determined President Donald Trump's country-specific tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) exceeded presidential authority.
The US collected $142 billion in duties under the IEEPA tariffs in 2025, according to an analysis of Customs and Border Patrol data by the Yale University Budget Lab. Most metals and energy commodities were exempt from the IEEPA tariffs, though importers of pig iron and iron ore can expect refunds.
The goal of the new system is to streamline the submission and processing of refund requests for duties collected under IEEPA. CAPE consolidates refunds with interest rather than processing them entry by entry. The first phase is open to certain unliquidated, or not finalized, entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation.
Customs "has issued guidance to the trade community to help them prepare to use the new CAPE tool," an agency spokesperson told Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, in a statement.
Filers experienced some delays and glitches when the system went live, but trade attorneys told Platts that the portal has operated smoothly overall.
Some lag time was to be expected given the volume of filers trying to simultaneously submit declarations as soon as the system went live, Justin Angotti, an associate in the global regulatory investigations and enforcement group at law firm Reed Smith, told Platts.
Ashley Akers, a litigation attorney who co-leads the Customs and Trade Fraud Enforcement Defense Team at law firm Holland & Knight, said her clients had positive feedback about the tool's functionality as well as the resources Customs provided to help importers navigate the system.
"I would say it's going so far as well as we could have anticipated," she said.
However, some questions remain as to how and when Customs will include other types of entries in future phases of the system.
"That's really the outstanding concern for importers because everyone wants full relief, not just partial relief," Akers said.
Customs expects refunds to be issued within 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is filed and accepted, the agency said in an April 13 bulletin. This includes 45 days for review plus time for Treasury to process the refund.
The agency indicated in March that it could not comply with a previous legal order requiring immediate refunds because it lacked an adequate process for collecting duties, as well as technology and staffing limitations.
Customs estimated it would need to refund about $166 billion paid under the country-specific tariffs, according to a March 6 court filing. Over 56,000 importers completed forms to receive electronic refunds for IEEPA entries as of April 9.
