The US government is set to roll out an online portal called Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), that will allow businesses to apply for refunds on tariffs that were deemed illegal by the Supreme Court of the United States recently.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), in a release, mentioned that CAPE will be launched in phases – with the first phase rolling out on Monday, 20 April.
CAPE is set to launch days after the US Supreme Court – in February this year – ruled that , potentially leaving the government Since then, thousands of cases have been filed with the Court of International Trade seeking refunds, reported CBS News.
Who is eligible for a tariff refund?
Following people would be eligible for a tariff refund:
—Businesses that paid IEEPA tariffs,
— customs brokers who paid on behalf of importers, can apply.
Consumers, who paid higher costs on an imported product are not eligible to submit claims for a tariff refund.
One needs to opt-in for refunds
The refunds won’t be issued automatically. Companies will need to apply through the portal and wait for their claims to be reviewed and approved.
CBP mentioned that in order for one to get a refund – bank account information needs to be provided using an ACE Portal account. In addition, the importer or broker who files the CAPE Declaration must have an ACE Portal account.
“You have to jump through hoops, even though customs should have taken it upon themselves to do automatic refunds. They have all the information — they know who paid IEEPA duties and how to get in touch with people,” CBS News quoted attorney Lizbeth Levinson, co-chair of the international trade practice group at Fox Rothschild as saying.
When would refunds be processed?
CBP said that refunds will generally be issued within 60 – 90 days following acceptance of the CAPE Declaration, unless a compliance concern requires further CBP review.
The Board also added that certain scenarios, such as entries that are extended, suspended or under review, and warehouse entries, will maintain their liquidation status with validated refunds issued at liquidation.
How would refunds be paid?
All refunds are required to be paid electronically via Automated Clearing House (ACH) (Federal Register Document 2025-24171).
In its release – the CBP said that – to receive a refund, CBP must have one’s bank information on file. If bank information designated for refunds is not on file with CBP, the refund will not be paid until that information is provided through the ACE Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal).
