CBP CAPE Refund System: March 12 Progress Report

As of March 12, 2026, CBP's CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) refund system is actively under construction with four key components at varying stages of completion. The Claim Portal is 70% built and will provide the ACE interface where importers, TariffClaim, or their brokers submit IEEPA duty refund declarations. Mass Processing is at 40% and will handle the automated recalculation of duties across millions of entry summaries. The Review and Liquidation component is 80% complete and covers CBP's internal verification and approval workflow.

The Refund Distribution module is 60% built and will handle ACH-based electronic refund payments. Phase 1 of CAPE will exclude certain entry types: entries subject to antidumping or countervailing duties, entries that are suspended or under review, Foreign Trade Zone and warehouse entries, and drawback claims. These complex cases will require separate processing. The filing workflow requires importers to upload a CSV file through a new ACE tab containing entry numbers, line items, original duty amounts, and Chapter 99 HTS headings.

ACH enrollment is mandatory — CBP stopped issuing paper refund checks on February 6, 2026. Importers who are not enrolled in ACH through ACE will have their refunds rejected even if their CAPE Declaration is accepted. TariffClaim automatically assembles the exact data CAPE will require from your ACE connection — entry lines, duty amounts, Chapter 99 flags, and supporting evidence. We are the operating system for IEEPA duty recovery; CAPE is the filing system.

Get your data ready now so you, your broker, or TariffClaim can submit the moment the portal goes live.