Executive Summary
The court order covers entries subject to the specified IEEPA duties that remain unliquidated, plus liquidated entries for which liquidation is not final.
The order does not resolve duty-free de minimis treatment, and CBP says other duties, taxes and fees remain due and will be retained or collected as usual.
An importer of record or its designated licensed customs broker can file through ACE, but the filer must have an active, up-to-date ACE Portal account and supporting profile.
CBP describes electronic ACH refunds and says it will hold an IEEPA refund if the filer has no ACH account on file; the notice gives no refund-start date.
IEEPA tariff refunds cover unliquidated entries and liquidated entries that are not finally liquidated, subject to the court order’s scope. In its October 5 Federal Register notice on court-ordered IEEPA refunds, U.S. Customs and Border Protection describes the CAPE refund process, filing requirements and electronic payments.
Which Entries Qualify for IEEPA Tariff Refunds?
The court order reaches entries subject to the IEEPA duties at issue that are unliquidated, and entries that are liquidated but not finally liquidated. The March 20, 2026, Court of International Trade order, as described in CBP’s notice, applies to entries subject to IEEPA duties imposed by the Executive Orders considered by the Supreme Court in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump.
The Supreme Court ruled on February 20, 2026, that the President’s IEEPA tariffs collected by CBP were unlawful. The notice says CBP collected those duties under the relevant Executive Orders and associated Harmonized Tariff Schedule provisions beginning February 3, 2025. It reports that IEEPA tariffs were assessed from February 3, 2025, through February 24, 2026. Those dates describe the collection period in the notice; the court order’s entry-status test still matters.
The order directs CBP to liquidate qualifying unliquidated entries without the IEEPA duties and to reliquidate qualifying entries whose liquidation is not final. A liquidated entry that is final is not included in the order’s stated refund scope. Review each entry’s liquidation status rather than treating every entry with an IEEPA charge as eligible.
Which Charges Does CBP Keep on IEEPA Entries?
The IEEPA refund does not remove other amounts owed on an entry. CBP says it will identify eligible IEEPA duty lines while ensuring that antidumping and countervailing duties, Section 232 tariffs, taxes and fees owed to the U.S. government are retained and collected as usual.
The March 20 order also says it does not address issues concerning duty-free de minimis treatment under 19 U.S.C. 1321 that are before the court in Axle of Dearborn, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. Do not treat this refund order as deciding whether a shipment qualifies for de minimis treatment. The notice describes that question as outside the order’s reach.
Who Can File and How Are IEEPA Refunds Paid?
An importer of record can file a CAPE Declaration through the ACE Portal, or use a licensed customs broker to submit it on the importer’s behalf. The importer or broker must have an active, up-to-date ACE Portal account and supporting profile. A broker filing for an importer must be designated as the “notify party” in the appropriate ACE account, and only ACE account holders can file through CAPE.
CBP says refunds are paid electronically through the Automated Clearinghouse, not by paper check, and are deposited into the importer’s account or a designated party’s account on file. The notice says CBP is holding refunds for filers without an ACH account in ACE and will do the same for IEEPA refunds. It also points to an existing waiver process for an importer that believes a Treasury-check waiver criterion applies, rather than describing a separate IEEPA check procedure.
This guide does not revisit CSV format, the 9,999-entry cap or rejection handling, which are covered in the earlier CAPE filing guide.
What Are the IEEPA Refund Dates and Deadlines?
The dates below mark the court and notice steps; the notice does not set a date when refunds must begin.
- February 3, 2025: Start of the IEEPA duty collection period identified in CBP’s notice.
- February 20, 2026: The Supreme Court ruled the IEEPA tariffs unlawful, as recounted by CBP.
- February 24, 2026: End of the tariff assessment period stated in the notice.
- March 4, 2026: The Court of International Trade issued its initial order in Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States.
- March 20, 2026: The court clarified the order’s scope and continued the suspension of immediate compliance.
- April 7, 2026: The court issued a substantively identical order in Euro-Notions Florida, Inc. v. United States, which became the test case.
- October 5, 2026: CBP published this information-collection notice.
- November 4, 2026: Deadline for comments on the proposed information collection, set by the notice. This is not a refund filing deadline.
What Should Importers Check Before Filing for Refunds?
Identify potentially covered entries. Pull entries with IEEPA duties and check whether each remains unliquidated or has been liquidated but is not final. Confirm that the duties were imposed under the Executive Orders covered by the court order described in CBP’s notice.
Separate refundable and retained amounts. Reconcile IEEPA duty lines separately from antidumping and countervailing duties, Section 232 tariffs, taxes and fees. Do not count those other charges as part of an IEEPA refund.
Confirm the filer and account. Decide whether the importer or its licensed broker will submit the CAPE Declaration. Verify the ACE Portal account and supporting profile are active and up to date. If a broker files, confirm it is the notify party in the appropriate ACE account.
Check ACH details. Confirm the account for electronic payment is on file in ACE. CBP says it holds refunds where there is no ACH account on file.
When Will CBP Issue IEEPA Tariff Refunds?
The notice does not provide a date for CAPE refunds to start or a deadline for CBP to finish processing them. It says the Court of International Trade has set no timeframe, although the court has signaled that refunds should issue as quickly as possible because interest accrues.
The order remains suspended to the extent it requires immediate compliance, according to CBP’s account of the proceedings. The court is monitoring CBP’s progress and can lift that suspension at any time. The notice leaves unresolved when the court will act, how quickly particular declarations will be processed, and when an individual importer should expect payment.
Sources
- Agency Information Collection Activities; Court-Ordered Refunds Under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act Worksheet, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Federal Register
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