Updated September 27, 2026: This post was rewritten. The original, published in December 2025, asked what would happen if the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs. The Court did so on February 20, 2026, and CBP began taking refund claims on April 20, 2026. This version explains who gets the refund and how to claim it.
In December 2025 the question was hypothetical. It no longer is. The Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not allow the President to impose tariffs, and CBP is now paying IEEPA duties back with interest. The practical questions have not changed much, though: who is entitled to the money, and what can make a claim fail.
What happened
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court decided Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, together with Trump v. V.O.S. Selections. Its holding: "IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs." The same day, an executive order ended the IEEPA tariff actions. CBP stopped collecting IEEPA duties on goods entered from 12:00 a.m. ET on February 24, 2026. Duties under Section 232 and Section 301 were not affected.
On April 20, 2026, CBP launched CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) in the ACE Portal to take IEEPA refund requests. CBP is rolling it out in phases, so some entry types are not accepted yet.
Who gets the refund
The importer of record
CBP pays IEEPA refunds to the importer of record (IOR), or to a party the IOR has designated on CBP Form 4811 or in its ACE Portal account. It does not pay buyers who were charged more because of a tariff, and it does not pay consumers. If a supplier, a trading company or another group company was the IOR on your entries, CBP pays them, not you, even if you carried the cost.
Who can file
CBP's rule: "Only the IOR or the licensed customs broker who filed the entries can file a CAPE Declaration." A broker can file only for entries it filed. If your entries were filed by more than one broker, each files for its own entries, or you file all of them yourself as IOR.
Check who you were
Many importers learn only now that they were not the IOR on some shipments. Goods bought on delivered duty paid (DDP) terms are the common case. Ask your customs broker for a list of your IEEPA entries showing the IOR number on each.
How the claim works
- Set up the ACE Portal. The IOR needs an ACE Portal account with an Importer sub-account.
- Register refund bank details. CBP pays IEEPA refunds by ACH only and holds the refund until refund bank details are on file.
- List the entries. The ACE ES-003 report, run with the IEEPA tariff indicator, lists entry lines with IEEPA duties. Check each entry's liquidation status.
- Fix other errors first. File any post-summary correction for a non-IEEPA issue before the entry goes on a declaration. A filed declaration cannot be amended or canceled.
- File the CAPE Declaration. It is a CSV of entry numbers uploaded in the ACE Portal. CBP does not allow an IEEPA refund to be requested by post-summary correction.
- Wait and track. CBP says valid refunds are generally issued within 60 to 90 days after the declaration is accepted, with interest under 19 U.S.C. 1505. CBP does not email status updates; use the ACE reports or ask your broker.
Deadlines
The 80-day window
CAPE accepts entries that are unliquidated or were liquidated no more than 80 days ago. Past that point it treats the entry as final and rejects it. For each entry, the working deadline is 80 days after its liquidation date.
Why liquidation dates matter
CBP's standard liquidation cycle is 314 days from the date of entry. IEEPA duties were collected from early 2025 to February 2026, so entries from that period are liquidating now, one by one. An entry you ignore today can pass its 80-day mark without notice.
Finally liquidated entries
Whether entries past the window will be refunded is still in the courts. The government has appealed the Court of International Trade's refund orders to the Federal Circuit, and as of September 25, 2026 it had not ruled on the merits. Take these entries to trade counsel.
Pitfalls to avoid
Assuming a protest will do it
In December 2025, protests and post-summary corrections were the expected routes. That changed. CAPE does not accept entries covered by an open protest, and a post-summary correction cannot request an IEEPA refund.
Expecting the full duty back
CBP recalculates each entry without the IEEPA lines and nets any other over- or underpayment on it. It can also apply a refund to debts the importer owes the United States.
Missing data from your broker
You need entry numbers, liquidation dates and the IOR on each entry. Get the list early, especially if several brokers filed for you.
Forgetting your contracts
If you passed tariff costs to customers through a surcharge, check whether your contracts say anything about sharing refunds. CBP pays the IOR; what you owe others is a commercial question.
Paying a fee
CBP charges no fee to process a refund and warns of scams asking for fees or bank details. CAPE Declarations are filed only in the ACE Portal.
Section 122 is a separate question
The 10% Section 122 surcharge that applied from February 24 to July 24, 2026 is not part of CAPE. The Court of International Trade held it unlawful on May 7, 2026 but ordered relief only for three plaintiffs, and the Federal Circuit stayed that judgment on June 11. As of September 25, 2026, CBP had published no Section 122 refund process. The Section 122 refund calculator totals what those entries paid.
Where to start
Our tariff refund guide covers eligibility, every CAPE step and the entry types not yet accepted. The IEEPA refund estimate reads an uploaded Form 7501 and totals the IEEPA duty on it. Airlift USA is an NVOCC and freight forwarder, not a licensed customs broker. We do not file CAPE Declarations, and we do not receive refunds; the filing is made by you as IOR or by your licensed customs broker.
This post is general information, not legal advice.
Need help organizing your entries or finding a licensed customs broker? Talk to an Airlift expert.
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