CIT Orders vs. CBP Capability
On March 27th, 2026 Judge Eaton, a Senior United States Judge of the US Court of International Trade, issued an order to expand refund eligibility to all entries. These types of entries include:
- Finally liquidated entries (beyond the 314-day liquidation cycle and the 18-day protest window)
- Entries within CBP’s 90-day voluntary reliquidation period.
While these changes are happening, Judge Eaton states that protests should not be required for finally liquidated entries. “Any liquidated entries for which liquidation is final shall be reliquidated without regard to the IEPPA duties.” CBP’s March 30th status report says that Phase 1 of CAPE however cannot process finally liquidated entries despite the judge’s order stating that, “Phase 1 will only handle unliquidated entries and those within the 90-day reliquidation window.” While the courts want all entries refunded, CBP’s system can only handle some of them right now.
What Phase 1 will Process
There is a small list of what Phase 1 will initially allow to process through. The following are what will be allowed to go through:
- Enrties that are unliquidated or within the 90-day reliquidation period
- Entries with the following statuses: “Suspended,” “Extended,” or “Under Review”
- Warehouse and Warehouse Withdrawal entries
- AD/CVD entries, but refunds only occur upon liquidation, not immediately
What Phase 1 will Not Process
There is an extensive list of what Phase 1 will permanently forbid from being processed. The following are what will be prohibited from going through:
- Finally Liquidated Entries
- Entries flagged for: Reconciliation, Drawback, Open Protests
- Entries Not filed in ACE or without the ACE liquidation Status
- AD/CVD entries with pending Commerce liquidation instructions
CAPE Phase 1 Timing and the Future Phases
CBP will take up to an estimated 45 days after accepting CAPE declaration to review and liquidate entries unless compliance concerns arise. The CAPE liquidations are scheduled to occur Monday-Thursday. In the future, it’s planned for CAPE to have the ability to finally process liquidated entries and non-ABI entries with no entry summary lines. Enhanced compliance tools and tools to manage offsets when non-IEPPA bills exist re also to be expected.
How CAPE will Work
CAPE has a 4-component system that will guide you through the process of getting your refund. The process is as follows:
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Claims Portal
- Importers/Brokers will upload CSV listing entries. ACE will then validate the formatting, Filer Identity, and Entry existence. Invalid entries are rejected, and valid ones move forward.
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Mass Processing
- The system will remove the IEEPA tariff lines. Ace recalculates duties as if IEEPA duties were never applied.
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Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation
- Entries scheduled for liquidation/reliquidation after acceptance. CBP will then manually review them and Interest is automatically calculated.
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Refund
- Refunds will be issued electronically via ACE collections. They will also be grouped by liquidation date and importer/Form 4811 designee.
Considerations for Importers
CAPE is expected to be ready around April 20th, 2026, but testing may delay rollout. Entries will continue to liquidate on the 314th day and finality occurs on the 494th day. If CAPE is not ready, however, and an entry is approaching finality, importers should file a protest to preserve refund rights. If an entry is already final or nearing finality, Importers may need to consider filing a CIT summons and complaint.
Guidance for Importers
It’s important for importers to access ACE Portal and identify all entries with IEPPA duties. Be sure to track the entry date, liquidation date, Chapter 9903 lines, and duties paid as this determines whether CAPE, protest, or litigation are required. It is important to ensure that the entries are compliant as CBP will spot-check and may offset refunds.
The Main Takeaway
Protests and refunds suits remain important until CAPE can handle all entry types. Importers currently face a timing dilemma to see what to do next. We can wait for CAPE to help but waiting too long risks missing protest deadlines. While Eaton’s order is favorable, appeals are possible. Legal protection is still recommended.
