TRADE ALERT – IMPORTS
HEADLINE	CBP Confirms Launch of Phase 3 of IEEPA Refund Process
DATE	September 17, 2026
AGENCY	U.S. Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”)
EFFECTIVE DATE	October 6, 2026
SUMMARY	On September 15, CBP announced (via a declaration to the Court of International Trade (“CIT”)) that Phase 3 of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (“CAPE”) system will deploy on October 6, 2026.
BACKGROUND	On February 20, 2026, the President revoked the Executive Orders that directed the imposition of the IEEPA tariffs. On March 4, 2026, the CIT issued an order (amended March 5, 2026) directing CBP to refund all IEEPA duties. The CIT stayed this order to allow CBP to develop the CAPE system.  Since April 20, 2026, CBP has been receiving and processing refund claims that have been submitted through Phase 1 of the CAPE system for unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation. On June 29, 2026, CBP deployed additional functionality in Phase 2 to permit acceptance of entries flagged for reconciliation with no reconciliation entry on file.   Phase 3 was previously scheduled to go live on August 20, but CBP temporarily delayed deployment on August 25, 2026.
DETAILS	Phase 3 of CAPE will allow importers of record with an IEEPA tariff refund case pending before the CIT to request IEEPA tariff refunds for entries liquidated for more than 80 days. To participate, importers must submit a valid importer of record number to CBP. Although Phase 3 is currently set to launch on October 6, the exact filing timeline depends on when the importer of record number was submitted and accepted by CBP. Importers whose importer of record number was submitted and accepted by July 30, 2026, should be able to participate in Phase 3 on October 6. Those submitted and accepted after July 30 should be able to file on a rolling basis. Whether Phase 3 will remain limited to importers of record with a case pending before the CIT is subject to ongoing litigation. The government has stated its intention to appeal the order issued by the court requiring them to refund all duties, stating that the CIT is not authorized to issue such a universal injunction (see Trade Alert 78 of June 1, 2026). We additionally reiterate the importance of ensuring that you have an active account on CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (“ACE”) and that you are registered for ACH Refund processing. Continue to watch this space for further developments and contact us with any questions about the impact on your business.
BASIS	N/A
CITE	CBP FAQ on IEEPA recoveries   CBP IEEPA Duty Refunds

Recent Trade and Compliance Actions Homepage