How to request IEEPA tariff refunds

CBP launched the first phase of IEEPA refunds on April 20, 2026. Two months after the Supreme Court invalidated the IEEPA tariffs, CBP activated the first phase of IEEPA refunds. Phase one is limited to certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation.

Importers that prepared early should be well positioned to obtain potential IEEPA tariff refunds. To support potential refund claims, importers should identify all entries subject to IEEPA tariffs, confirm liquidation status, gather entry summaries and proof of payment, and monitor filing deadlines. 

Accurate documentation and automation can help businesses prepare for potential refunds. Importers may need detailed entry summaries and proof of IEEPA duties paid. Companies that have automated tariff classification, duty calculation, and transaction recordkeeping are better positioned to identify impacted entries, quantify refund amounts, and support refund claims with historical data.

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President Donald J. Trump invoked IEEPA to impose “fentanyl tariffs” on Canada, Mexico, and China, and “reciprocal tariffs” on most other countries. IEEPA was also the basis for eliminating the de minimis exemption for Chinese goods.

In April 2025, a group of U.S. importers and states separately filed lawsuits arguing that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose broad, permanent tariffs. Most lower courts agreed. The administration maintained that IEEPA does grant the president power to impose tariffs and that its use of IEEPA is merited.

The Supreme Court consolidated the two cases and heard oral arguments on November 5, 2025. On February 20, 2026, it held that IEEPA does not authorize the president to impose tariffs. The majority opinion did not address refunds, but in a dissenting opinion, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote that the refund process “is likely to be a mess.”

On March 4, 2026, Judge Richard K. Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) directed CBP to refund the IEEPA tariffs. 

Refunding IEEPA duties will be an enormous undertaking. As of March 4, 2026, more than 330,000 importers had made more than 53 million entries subject to IEEPA tariffs, and CBP had collected approximately $166 billion in IEEPA duties and estimated IEEPA duties.

Plenty more IEEPA tariff revenue has yet to be liquidated (i.e., finalized and transferred to the U.S. Treasury). 

Under the formal entry process required for goods valued greater than $2,500, the importer posts a bond with CBP and pays estimated duties upon entry. Within one year (and typically 314 days) of entry, CBP determines the final amount of duties during the liquidation process and the importer must pay it.

Goods with a value of less than $2,500 go through an informal entry process. These entries are generally considered to be liquidated upon payment of estimated duties. No additional duties are due.

Approximately 19.8 million imports had gone through the informal entry process as of December 10, 2025. About 20.1 million entries remained unliquidated as of March 4, 2026, according to CBP. Whether imported goods are liquidated or unliquidated matters because the tariff refund process for liquidated entries is different from the refund process for unliquidated entries.

The CIT concluded that the government “has taken the ‘unequivocal position’ that ‘liquidation will not affect the availability of refunds after a final decision’” and would be stopped from assuming a contrary position in the future. Moreover, the CIT itself “has the authority to order reliquidation in cases involving constitutional challenges to duties.”

Typically, for qualifying unliquidated entries, importers can file a Post-Summary Correction (PSC) with CBP. This is the way to electronically correct entry summary data presented to and accepted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection through CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Importers can also officially request an extension of the liquidation period from CBP.

For liquidated entries, there are ordinarily two ways for importers to request a refund:

• File a formal protest with CBP.
• Sue the United States in the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT).

File a formal protest. Importers typically need to file a formal protest with CBP to obtain a tariff refund within 180 days after the date of liquidation. It may also be possible to file a formal protest to reclaim tariffs paid the day a decision is made. If CBP allows the protest, it generally has up to two years to review the protest unless an accelerated disposition is requested.

Sue the government. Under the statute of limitations, lawsuits must be filed within 180 days after the denial of a protest, or within two years “after the cause of action first accrues.” This could be the date the tariffs were paid.

CBP collected approximately $166 billion in IEEPA duties and estimated duty deposits. Approximately 20.1 million entries remained unliquidated as of March 4, 2026, the day the CIT directed CBP to initiate the refund process. 

On March 6, 2026, CBP Commissioner Brandon Lord said CBP would need to develop and implement new ACE functionality to “streamline and consolidate refunds and interest payments on an importer basis, rather than issuing 53,173,939 separate entry-specific refunds with multiple payments going to the same importer.” He expected the new functionality to be ready in mid-April.

Phase one of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) for IEEPA refunds was activated on April 20, 2026. To request refunds of IEEPA duties:

• Importers of record and authorized customs brokers must have an established ACE Secure Data Portal account (ACE Portal account).

• Recipients must use the ACE Portal account to provide CBP with bank account information.

• Importers of record and authorized customs brokers must submit CAPE Declarations in the ACE Portal.

CBP does not charge any fees for processing tariff refunds. For additional details, visit the CBP website.

As of 7 a.m. ET on May 11, 2026, 126,237 IEEPA refund claims had been submitted through the CAPE system, and 86,874 claims had passed the initial system check.

Registered importers of record or customs brokers must request the IEEPA refunds by filing a CAPE Declaration. The importer of record is the party responsible for making sure imported goods comply with all customs and legal requirements.

The owner of the goods is usually the importer of record, but the owner may designate another individual or customs broker to be the importer of record on their behalf, provided they’re eligible to be an importer.

Importers eligible for a refund may need documentation proving they paid IEEPA duties. Entry summaries detailing whether and how much an importer has paid in IEEPA duties should be obtainable from CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE).

To request a refund, importers of record and customs brokers should file a CAPE Declaration listing the entries for which  IEEPA duty refunds are requested. See CBP for more details.

Having incomplete or inaccurate documentation could lead to a delay or denial of refunds.

Businesses that have automated cross-border tax compliance should be in a strong position to request IEEPA tariff refunds.

When duty calculations, tariff code classifications, and import tax amounts are consistently captured and stored, companies have a clear audit trail of what was paid, when, and why. Avalara international trade compliance solutions streamline tariff code classification and duty calculation as well as create detailed transaction records that support accurate reporting and documentation.

Businesses using Avalara will likely be better equipped to identify impacted entries, quantify duties paid, and assemble the documentation needed to support refund claims.

“Avalara cross-border trade content tools empower global trade teams with access to comprehensive historical duty rate data, enabling detailed lookbacks to understand how rates have changed over time,” explains Shane Bogdan, Director of Cross-Border Sales at Avalara. “This visibility helps businesses assess the impact of tariff shifts and determine eligibility for duty drawback or refund opportunities. By combining accurate classification with historical rate transparency, organizations can strengthen compliance, improve audit readiness, and proactively prepare refund filings with confidence.”

Cross-border trade compliance is challenging in the best of times. Since February 2025, cross-border compliance has been downright chaotic.

According to a recent survey of 1,500 senior business decision-makers within businesses that trade and/or sell goods cross-border across the U.S., U.K., India, and Australia, 83% of respondents find cross-border operations to be more complex than a year ago, and 52% say tariffs and duties create the greatest operational burden for their companies.

Though the Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs, cross-border trade compliance will probably remain chaotic for the foreseeable future. Learn how Avalara can help uncomplicate cross-border trade and tariff compliance.