The Supreme Court’s February 2026 ruling means U.S. importers who paid IEEPA-based tariffs can now file for a refund through the CAPE tool in the ACE portal. The refund window opened April 20, 2026. We handle the filing (inventory to payout) for companies that don’t have a full-time trade compliance team.
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What actually happened
On February 20, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not give the President the authority to impose tariffs. IEEPA lets the President “regulate” importation during a declared national emergency, but regulating is not the same as taxing. That distinction is what unlocked the refund.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection has collected more than $170 billion in IEEPA tariffs since 2025. Every dollar of that is now potentially refundable to the importer of record, if the claim is filed correctly and on time.
How the refund actually works
CBP built a dedicated mechanism for this. It’s called CAPE, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries tool, and it lives inside the ACE Secure Data Portal. Filing through CAPE opened for IEEPA refunds on April 20, 2026.
The process sounds simple. It isn’t. Here’s why it trips importers up:
The six steps to a successful IEEPA refund claim
- Inventory every IEEPA-affected entry. Pull every entry summary from ACE where IEEPA duty was assessed. Segment by HTS code, entry date, and port.
- Check the liquidation status of each entry. This is the step that decides your filing vehicle (PSC, protest, or administrative refund) and the deadline.
- Preserve your rights before deadlines close. For unliquidated entries, a Post Summary Correction (PSC) must usually be filed within 300 days of entry and before liquidation. For liquidated entries, a protest must be filed within 180 days of the liquidation date. Missing either window typically ends the refund right.
- Submit the refund claim through CAPE. CAPE accepts structured refund requests with supporting documentation. Mistakes here cause rejections that eat days or weeks from tight timelines.
- Coordinate across trade, tax, finance, and legal. Refunds interact with transfer pricing, contractual tariff pass-through provisions (who actually “owned” the tariff cost), and prior-year tax treatment. Skipping this step leads to surprises later.
- Track the refund to payout. CBP processes refunds in waves. Missing correspondence from CBP can delay or jeopardize a claim.
What gets importers into trouble
The mistakes we see most often from importers trying to DIY:
- Assuming the customs broker will handle it. Brokers are transaction-focused. Most are not set up for multi-entry refund strategy and preservation of rights across portfolios.
- Missing the 180-day protest window on liquidated entries. Liquidation is automatic 314 days after entry unless extended. The clock is already running on many 2025 entries.
- Not tracking contractual tariff pass-through clauses. If a customer reimbursed you for IEEPA tariffs, the refund may contractually belong to them, not you.
- Filing without reconciling the underlying classification. If CBP re-examines the entry and the HTS code was wrong, the refund can turn into an assessment.
What we do
We handle IEEPA refund filings for importers whose annual duty spend makes a full-time trade compliance team uneconomic, but whose exposure is too material to ignore.
Our engagement covers the full filing lifecycle:
- Duty exposure inventory across all affected entries
- Liquidation-status mapping with deadline tracking
- PSC and protest preservation where needed to keep the refund right alive
- CAPE submission through the ACE portal, with supporting documentation
- Coordination with your customs broker, tax team, and finance
- Refund tracking through to payout
No long-term contracts. Typical engagements run from inventory through filing in 4–8 weeks depending on volume.
Frequently asked questions
What did the Supreme Court rule about IEEPA tariffs?
On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court ruled 6–3 that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs absent clear congressional authorization. The Court found that IEEPA’s power to “regulate” importation is not the same as authority to impose duties, opening the door to refund claims.
How much in IEEPA tariffs could be refunded?
CBP has collected more than $170 billion in IEEPA tariffs. The total refund opportunity across importers is significant, though individual recovery depends on entry dates, liquidation status, and whether PSCs or protests were filed in time.
How do I file an IEEPA tariff refund?
Refund requests go through the CAPE tool inside the ACE Secure Data Portal. CAPE opened for IEEPA claims on April 20, 2026. The filing must be preceded by a duty inventory, a liquidation-status map, and, where applicable, a PSC or protest to preserve rights.
What’s the deadline to file?
It depends on the entry. Unliquidated entries typically require a PSC within 300 days of entry and before liquidation. Liquidated entries require a protest within 180 days of liquidation. Missing those windows usually extinguishes the refund right.
Do small businesses qualify?
Yes. Any U.S. importer of record that paid IEEPA tariffs is eligible to file, regardless of size. Small and mid-size importers often have the most at stake relative to revenue, which is why we focus on this segment.
Can I file this myself?
Technically yes: CAPE accepts direct importer filings. In practice most importers benefit from professional support because of the need to reconcile entries across brokers, preserve rights across liquidation windows, and coordinate with tax and legal.
How long will the refund take?
CBP has not published processing timelines. Based on past large-scale refund programs (Section 301 exclusions, Softwood Lumber), expect several months between filing and payout, with complex cases running longer.
What happens if CBP denies my claim?
A denied protest can be litigated in the U.S. Court of International Trade. A denied PSC may be converted to a protest depending on timing. We preserve appeal rights as part of every filing strategy.
Ready to start?
The refund window is open. The filing deadlines are moving. The sooner we see your entries, the more we can recover.
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