U.S. Customs and Border Protection is preparing to launch its dedicated refund system for tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, with the platform scheduled to go live on 20 April at 8 a.m. EDT.
The latest timing was confirmed in a court filing submitted on Tuesday. While CBP had previously indicated that the launch would take place on 20 April, the filing now clarifies the exact time at which importers will be able to begin submitting entries into the system.
Ahead of the rollout, CBP said it would carry out intensive testing on the four components of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, system. The agency also said primary development work is now complete.
According to information published on the CBP website, once an entry is submitted and accepted, refunds are expected to be issued within roughly 60 to 90 days.
All refunds will be made electronically under a policy introduced in February. In Tuesday’s filing, CBP said around 82% of entries eligible for IEEPA refunds are already registered for electronic payment. On that basis, the agency expects to distribute approximately $127bn in refunds tied to tariffs struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in February.
Following the court’s decision, the Court of International Trade ordered CBP to issue refunds to shippers who had paid IEEPA tariffs on imports that had not yet been finalised through liquidation. The court later expanded that order to include entries that had already been finally liquidated.
However, CBP said it will not be able to support that broader functionality in the first version of CAPE and will instead develop those capabilities in future releases.
Although the launch date and time are now clear, uncertainty remains over how smoothly the system will work under real operating conditions.
Pete Mento, director of global trade advisory services at Baker Tilly, said in a LinkedIn post that CAPE appears designed to make intake simple — perhaps deceptively so. But he also noted that nothing in the latest update suggests CBP is easing scrutiny once claims enter the system. In his view, the process may be structured to allow rapid submission first, with tougher decisions coming later in the review stage.
