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Thompson Hine LLP, a full-service business law firm with approximately 400 lawyers in 11 offices, was ranked number 1 in the category “Most innovative North American law firms: New working models” by The Financial Times and was 1 of 7 firms shortlisted for The American Lawyer’s inaugural Legal Services Innovation Award. The firm has been recognized by the National Law Journal as a Legal Technology Trailblazer and featured by Bloomberg for its innovative service delivery models, which drive accuracy and predictability. The firm’s commitment to innovation is embodied in Thompson Hine SmartPaTHTM – a smarter way to work – predictable, efficient and aligned with client goals. For more information, please visit ThompsonHine.com and ThompsonHine.com/SmartPaTH.

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On March 12, 2026, Judge Richard Eaton of the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) held a second conference with the parties in the Atmus Filtration, Inc. vs. United States, et al. litigation matter regarding the progress of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) in establishing a process and procedures to allow for automated refund of tariffs collected under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).
The closed conference continued the CIT&rsquo;s focus on CBP&rsquo;s steps to implement a system to provide refunds of collected IEEPA tariffs with interest since the U.S. Supreme Court&rsquo;s February 20, 2026 ruling invalidating President Donald Trump&rsquo;s authority to implement the tariffs.&nbsp;Brandon Lord, CBP&rsquo;s Executive Director of the Trade Programs Directorate, filed a <a href="https://filehost.thompsonhine.com/uploads/CBP_-_March_12_Updated_Lord_Declaration_6191.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">second declaration</a> with the CIT providing an update on CBP&rsquo;s progress.&nbsp;Lord noted that CBP is developing a new capability within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system &ldquo;to prepare to calculate and provide valid refunds of additional ad valorem duties imposed under IEEPA.&rdquo;&nbsp;This new functionality is called the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE).&nbsp;CBP is designing the CAPE with four integrated components: (i) the Claim Portal, (ii) Mass Processing, (iii) Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation, and (iv) Refund.&nbsp;The declaration details each component.&nbsp;In sum:
<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Claim Portal &ndash; The Claim Portal will be web-based and serve as the entry point for importers and brokers to submit IEEPA refund requests to CBP via a CAPE Declaration.&nbsp;Filers will be able to upload a Comma-Separated Values (CSV) file containing a list of the entry summaries for which they are requesting IEEPA refunds. After submission, the ACE will conduct two series of validations: 1) file validations; and 2) entry validations.&nbsp;CBP states that development of the Claim Portal component is 70% complete.</li>
<li>Mass Processing &ndash; The Mass Processing component will automatically remove any applicable IEEPA HTS numbers from the entry summaries submitted to and validated by the Claim Portal component. After the IEEPA HTS numbers are removed, the Mass Processing component will run the ACE duty calculation validations. These checks are the normal ACE entry summary process already existing in the system, which automatically reviews all declared HTS numbers and confirms that the correct duties owed are listed on the entry summary.&nbsp;CBP states that development of the Mass Processing component is 40% complete.</li>
<li>Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation &ndash; The Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation component will initiate the review and liquidation/reliquidation process for the entries identified in the accepted CAPE Declaration. This component will automatically set the entries to liquidate/reliquidate on a specified number of days from the acceptance date, allowing CBP to conduct a manual review as needed.&nbsp;CBP is developing a process to streamline any required review. The Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation component will update the underlying entry summaries to reflect the new total duties paid and will automatically calculate interest.&nbsp;CBP states that development of the Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation component is 80% complete but will require more testing.</li>
<li>Refund &ndash; When the entry summaries in the accepted CAPE Declaration reach the scheduled liquidation/reliquidation date, the ACE will direct those entries to a CAPE-specific refund process.&nbsp;The Refund component will consolidate refunds by the liquidation/reliquidation date and IOR or a party the IOR has designated to receive refunds on its behalf on CBP Form 4811.&nbsp;Once processed, the refunds will be sent electronically to the designated bank account.&nbsp;CBP states that development of the Refund component is 60% complete and undergoing testing.&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
For refunds, please remember that CBP moved to an all-electronic refund system as of February 6, 2026, and no longer issues paper checks. Importers of record not currently enrolled in the ACH Refund program must do so in order to receive any IEEPA tariff refunds.&nbsp;For additional details on electronic refunds, see Thompson Hine Update of <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2026/01/cbp-to-issue-all-refunds-electronically-starting-february-6-2026/">January 6, 2026</a>.
Based on these updates from CBP and government counsel, Judge Eaton <a href="https://filehost.thompsonhine.com/uploads/CIT_Order_-_March_12_4292.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">ordered</a> that the suspension of the amended March 5, 2026 Order be continued (see Thompson Hine update of <a href="https://www.thompsonhinesmartrade.com/2026/03/cit-suspends-earlier-order-directing-ieepa-tariff-refunds/">March 6, 2026</a>).&nbsp;By March 19, 2026, CBP must file another report describing its continuing progress toward the development of a process to issue IEEPA tariff refunds paid with interest.

CBP Reports Progress on IEEPA Tariff Refund Process

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