Download this article in PDF format.
The much anticipated Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) portal opened last week and companies began lining up quickly to submit their tariff refund claims. By the end of the first day, major shipping companies like FedEx, DHL and UPS had all filed claims for refunds, CBS News reports.
Run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the newly launched portal was developed in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that found that the Trump administration lacked the legal authority to impose those tariffs. In a nutshell, the justices ruled that duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were illegal and that refunds were in order.
American importers can now apply through the portal to get back billions of dollars in tariffs collected illegally over the past year. The CAPE refund program allows entities that directly paid taxes on imports to submit documentation to CBP to request reimbursement, MS Now explains. Of more than 330,000 U.S. importers, about 56,497 have applied for refunds, according to recent filings from CBP. Claims from those importers total about $127 billion. CBP said refunds are to be distributed 60 to 90 days after they are processed.
The portal is just the first step in a multi-phase effort to return the tariff revenue. It’s designed to consolidate refunds of IEEPA duties (including interest), rather than processing refunds on an entry-by-entry basis, the publication reports. “The refunds are expected to take between two and three months to reach importers’ bank accounts, a timeline that could be extended if CBP flags applications for further review.”
System Glitches and Errors
As with any major web rollout, CAPE dealt with its fair share of glitches and bugs during its first week of operation. Some businesses immediately experienced problems accessing the U.S. government's new tariff refund portal. One manufacturer told CBS News he received an error message when the company tried to file a claim for a tariff refund using the CAPE platform.
“The system is currently experiencing high volume, please try again later,” the message stated. “The system seems to have gone blinky,” said a spokesperson for the manufacturer, which CBS says filed the 2025 lawsuit that led to the Supreme Court striking down the Trump administration’s emergency tariffs in February. “It seems like the system is overwhelmed.”
Not as Easy as it Sounds
Not all IEEPA tariffs are eligible for refunds. Initially, CAPE will accept requests for estimated tariffs, as well as those finalized by CBP within the past 80 days, CBS explains. The agency has said it will issue tariff refunds for valid claims within 60 to 90 days of approval, although it may take longer if claims contain errors or inaccuracies that require correction.
Also, not all companies will get their tariffs refunded, and some of the refunds may take months or even years to process and return. Baker Tilly’s Pete Mento explains that the CBP CAPE portal is an intake system within the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). Claims move through a defined workflow that includes submission, validation, review and ultimately liquidation or reliquidation.
The front end is intentionally streamlined, but submission is just the first step. “Submission gets you in the door. It does not get you paid,” Mento writes. “Getting a file accepted means the data matches CBP’s system. It does not mean the claim is correct.”
