Customs and Border Protection (CBP) filed an affidavit with the Court of International Trade (CIT) in the Atmus Filtration case addressing the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) refund process. The affidavit outlines a phased implementation approach for International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariff refunds based on entry type and status.
The affidavit provides further detail on how CAPE Phase I is expected to function:
CAPE Phase I: Included Entry Types
- Entries with certain liquidation statuses: Entries in suspended, extended or under review status will be accepted. CAPE will remove IEEPA Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes and recalculate duties; however, refunds will occur through the normal liquidation process, not immediately upon CAPE submission. Entries subject to antidumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) will be accepted where liquidation remains suspended pending instructions from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC). CAPE will remove IEEPA duties, but liquidation and refunds will not occur until the DOC lifts the suspension.
- Bonded warehouse entries: CAPE will remove IEEPA HTS codes on warehouse and warehouse withdrawal entries, but refunds will not be issued until the entry liquidates after all withdrawals are completed.
- Unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation: CBP intends to process these entries within statutory reliquidation timelines.
CAPE Phase I: Excluded Entry Types
- Entries flagged for reconciliation and entry type 09 (reconciliation)
- Entries designated on drawback claims
- Entries covered by an open protest
- Entries not filed in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) portal or lacking a liquidation status in ACE
- AD/CVD entries where liquidation instructions have been issued but liquidation is still pending under 19 U.S.C. § 1504(d)
- Finally liquidated entries, which are entries that are 90 days post-liquidation, but either still within the 180-day protest period or outside of the protest period
Additional Operational Updates
- CBP anticipates up to 45 days from CAPE acceptance to review and liquidate validated entries, absent compliance issues necessitating further review.
- CAPE Phase I will accept entries liquidated within the prior 80 days to allow reliquidation within the 90-day statutory window under 19 U.S.C. § 1501.
- Refunds will be issued via automated clearing house (ACH) or to a designated party via Form 4811.
- CBP is developing functionality to calculate interest across multiple entries with differing duty payment dates.
Action steps for importers:
- Establish an ACE account and run an Entry Summary Line Tariff Details (ES-003) report with liquidation dates and liquidation status added.
- Enroll in ACH refunds or designate a recipient via Form 4811.
- File protests for entries that are beyond the 90-day reliquidation window to preserve recovery rights.
