Brandon Lord, the executive director of Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP’s) trade policy and programs directorate, provided the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) with an update on the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Phase 1 refund process as of May 11, 2026.
According to CBP, CAPE declarations that successfully passed file-level and entry-specific validations now cover approximately 15.1 million entries involving International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) duties that were accepted for removal through the CAPE process. Of those accepted entries, approximately 8.3 million entries have already been liquidated and/or reliquidated without the IEEPA duties applied.
CBP estimates that the anticipated refunds and associated interest for those liquidated and/or reliquidated entries total approximately $35.46 billion. CBP noted that this figure represents both the principal duty refunds and the applicable interest owed following the removal of IEEPA duties in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.
CBP also advised that refunds for remaining eligible entries continue to be consolidated through the CAPE refund component based on the importer of record (or their authorized CBP Form 4811 designee to collect refunds on their behalf), along with the timing of liquidation and/or reliquidation. Transmission of refunds to the U.S. Treasury remains contingent upon CBP confirming valid automated clearing house (ACH) banking information before payment issuance.
The importer of record must enter their banking details on the ACH refund authorization tab in their importer Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) account in order to receive the refund directly. A customs broker cannot enter this banking information on an importer’s behalf.
As of May 11, CBP reported that 1,880 consolidated refunds had not yet been transmitted to Treasury due to missing ACH account information from the importer of record or its authorized CBP Form 4811 designee.
Replacement Refund Instructions for Returned Checks and Rejected ACH Refunds
Beginning Feb. 6, 2026, CBP no longer issues most refund payments by paper check and now requires refunds to be processed electronically through ACH. CBP has advised that importers who fail to provide valid ACH banking information through the ACE portal may experience significant delays in receiving refunds, including CAPE-related refunds, duty drawback, protests, post-summary correction (PSC) refunds and other duty refunds. In order to opt in to ACH refunds, an importer must enter their banking details on the ACH refund authorization tab within their importer ACE account.
For refunds returned to the U.S. Treasury due to ACH rejection, importers must submit replacement refund requests to revenuerefunds@cbp.dhs.gov. The request must come from the top account owner on the importer’s ACE account. Requests should include the documented refund status and contact information exactly as reflected on the REV-603 (trade refund) report available within the ACE portal. CBP has advised that replacement requests should also include the original check number and/or document number when applicable.
The REV-603 trade refund report is an important ACE reporting tool that provides importers with visibility into refund history and refund status activity. The report allows importers to track refund issuance details, monitor refund processing and identify outstanding refund activity directly through the ACE portal.
In addition, the REV-613 ACH rejected refunds report identifies refunds that were rejected due to the importer or designated recipient not being enrolled in ACH refunds. This report can help importers quickly identify refund transmission issues and take corrective action to avoid further delays.
Together, the REV-603 and REV-613 reports serve as valuable financial management and reconciliation tools for importers monitoring CAPE refunds, protest refunds, PSC refunds and other CBP duty refund activity. CBP has indicated that replacement refund processing may take approximately six to eight weeks after receipt of all required documentation.
Key ACE Reports To Monitor Your CAPE Refunds
CBP continues to encourage importers to actively monitor refund activity and liquidation status through available ACE reports. Key reports include:
- REV-603 (trade refund) and REV-615 (CAPE details refund) reports: Provide visibility into refund issuance history and refund status details
- REV-613 (ACH rejected refunds) report: Identifies refunds rejected due to missing or incomplete ACH refund enrollment
- ES-022 (CAPE entry summary) report: Details entry summaries on each CAPE claim
- ES-003 (entry summary line tariff details) report: Monitors invoice line-level data
- ES-701 (courtesy notice of liquidation) and ES-702 (official notice of extension, suspension and liquidation) reports: Confirm finalized liquidations and duty changes
ACE reports provide importers with critical insight into refund processing, liquidation status, ACH payment issues and post-summary correction activity, particularly as CBP continues processing CAPE-related refunds.
