U.S. Customs and Border Protection officially opened the CAPE (Customs Automated Post-Entry) refund portal on April 20, 2026, marking the beginning of the largest customs duty refund program in American history. The launch follows the February 2026 Supreme Court ruling in V.O.S. Selections Inc. v. United States, which struck down IEEPA reciprocal tariffs and ordered CBP to return approximately $166 billion in unlawfully collected duties.
How the Portal Works
Importers of record with active ACE (Automated Commercial Environment) accounts can log into the CAPE portal and submit structured CSV files containing their entry summary data. CBP reviews each submission, validates entry numbers against its records, and processes approved refunds via ACH transfer to registered bank accounts.
CBP published detailed filing instructions and a CSV template on its website at the time of launch. The CSV format requires specific fields including entry number, entry date, HTS code, country of origin, dutiable value, and the IEEPA duty amount paid per entry line. Submissions are capped at 9,999 rows per file to manage processing load.
Who Can File
Only the importer of record (IOR) listed on the original CBP Form 7501 can file a CAPE claim. Licensed customs brokers can file on behalf of importers under a valid power of attorney. The IOR’s EIN must match the EIN on the original 7501 entries — claims submitted under mismatched identifiers are automatically flagged.
ACH banking information must be registered in ACE before a refund can be issued. CBP will not process refunds without banking information on file.
Timeline and Expectations
CBP has not published a formal SLA for CAPE claim processing, but has indicated that straightforward claims should be processed within 60–90 days. Claims requiring manual review — due to data discrepancies, complex entry types, or entries at the edge of the coverage period — may take longer.
CBP is processing claims in batches. First-in submissions from the April 20 launch date are expected to move through the queue ahead of later submissions, giving early filers a time advantage.
Reaction from the Trade Community
The launch was welcomed by importers and trade associations who had been anticipating the portal since the February Supreme Court ruling. Several customs brokers reported high volumes of client inquiries on launch day, with many importers requesting help gathering entry documentation and preparing CSV submissions.
“This is a historic moment for U.S. importers,” said a spokesperson for a major trade association. “Businesses have been carrying these tariff costs for over a year, and the CAPE portal finally gives them the mechanism to recover what was unlawfully collected.”
Early users noted some technical hiccups in the first hours of operation — login delays and CSV upload errors — but CBP indicated that these were being addressed and that the portal was stable by the afternoon of launch day.