IEEPA Tariff Refunds: The 2026 Ruling and CAPE Claims

By ChinaManufacturers.com Editorial Desk · Updated 30 October 2026 · How this page was researched

Can I get a tariff refund?

Possibly, but only if you were the importer of record on entries that carried IEEPA duties, and only for those duties. As of October 2026, CBP refunds IEEPA duties with interest through its CAPE process for entries that were unliquidated or within 80 days of liquidation, while refunds on finally liquidated entries depend on court action that the government is still contesting.

The International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), an emergency-powers statute, was the legal basis for two China tariffs in 2025: the "fentanyl" duty and the "reciprocal" duty. On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs at all. That ruling created a refund pool the government estimated in March 2026 at about $166 billion on 53 million entries, involving about 330,000 importers of record.

Four limits decide whether a given business or person has a claim:

Only the importer of record (IOR) is paid, directly or through its filing customs broker. A consumer who bought tariffed goods, or a buyer of goods shipped DDP (delivered duty paid, where the seller arranges import and pays the duty), is not a claimant under CAPE unless it was the importer of record. Nothing in the CBP material cited here requires an IOR to pass refunds on to customers.
Only IEEPA duties are refunded. Section 301, Section 232 and the 2026 Section 122 surcharge rest on other statutes and are not covered.
Entry status sets the route. Liquidation is CBP's final computation of the duty owed on an entry; after it, an importer has 180 days to protest. Unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation go through CAPE. Finally liquidated entries do not, except through court-ordered reliquidation.
Postal duties are unsettled. A refund route for IEEPA duties collected by carriers on postal and former de minimis shipments has not been established in the CBP notices cited here.

Rules and phases have changed several times since April 2026. A licensed customs broker or trade attorney should confirm the status of specific entries before anything is filed.

What the IEEPA tariffs on China were

The IEEPA duties were Chapter 99 lines, the part of the Harmonized Tariff Schedule that holds additional duties (the fentanyl duty sat under heading 9903.01.20). The orders below set the China rates.

Executive order	Signed	Effect on products of China	Effective
EO 14195 (fentanyl)	1 Feb 2025	10% on China and Hong Kong	4 Feb 2025
EO 14228 (fentanyl)	3 Mar 2025	Raised to 20%	4 Mar 2025
EO 14257 (reciprocal)	2 Apr 2025	34%	April 2025
EO 14259 and EO 14266	8 and 9 Apr 2025	Raised in response to retaliation; widely reported as 84% and then 125%	April 2025
EO 14298 (Geneva)	12 May 2025	Reciprocal cut to 10% for 90 days	14 May 2025
EO 14357 (fentanyl)	4 Nov 2025	Cut from 20% to 10%	10 Nov 2025
EO 14358 (reciprocal)	4 Nov 2025	10% continued to 10 Nov 2026	10 Nov 2025
EO 14389 (termination)	20 Feb 2026	All IEEPA tariffs ended	Entries from 24 Feb 2026

The often-quoted "145%" combined the April 2025 reciprocal level with the 20% fentanyl duty; it lasted about five weeks. Immediately before the ruling the net IEEPA burden on China was 20%: 10% fentanyl plus 10% reciprocal.

The Supreme Court ruling of 20 February 2026

In Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, No. 24-1287, decided with Trump v. V.O.S. Selections, Inc., No. 25-250, the Supreme Court held 6–3 that "IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs." The case was argued on 5 November 2025. Chief Justice Roberts wrote for the Court; the parts of the opinion resting on the major questions doctrine (Parts II-A-2 and III) were joined only by Justices Gorsuch and Barrett, so they are a plurality. Justice Thomas dissented, as did Justice Kavanaugh, joined by Justices Thomas and Alito.

The Court affirmed in V.O.S. Selections, which had come up from the Court of International Trade (CIT) (772 F. Supp. 3d 1350) through the Federal Circuit sitting en banc (149 F.4th 1312). It vacated Learning Resources and remanded it for dismissal, because the CIT has exclusive jurisdiction over such claims (28 U.S.C. §1581(i)(1)). The opinion does not itself order refunds; refunds have come from CBP action and CIT orders since.

The same day, EO 14389 terminated the IEEPA tariffs, and CBP stopped collecting them on goods entered on or after 12:00 a.m. ET 24 February 2026 (CSMS #67834313). The administration replaced them with a 10% Section 122 surcharge from 24 February to 23 July 2026, then a 12.5% Section 301 forced-labor duty on Chinese goods from 24 July 2026. Neither replacement is refundable under the IEEPA ruling. A separate CIT challenge to the Section 122 surcharge has been reported in secondary sources, but its outcome was not confirmed in a primary source as of October 2026.

How the CAPE refund process works

CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) is a function in CBP's ACE Portal, the system importers and brokers use to file entries. CBP set out the procedure in CSMS #68340863. The importer of record or its filing broker uploads a CAPE declaration: a CSV file of up to 9,999 entry numbers. ACE removes the IEEPA lines and recalculates the duty.

Timing. Unliquidated entries liquidate 45 days after acceptance; liquidated entries reliquidate the next business day. CBP said refunds are generally paid 60–90 days after acceptance.
Interest. Paid under 19 CFR 24.36.
Payment. Consolidated per importer of record and paid by ACH (electronic bank transfer) only.
Not allowed. Post Summary Corrections to claim IEEPA refunds; entries with open protests (an IEEPA-only protest can be withdrawn and the entry filed in CAPE within 80 days); and surety-paid entries.

CAPE phase	Opened	Entries covered
Phase 1	8 a.m. EDT 20 Apr 2026	Unliquidated entries and entries within 80 days of liquidation
Phase 2	29 Jun 2026 (CSMS #69035485)	Reconciliation-flagged entries with no type 09 reconciliation filed
Phase 3	6 Oct 2026	Finally liquidated entries under court-ordered reliquidation, for eligible CIT plaintiffs that supplied their IOR number by 30 Jul 2026

As of 2 October 2026, CBP figures cited by the CIT show about $136.6 billion in potential and certified refunds accepted into CAPE and about $126 billion refunded, duties plus interest. More than 21.19 million of more than 27.4 million processed entries had been liquidated or reliquidated, and about $30 billion would remain in the Treasury if CAPE stopped. These totals change weekly. A September 2026 summary of CBP data by a logistics firm reported about 20,184 refunds, worth about $1.3 billion, on hold because importers had not supplied ACH banking details.

Finally liquidated entries: the open dispute

The unresolved question in October 2026 is whether importers whose entries are finally liquidated, and who have not sued, will be refunded. An entry is finally liquidated once the 180-day protest window after liquidation has passed. CAPE Phases 1 and 2 do not reach such entries, and Phase 3 serves only CIT plaintiffs, of which there were more than 4,000 individual cases involving about 7,000 plaintiffs.

The government's position, stated in a 2 June 2026 appeal, is that finally liquidated entries can be refunded only where the importer has a pending CIT suit. A CIT order of 4 March 2026 in the Atmus Filtration matter had directed liquidation and reliquidation without IEEPA duties; the government appealed the all-entries portion (Fed. Cir. No. 26-1895), and the status of that appeal was not confirmed as of October 2026.

On 8 October 2026, in Freestyle World, Inc. v. CBP (CIT No. 26-01088, Slip Op. 26-123), Judge Eaton certified a class under Rule 23(b)(2) of "all importers of record who paid duties imposed by the Challenged Tariff Orders between February 1, 2025, and February 19, 2026," excluding entities that filed separate actions. The class is aimed at importers CAPE does not reach. Class certification is not a ruling on the merits, and the government contests refunds for non-plaintiffs' finally liquidated entries. A closed conference was held on 13 October and a joint scheduling order was due on 22 October 2026. Whether a filing deadline bars a late individual suit has not been confirmed from a primary source; that is a question for a trade attorney.

Mistakes that delay or forfeit a refund

Filing a Post Summary Correction. CBP prohibits it for IEEPA refunds.
Leaving ACH refund details unset in ACE. Refunds are paid only by ACH and stall without banking information.
Missing the 80-day post-liquidation window for Phases 1 and 2.
Leaving an IEEPA-only protest open, which causes the entry to be rejected from CAPE.
Including surety-paid entries in a CAPE declaration.
Claiming Section 301, 232 or 122 duties. Only IEEPA lines are removed.
Assuming a non-importer can claim. A DDP buyer or a retail shopper is not the importer of record.

Frequently asked questions

Who gets IEEPA tariff refunds?

The importer of record, or its filing customs broker on its behalf, on entries that carried IEEPA Chapter 99 duty lines. Refunds cover only the IEEPA duties, with interest under 19 CFR 24.36. Consumers, retail buyers and businesses that bought goods shipped DDP by an overseas seller are not claimants under CBP's CAPE process unless they were the importer of record.

How do I file for an IEEPA tariff refund?

The importer of record or its broker uploads a CAPE declaration, a CSV file of up to 9,999 entry numbers, in the CAPE function of CBP's ACE Portal. ACE removes the IEEPA lines and recalculates. ACH refund banking details must be on file, because CBP pays only by ACH. Post Summary Corrections cannot be used to claim these refunds.

How long do IEEPA tariff refunds take?

CBP said refunds are generally paid 60 to 90 days after a CAPE declaration is accepted. Unliquidated entries liquidate 45 days after acceptance, and liquidated entries reliquidate the next business day. Refunds stall if the importer has not supplied ACH banking details; about $1.3 billion was reported on hold for that reason in September 2026.

Can I get a refund on finally liquidated entries?

It is unresolved as of October 2026. CAPE Phase 3 (6 October 2026) covers finally liquidated entries only for importers that are CIT plaintiffs. A class of other importers of record was certified on 8 October 2026 in Freestyle World v. CBP, but the government contests refunds for non-plaintiffs' finally liquidated entries, and the litigation continues.

When did the Supreme Court rule on IEEPA tariffs?

On 20 February 2026, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, decided with Trump v. V.O.S. Selections. The Court held 6–3 that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. EO 14389 ended the tariffs that day, and CBP stopped collecting them on goods entered from 12:00 a.m. ET 24 February 2026.

Are consumers getting tariff refund checks?

No consumer refund mechanism appears in CBP's notices or the court record. IEEPA refunds go to importers of record, who paid the duties at entry. Nothing in the CBP material requires an importer to pass a refund on to its customers, so any price adjustment is a matter between buyer and seller.

Are Section 301 tariffs refundable after the Supreme Court ruling?

No. The ruling concerned IEEPA only. Section 301 duties rest on the Trade Act of 1974 and Section 232 duties on the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and both remain in force. The 10% Section 122 surcharge collected from 24 February to 23 July 2026 is also outside the IEEPA refund process.

IEEPA tariffs and tariff refunds