CAPE Phase 3: Who Can File for IEEPA Refunds on October 6

On October 6, 2026, CBP opens Phase 3 of CAPE, the ACE function that processes IEEPA tariff refunds. This phase covers entries whose liquidation is already final, and access is tight: only importers with their own IEEPA refund case at the Court of International Trade can file, and only for entries a court has ordered CBP to reliquidate. Check where you stand before October 6 if you need Phase 3 to recover older IEEPA duty.

What Phase 3 Covers

• Launch Date: CBP told the Court of International Trade in a September 15 declaration that Phase 3 deploys on October 6, 2026.
• Entries Covered: Finally liquidated entries. These liquidated more than 80 days ago, and the 180-day protest window passed without a protest. Phase 1 turns these entries away today.
• What Triggers the Refund: A court order. Judge Richard K. Eaton's July 15 and July 21 orders direct CBP to reliquidate these entries without IEEPA duties, for the importers who sued.
• Scale: Phase 3 accounts for roughly $11.4 billion, about 6.9% of IEEPA tariffs collected.

Who Can File

• Plaintiffs Only: Only importers of record that are plaintiffs in a pending IEEPA refund case at the CIT can participate. The phase opening on October 6 does not make other importers eligible.
• The July 30 Cutoff: Plaintiffs that gave CBP a valid importer of record number by July 30, 2026 can file Phase 3 CAPE declarations starting October 6.
• Filed After July 30: CBP says it will send separate instructions to plaintiffs that provided their importer number later. Those importers wait for that guidance before filing.

How the Refund Moves

• Step 1, Declaration: The plaintiff files a CAPE declaration in ACE listing the finally liquidated entries, the same CSV format used in Phase 1.
• Step 2, Acceptance: CBP validates the declaration. Reliquidation happens only after CBP accepts it.
• Step 3, Reliquidation: CBP removes the IEEPA Chapter 99 duty and reliquidates the entry.
• Step 4, Payment: CBP generally issues valid IEEPA refunds within 60 to 90 days of accepting a declaration, with interest, by ACH to a refund account enrolled in ACE.

More entries will become final over time, and plaintiffs can file additional declarations as they do.

If You Did Not File at the CIT

The Challenge: Your finally liquidated entries sit outside Phase 3. The government has appealed Judge Eaton's orders, and the Federal Circuit will decide how far the court's authority reaches, including for importers that never sued.

• Entries Still Inside the Protest Window: A protest filed within 180 days of liquidation keeps the refund alive, so file it now.
• Entries Already Final: Talk to trade counsel about whether a CIT filing still protects your claim, and watch for a possible class action, which the court has noted as another route.

Before October 6

• Refund ACH: CBP pays refunds only to a refund-specific bank account enrolled in ACE. It is holding more than 20,000 approved refunds, worth about $1.3 billion, for importers that never set one up.
• Form 5106 Data: Since September 18, CBP can void an importer number whose Form 5106 shows a broker's address, a P.O. box, or contact details that belong to someone else. A voided number stalls every refund tied to it.
• Entry List: Pull every entry with 9903.01.xx lines, sort by liquidation date, and mark which ones are unliquidated, inside the 80-day window, inside the 180-day protest window, or final.

Where Caspian Fits

Caspian sorts your ACE data by recovery path, files your CAPE declarations and protests, and tracks each refund to your account. For finally liquidated entries, we build the entry list and declaration file your trade counsel needs for the CIT case and Phase 3. See how Caspian handles IEEPA tariff refunds, or read the full guide to IEEPA refunds and the CAPE system.

The Takeaway

Plaintiffs: confirm your importer number, refund ACH account, and entry list before October 6. For any entry still inside a protest window, file the protest this week, whether or not you sued.

Works Cited:

• Husch Blackwell: CBP States CAPE Phase 3 Will Deploy on October 6, 2026
• Morgan Lewis: Trade Court Orders IEEPA Refunds for Finally Liquidated Entries
• Supply Chain Dive: CBP to Expand IEEPA Tariff Processing in October
• CBP: IEEPA Duty Refunds
• Carson International: Phase 3 IEEPA Refunds and IOR Voiding
• Clark Hill: CBP to Void Importer Numbers for Inaccurate Form 5106 Data

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult qualified customs counsel for guidance on your entries.