🇺🇸 USFBA FeesMedium ImpactSeptember 15, 2026
CAPE Phase 3 Opens October 6, 2026 — but Only for Court of International Trade Plaintiffs Seeking IEEPA Refunds on Finally Liquidated Entries
Effective: October 6, 2026
US sellers who imported their own inventory as importer of record, paid IEEPA duties, and have entries that are already finally liquidated. Only those who are plaintiffs in a pending Court of International Trade IEEPA refund case can use Phase 3; sellers whose entries were unliquidated or within 80 days of liquidation were already covered by Phases 1 and 2.
In a sworn declaration filed with the Court of International Trade on September 15, 2026, CBP said it will deploy Phase 3 of its CAPE refund system on October 6, 2026. Phase 3 covers finally liquidated entries, but only those filed by plaintiffs for which the court has ordered reliquidation; plaintiffs who gave CBP a valid importer of record number by July 30, 2026 can file from October 6, and later submitters will get separate instructions. Importers who have not sued still have no CAPE route for finally liquidated entries, and the government is appealing the part of the court's order that would extend refunds to non-litigating importers.
Key Points
- CBP's Executive Director of Trade Programs stated that CAPE Phase 3 will deploy on October 6, 2026
- Phase 3 covers finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the Court of International Trade has ordered reliquidation — it is not open to every importer with finally liquidated entries
- Plaintiffs who submitted a valid importer of record number to CBP by July 30, 2026 can file Phase 3 CAPE declarations from October 6; CBP will issue additional instructions to plaintiffs who submitted after July 30
- As of September 11, 2026, CBP reported about $134.7 billion in potential and certified refunds accepted into CAPE, with roughly $122 billion (duties plus interest) certified and sent to Treasury
- As of the same date, 20,184 refunds totaling about $1.3 billion had not been sent to Treasury because the importer of record had not provided ACH account information
- The government has appealed the portion of the court's order requiring refunds to non-litigating importers on entries liquidated more than 80 days, so access for non-plaintiffs remains unresolved
What You Should Do Now
- 1Have your customs broker list your IEEPA entries by liquidation status so you know which ones are finally liquidated and outside Phases 1 and 2
- 2If you are a plaintiff in a Court of International Trade IEEPA case, confirm with counsel when your importer of record number was submitted — July 30, 2026 or earlier means you can file from October 6
- 3If you have not sued, talk to trade counsel about your options for finally liquidated entries rather than waiting for CAPE to open to everyone, since that question is under appeal
- 4Check that ACH refund details are on file in ACE for your importer of record number (or your CBP Form 4811 designee) — CBP is holding about $1.3 billion in refunds that lack them
Official Source
U.S. Court of International Trade (CBP declaration) →This summary is written in our own words based on the official source linked above. Policies may be updated after publication. Always check the official Amazon source for the latest details.