If you imported goods into the US while the IEEPA tariffs were being collected, money may be waiting for you. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has now certified about $122 billion in IEEPA tariff refunds, and it scheduled the third phase of its refund system, CAPE, to open on October 6, 2026 for some older entries. But refunds go only to the importer of record, and $1.3 billion is stuck because importers haven't given CBP their bank details. Here is where things stand.

Background in brief

After the Supreme Court struck down the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA), the Court of International Trade (CIT) ordered CBP to set up a refund process. CBP built CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) in ACE, which opened around April and at first covered only unliquidated entries, according to law firm Warner Norcross + Judd. More than 3,700 cases have been filed in the CIT seeking refunds, WNJ reports.

The numbers from CBP

In a September 15, 2026 declaration to the CIT (data as of September 11), CBP reported the following, as summarized by C.H. Robinson (Sept 17, 2026) and Mohawk Global (Sept 17, 2026):

CAPE metric	Figure
Declarations submitted	More than 286,000
Declarations accepted for processing	Over 201,000, covering about 27.2 million entries
Potential and certified refunds accepted into CAPE	About $134.7 billion
Certified and sent to the US Treasury for payment (incl. interest)	About $122 billion
Refunds on hold for missing ACH bank details	20,184 refunds, about $1.3 billion

C.H. Robinson's October 1 trade update repeated the $122 billion figure and noted that CBP says it has "processed the vast majority of IEEPA tariff refund claims."

What Phase 3 covers

• Finally liquidated entries, for plaintiffs only. Phase 3 covers entries that have completed final liquidation, filed by plaintiffs in CIT cases where the court has ordered reliquidation.
• A July 30 cutoff. Plaintiffs who gave CBP a valid importer of record (IOR) number by July 30, 2026 could begin filing Phase 3 declarations on October 6. Later submitters will receive "additional instructions" from CBP, with no date given.
• Non-plaintiffs wait. According to WNJ, importers with finally liquidated IEEPA payments who have not filed suit must, for now, go to the CIT to get refunds on those entries.

The sources we reviewed were written before October 6, and we have not seen an official CBP notice confirming the launch went ahead on schedule; check CBP's CSMS messages for the latest.

What it means for sellers (our analysis)

Only the importer of record gets the refund. If a Chinese factory shipped to US customers or to FBA on DDP terms and acted as importer of record, the refund belongs to that importer. If your US buyer, forwarder or a third party was the importer of record, the refund goes to them, not to you. Check your entries before assuming you are owed money, and review your contracts for who should benefit.

Fix ACH details first. $1.3 billion is on hold only because importers have not entered bank information. Confirm that valid ACH refund details are on file in the ACE Portal.

Know which bucket your entries are in. CAPE first covered unliquidated entries; finally liquidated entries currently require a court order. Your customs broker can pull the list.

Plan the cash, don't spend it early. Refund timing depends on processing and Treasury payment. Treat expected refunds as uncertain until received.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For your own entries, speak with your customs broker or a trade attorney. For background on current tariffs, see our guide to finding your HTS code and duty rate.

Checklist for importers

1. Ask your customs broker for a list of entries on which IEEPA duties were paid, by liquidation status.
2. Confirm who was importer of record for each entry.
3. Check that ACH refund banking details are on file in the ACE Portal.
4. For finally liquidated entries, ask a trade attorney whether a CIT filing makes sense.
5. Watch CBP CSMS messages for Phase 3 instructions and any new phases.

How Atronia Innovations can help

From Los Angeles and Shenzhen, we help factories and brands sell on Amazon, Walmart and TikTok Shop and coordinate logistics into the US. We can help you organize shipment records for your broker. Talk to our team.

Sources

• C.H. Robinson — CBP reports major progress on IEEPA refunds; CAPE Phase 3 launches October 6 (Sept 17, 2026)
• Mohawk Global — CBP to launch Phase 3 for CAPE processing of IEEPA refunds 10/6 (Sept 17, 2026)
• Warner Norcross + Judd — IEEPA tariff refunds: CBP clarifies CAPE Phase 3 refund process for liquidated entries (Sept 2026)
• C.H. Robinson — Customs and trade policy this month: tariffs, fees and refunds (Oct 1, 2026)

如果你在 IEEPA 关税征收期间向美国进口过货物，可能有一笔退款在等你。美国海关与边境保护局（CBP）目前已核证约 1,220 亿美元的 IEEPA 关税退款，并计划于 2026 年 10 月 6 日开放退款系统 CAPE 的第三阶段，处理部分较早的报关单。但退款只会退给进口商（importer of record），而且有 13 亿美元因为进口商没有提供银行信息而被暂扣。下面梳理最新进展。

背景速览

据律所 Warner Norcross + Judd介绍，美国最高法院裁定依据《国际紧急经济权力法》（IEEPA）征收的关税无效后，美国国际贸易法院（CIT）责令 CBP 建立退款流程。CBP 在 ACE 系统中搭建了 CAPE（报关单统一管理与处理系统），约在 4 月上线，最初只覆盖尚未清算（unliquidated）的报关单。WNJ 称，已有 3,700 多起案件在 CIT 提起，要求退款。

CBP 公布的数据

CBP 于 2026 年 9 月 15 日向 CIT 提交声明（数据截至 9 月 11 日），据 C.H. Robinson（2026 年 9 月 17 日）和 Mohawk Global（2026 年 9 月 17 日）整理：

CAPE 指标	数据
已提交申报	超过 28.6 万份
已受理申报	超过 20.1 万份，覆盖约 2,720 万票报关单
进入 CAPE 的潜在及已核证退款	约 1,347 亿美元
已核证并送交美国财政部支付（含利息）	约 1,220 亿美元
因缺少 ACH 银行信息而暂扣	20,184 笔，约 13 亿美元

C.H. Robinson 在 10 月 1 日的贸易月报中再次引用了 1,220 亿美元的数据，并指出 CBP 表示已“处理绝大部分 IEEPA 关税退款申请”。

第三阶段覆盖哪些情况

• 仅限已最终清算、且为原告的报关单。第三阶段处理已完成最终清算（finally liquidated）的报关单，申请人须是 CIT 案件原告，且法院已下令重新清算。
• 7 月 30 日截止线。在 2026 年 7 月 30 日前向 CBP 提交有效进口商编号（IOR number）的原告，可从 10 月 6 日起提交第三阶段申报；之后提交的，CBP 将另行发布“补充说明”，暂无日期。
• 非原告需等待。据 WNJ，对于已最终清算的报关单，尚未起诉的进口商目前需要向 CIT 起诉才能获得退款。

我们查阅的资料均写于 10 月 6 日之前，尚未看到 CBP 确认按时上线的官方通知，请关注 CBP 的 CSMS 公告。

我们的解读

退款只退给进口商。如果中国工厂以 DDP 方式发货到美国客户或 FBA，并作为进口商申报，退款属于该进口商；如果进口商是你的美国买家、货代或其他第三方，退款会退给他们，而不是你。先核对报关单再判断自己是否有退款，并检查合同中关于退款归属的约定。

先补齐 ACH 银行信息。13 亿美元仅仅因为进口商没填银行信息而被暂扣。请确认 ACE 门户中已登记有效的 ACH 退款账户。

弄清报关单所处阶段。CAPE 最先覆盖的是未清算的报关单；已最终清算的报关单目前需要法院命令。报关行可以帮你导出清单。

做好现金规划，不要提前花。退款到账时间取决于处理进度和财政部付款。到账之前都视为不确定收入。

本文为一般性信息，不构成法律意见。具体报关单请咨询报关行或贸易律师。现行关税背景可参考我们的《如何查找 HTS 编码和关税税率》。

进口商行动清单

1. 请报关行按清算状态导出缴过 IEEPA 关税的报关单清单。
2. 核对每票报关单的进口商（importer of record）是谁。
3. 确认 ACE 门户中已登记 ACH 退款银行信息。
4. 对已最终清算的报关单，咨询贸易律师是否值得向 CIT 起诉。
5. 关注 CBP 的 CSMS 公告，留意第三阶段说明和后续阶段。

Atronia Innovations 能帮你什么

我们在洛杉矶和深圳设有办公室，帮助工厂和品牌在亚马逊、沃尔玛和 TikTok Shop 销售，并协调进入美国的物流，可协助你为报关行整理发货记录。欢迎联系我们的团队。

信息来源

• C.H. Robinson — CBP reports major progress on IEEPA refunds; CAPE Phase 3 launches October 6（2026 年 9 月 17 日）
• Mohawk Global — CBP to launch Phase 3 for CAPE processing of IEEPA refunds 10/6（2026 年 9 月 17 日）
• Warner Norcross + Judd — IEEPA tariff refunds: CBP clarifies CAPE Phase 3 refund process for liquidated entries（2026 年 9 月）
• C.H. Robinson — Customs and trade policy this month: tariffs, fees and refunds（2026 年 10 月 1 日）