This article is general information, not legal advice. Whether and how to file depends on your specific entries. Consult a qualified attorney about your situation.
In short: Finally liquidated IEEPA entries cannot be recovered through CBP's CAPE refund process. After a July 2026 Court of International Trade ruling, the only confirmed way to recover them is a lawsuit filed at the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. Section 1581(i), and only importers that file suit are being paid.
Key takeaways
- CBP's CAPE process refunds unliquidated and recently liquidated IEEPA entries, typically within 60 to 90 days of acceptance, but it does not cover finally liquidated entries.
- In July 2026 the Court of International Trade ordered CBP to refund finally liquidated entries only for importers that had filed their own lawsuit.
- Importers that have not filed suit have no confirmed path to recover those entries, and the government is appealing whether it must refund them at all.
- Recovering a finally liquidated entry requires a complaint at the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. Section 1581(i), which only an attorney admitted to that court can file.
- The deadline is approximately two years from the date the duties were paid.
If your company's IEEPA entries have already liquidated, CBP's automatic refund process will not return that money, and a 2026 court ruling has made a lawsuit the practical way to recover it. Most importers seeking an IEEPA tariff refund are relying on CBP's CAPE program, and for many entries that is the right tool. For entries that have finally liquidated, it is the wrong one, and the difference now determines whether a company recovers its tariffs or watches the window close. This article explains what liquidation is, why the ordinary refund path skips these entries, how much money is affected, and the route that remains open.
What "liquidation" means, and why it decides how you recover
Liquidation is CBP's final calculation of the duty owed on an entry. Before it happens the entry is unliquidated and the figures can still change. Once it happens the entry is liquidated and the decision is treated as final. After the statutory window passes with no challenge, the entry is finally liquidated, meaning even CBP's own authority to reopen it has lapsed.
That status governs everything that follows. After the Supreme Court held in February 2026 that IEEPA does not authorize these tariffs (Congressional Research Service), CBP built an automated refund lane for entries that were still open. It did not build one for entries that had already closed. Two companies that paid the identical unlawful tariff can therefore land on entirely different tracks based only on when their entries liquidated.
The ruling: the Court of International Trade requires a lawsuit to recover liquidated entries
In July 2026 the Court of International Trade, the federal court with exclusive jurisdiction over tariff disputes, ordered CBP to refund IEEPA duties on finally liquidated entries, but only for the importers that had filed their own actions. The court indicated that the same relief would follow across the roughly 3,700 IEEPA cases before it and began entering those orders (Davis Wright Tremaine; Morgan Lewis).
What matters for most importers is who the order actually covers. As Holland & Knight summarized, it confirms that only importers that have sued will recover on finally liquidated entries (Holland & Knight). Importers that have not filed have no comparable, confirmed mechanism for those entries. The government has separately appealed whether it can be compelled to refund finally liquidated entries at all, which keeps the question unresolved for importers that have not filed (Holland & Knight).
How much money is in finally liquidated IEEPA entries?
The finally liquidated category is substantial. According to a Cato Institute analysis of CBP's own court filings, the finally liquidated slice is roughly $11.4 billion, about 7 percent of total IEEPA tariff revenue (Cato Institute). The stakes in the litigation are larger still: in its Federal Circuit appeal, the government is arguing that it can keep $30 billion or more in IEEPA duties from importers that have not filed suit (Foley & Lardner). Cato also found a pattern beneath the totals. Although CBP had approved a majority of the dollars it owes, those approvals covered only about 30 percent of individual entries, with the paid refunds concentrated among the largest importers. The largest companies are being made whole first, and a long tail of smaller and mid-sized importers, along with anyone holding liquidated entries, remains outside the automatic process.
Why CAPE, through your broker or on your own, cannot recover a liquidated entry
CAPE is CBP's streamlined refund tool, the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries. A customs broker, or an importer's own staff, can submit a CAPE declaration through the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Portal, CBP's online system of record for entries, and for eligible entries CBP recalculates and issues the refund without litigation, typically within 60 to 90 days of acceptance (CBP).
Eligibility is what CAPE turns on. It reaches unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within a short window, because CBP set its intake cutoff around 80 days to keep entries inside the period when it can still voluntarily reopen them. Finally liquidated entries fall outside that window and are excluded (BDO). CBP did later announce a "Phase 3" aimed at finally liquidated entries, but it opened only to importers that had filed a lawsuit at the Court of International Trade, and the refund authority behind it is now on appeal to the Federal Circuit (Thompson Hine). Because that lane is limited to litigants and unsettled on appeal, a court filing is the practical path to a refund on these entries. This is also why a broker cannot resolve it and an importer cannot do it alone: once an entry has finally liquidated, the portal will not accept it, and only the court can order it reopened. TRS covered CBP's decision to exclude these entries in "CBP's Reversal on Finally Liquidated Entries".
The three ways to recover IEEPA tariffs, and which one is yours
IEEPA duties come back through three parallel routes, and many importers need more than one. We compare them in detail in "PSC vs Protest vs CIT: Which IEEPA Refund Pathway Fits Your Entries".
- CAPE declaration. For unliquidated and recently liquidated entries. Fast, no attorney required, handled in the ACE Portal.
- Protest under 19 U.S.C. Section 1514. A formal challenge filed with CBP within 180 days of liquidation. It preserves the claim, but CBP is currently holding IEEPA protests rather than deciding them, so a protest alone is not producing refunds.
- Litigation at the Court of International Trade under 28 U.S.C. Section 1581(i). The route that reaches finally liquidated entries, and the one the court is ordering paid.
Recent entries that remain open may need only CAPE. Older entries that have finally liquidated will not come back through CAPE or a protest on their own, and a court filing is the piece that recovers them.
How to recover liquidated entries with an attorney
Recovering a finally liquidated entry means filing a complaint at the Court of International Trade under Section 1581(i), the provision that lets the court hear challenges to unlawfully collected duties. Three points matter:
- There is a deadline. These claims carry a two-year statute of limitations, read conservatively as two years from the date the duties were deposited (28 U.S.C. Section 2636(i)). For entries from early 2025, that window begins closing in early 2027 (Congressional Research Service).
- The filing fee is modest. Commencing the action costs $400.
- An attorney is required. Complaints are filed electronically by a lawyer admitted to the Court of International Trade. A broker cannot file one, and neither can an importer directly. This is the point at which representation is not optional.
The vehicle is a protective complaint, which secures the importer's standing among the group the court is ordering paid while the government's appeal proceeds. These complaints are commonly handled on a contingency basis, so the filing fee and court costs are carried by the firm rather than the importer.
Frequently asked questions
What is CAPE?
CAPE is CBP's Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, the streamlined process for refunding IEEPA tariffs on eligible entries through the ACE Portal without litigation. It covers unliquidated entries and entries liquidated within roughly 80 days, and it does not cover finally liquidated entries.
Are IEEPA refunds automatic for liquidated entries?
No. CBP's automatic CAPE process covers unliquidated and recently liquidated entries. Finally liquidated entries are excluded, and the Court of International Trade has ordered refunds on them only for importers that filed their own lawsuit.
Can my customs broker recover a finally liquidated entry?
No. Brokers work through CAPE and the ACE Portal, which will not accept an entry that has finally liquidated. Recovery requires a court filing that only a CIT-admitted attorney can make.
What is the deadline to file?
Approximately two years from the date the duties were paid, under 28 U.S.C. Section 2636(i). Entries from early 2025 begin reaching that limit in early 2027.
How much does it cost to file?
The Court of International Trade filing fee is $400. Tariff Refund Solutions works on a contingency basis, and clients are not responsible for court costs.
What to do this week
- Confirm with your broker, or in the ACE Portal, which of your IEEPA entries are unliquidated and which have liquidated. The liquidated entries are the ones at risk.
- For entries still eligible, move a CAPE declaration forward, since those refunds typically arrive within 60 to 90 days.
- For finally liquidated entries, do not assume a protest or the portal will reach them. Speak with an attorney about a Section 1581(i) filing before the two-year window closes.
To review your entries and confirm which route applies, start here and speak with an attorney.
Related reading
PSC vs Protest vs CIT: Which IEEPA Refund Pathway Fits Your Entries · CBP's Reversal on Finally Liquidated Entries · The Complete Guide to IEEPA Tariff Refunds in 2026
Tariff Refund Solutions is an attorney-led program that recovers IEEPA tariff refunds for businesses on contingency.
Sources: Congressional Research Service, IF13150; U.S. Customs and Border Protection, IEEPA Duty Refunds; Davis Wright Tremaine; Morgan Lewis; Holland & Knight, "File Now"; Holland & Knight, government appeal; BDO; Cato Institute.
Legal Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. No attorney-client relationship is formed by reading this content. Whether and how to file depends on the facts of your specific entries. Consult a qualified attorney about your situation.