Importers with IEEPA entries that are finally liquidated or currently under protest may soon have an additional opportunity to pursue refunds through U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) anticipated CAPE Phase Three process.
During a closed conference held on July 14, the Court of International Trade (CIT) and participating parties discussed the status of IEEPA refund litigation and CBP's plans to implement CAPE Phase Three later this month. Based on those discussions, Phase Three is expected to address certain entries liquidated more than 80 days ago that were not eligible under earlier CAPE phases and is anticipated to include importers with pending CIT actions.
Following the conference, the CIT began issuing orders in nearly 4,000 individual IEEPA refund cases. These orders allow eligible plaintiffs to proceed with the court-directed process necessary to submit CAPE Phase Three refund requests, subject to CBP's implementation requirements.
For importers with entries in final liquidation, filing an action with the CIT may be an appropriate step to preserve potential refund rights and, depending on the circumstances, may provide an earlier opportunity to seek recovery of IEEPA duties through the CAPE Phase Three process. Importers with entries currently under protest may also be able to participate. If a reliquidation order is obtained from the court and CAPE Phase Three eligibility is confirmed, the protest may be withdrawn so the CAPE declaration process can proceed.
Importers with IEEPA-affected entries that are under protest or final liquidation should review their entries promptly and consider whether court action is appropriate to preserve potential refund rights and position themselves for CAPE Phase Three. While we expect future CAPE phases may ultimately provide a mechanism for these same categories of entries without requiring court action, CBP has not announced a timeline for those enhancements.
Need assistance? Please contact [email protected] to review your options and determine the best next step for your affected entries