CAPE Phase 3 Has No Confirmed Opening Date: What Importers Should Do

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has now confirmed that the next stage of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) refund system is temporarily delayed. The agency’s August 25, 2026 court declaration also narrows an important point: Phase 3 covers finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the Court of International Trade (CIT) has ordered reliquidation. For other importers, there is still no general Phase 3 filing lane.

The practical message remains simple: do not let an unconfirmed technology date replace a deadline-driven refund strategy.

What Changed with CAPE Phase 3

Early reports from IEEPATariffRefunds.info and Diaz Trade Law correctly identified the delay. CBP then supplied the primary-source explanation in Brandon Lord’s August 25 declaration in Freestyle World, Inc. v. United States.

CBP says it needs new validations to prevent adjustments to duties other than the IEEPA refund when finally liquidated entries are reliquidated. The validations must also account for IEEPA duties that the trade community reported improperly on original entries. Source: August 25 Lord Declaration, ECF No. 38.

CBP’s public IEEPA Duty Refunds page still lists Phase 1 and Phase 2 as the active phases. No general Phase 3 deployment CSMS or public non-plaintiff filing procedure has been verified.

Until CBP publishes operational instructions, importers should treat Phase 3 as pending, not open.

Why the Delay Matters for Finally Liquidated Entries

Phase 1 covers certain unliquidated entries and certain entries still within CBP’s voluntary-reliquidation window. CBP’s April 20 launch message, CSMS #68397554, describes that initial scope. Phase 2 opened on June 29 for an initial group of reconciliation-flagged Entry Types 01, 02, and 06 where no Entry Type 09 reconciliation entry had already been filed, as confirmed in CSMS #69066837.

Phase 3 has been associated with older, finally liquidated entries that cannot move through those ordinary lanes. The legal obstacle is separate from the technology obstacle. On July 17, Judge Richard K. Eaton issued a reliquidation order directing CBP to reliquidate qualifying finally liquidated entries for plaintiffs in approximately 3,700 court-assigned IEEPA cases. The order requires plaintiffs to provide importer-of-record identification numbers and follow instructions sent through counsel.

That order is important, but it is plaintiff-specific. It does not mean every importer can submit finally liquidated entries through a public Phase 3 declaration today. For a fuller explanation, read our finally liquidated entries and CIT path guide.

Match Each Entry Status to the Available Path

Do not make one portfolio-wide decision based only on the words “Phase 3.” Separate entries by current status first.

Start with an entry-level eligibility screen, then compare CAPE, protest, and litigation in our refund-path decision guide.

Five Steps Importers Should Take Now

1. Build an Entry-Level Status List

Export or update your ACE entry data and group entries by liquidation date, liquidation status, entry type, reconciliation flag, protest status, and IEEPA Chapter 99 line. The ACE refund-monitoring report guide explains how ES-022 and the REV reports fit into this review.

The goal is to identify which entries can move now and which require deadline protection or legal analysis. A broker’s statement that an account is “waiting for Phase 3” is not enough; the decision has to be made entry by entry.

2. Keep Filing Eligible Phase 1 and Phase 2 Entries

The reported Phase 3 delay does not pause the operational phases. Clean Phase 1 entries and eligible Phase 2 reconciliation entries should continue through CAPE. Follow the seven-step CAPE filing guide and correct any rejected rows using the current CBP validation-error reference.

Do not include an entry in a declaration simply because you expect Phase 3 to cover it later. Submitting through the wrong lane can create avoidable rejection records and additional reconciliation work.

3. Protect the 180-Day Protest Window

Under 19 USC § 1514, the protest period generally runs for 180 days from liquidation. CAPE development, a rejected declaration, court briefing, and a rumored launch date do not stop that clock. Review the IEEPA protest filing guide and ask counsel or your customs professional whether a protective protest is appropriate for each entry still inside the window.

Do not withdraw an existing protest solely because Phase 3 was expected to open. Withdrawal can affect legal rights and should be coordinated with the broader refund strategy.

4. Escalate Material Finally Liquidated Exposure

If the protest period has closed and the dollars are material, ask trade counsel whether an importer-specific CIT action is available under 28 USC § 1581(i). Arnall Golden Gregory’s July 17 analysis of finally liquidated IEEPA entries describes the court-order-first path for access to plaintiff-specific Phase 3 processing.

Litigation is not automatically necessary for every importer, and filing does not guarantee recovery. The right question is whether waiting creates greater procedural risk for your particular entry set.

5. Verify ACH Refund Information

Even an approved refund can stall if CBP does not have valid ACH information. CBP’s August 25 declaration reported 22,170 refunds totaling approximately $1.7 billion had not been transmitted to Treasury because banking information was missing as of August 21. Source: August 25 Lord Declaration, ECF No. 38.

Confirm the refund recipient and banking setup in ACE using our ACH enrollment guide. This step applies across the active phases and any future Phase 3 workflow.

How to Recognize a Real Phase 3 Launch

Treat Phase 3 as operational only when the filing path can be verified through authoritative instructions. Look for:

• a CBP CSMS or ACE messaging notice with a deployment date;
• an updated CBP IEEPA Duty Refunds page naming Phase 3 as active;
• a defined eligibility list and declaration procedure;
• instructions explaining how court-covered and non-court-covered entries are handled; and
• confirmation inside ACE that the relevant entries can be submitted through the correct declaration workflow.

A law-firm alert can flag an important development, but it cannot replace CBP’s filing instructions. Use official deployment materials before changing an entry strategy.

What to Watch After the August 25 Filing

CBP filed the required progress declaration on August 25, and the closed settlement conference scheduled for August 26 has passed. No public post-conference order or written class-certification ruling was verified as of August 27.

The next material documents to watch are a court order addressing class certification or plaintiff procedures, a new CBP progress declaration, and operational instructions for Phase 3. None of those possibilities extends an importer’s protest deadline or guarantees relief for a non-plaintiff. Continue a parallel strategy: use CAPE where eligible, preserve protest rights where available, and obtain CIT advice for material finally liquidated claims.

Update — August 27, 2026: CBP Confirms Phase 3 Scope and Delay Reason

• CBP says Phase 3 is temporarily delayed while it builds validations that prevent non-IEEPA duty adjustments during court-ordered reliquidation. Source: August 25 Lord Declaration, ECF No. 38.
• The declaration defines Phase 3 as covering finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the CIT has ordered reliquidation. It does not announce a general lane for non-litigants.
• Phases 1 and 2 remain fully operational. CBP reported 2.3 million reconciliation-flagged entries successfully filed through Phase 2 as of August 21.
• A future CAPE phase does not pause the 180-day protest period. Importers should preserve available protest rights and seek case-specific CIT review for material finally liquidated exposure.

Update — August 30, 2026: Court Sets the September 15–16 Checkpoint

• Judge Eaton’s August 27 order requires the government to file a short CAPE progress report by 5:00 p.m. EDT on September 15, 2026. Source: CIT Order, ECF No. 40 (local reading copy).
• The next closed settlement conference is scheduled for September 16, 2026, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern. The order says more information about the Phase 3 deployment date will be provided at that conference; it does not announce that Phase 3 will open on September 16.
• CBP also told the court it will provide updated FAQs about Form 5106 importer identity information. Separately, enhanced Form 5106 enforcement begins September 18; use our Form 5106 IOR review checklist before that date.
• No written class-certification ruling or general non-plaintiff Phase 3 lane was verified through August 30. Continue filing eligible Phase 1 and Phase 2 entries, preserve protest rights, and obtain case-specific CIT advice where needed.

Source Notes and Disclaimer

Primary operational sources include CBP’s IEEPA Duty Refunds page, CSMS #68397554, CSMS #69066837, the August 25 Lord Declaration, ECF No. 38 (local reading copy), and the August 27 order, ECF No. 40. No official CBP Phase 3 deployment date or general non-plaintiff filing lane was verified as of August 30, 2026.

CAPE Portal Guide is not a law firm, customs broker, or government agency. This article provides educational information, not legal advice, and does not guarantee eligibility or recovery.

If Phase 3 uncertainty affects a material group of your entries, request a free assessment and we will connect you with a vetted trade-law professional to review the available CAPE, protest, and CIT paths.