IEEPA Tariff Refund Timeline: Key Dates Every Importer Should Know in 2026

The IEEPA tariff saga has spanned over a year — from the first Executive Orders in February 2025 to the Supreme Court decision and CAPE system launch in 2026. This timeline consolidates every key date and explains what each event means for your refund.

The Complete IEEPA Tariff Timeline

February 2025 — Tariffs Imposed

What this means for you: Any goods entered from February 1, 2025 onward from these countries may have qualifying IEEPA duties. Check your entry summaries for HTS subheadings 9903.01.25 through 9903.01.70.

March 2025 — Expansion to Venezuelan Oil

May 2025 — First Legal Challenge Succeeds

What this means for you: This was the first court ruling against IEEPA tariffs, but it applied only to the parties in the case. The government appealed, and tariffs continued to be collected.

February 2026 — Supreme Court Decision

What this means for you: The Supreme Court ruling made it clear that all IEEPA tariffs collected from February 2025 through February 2026 are eligible for refund. The question is how — which is where CAPE comes in.

April 2026 — CAPE Phase 1 Launches

What this means for you: You can now submit CAPE declarations through ACE for unliquidated and recently liquidated entries, but you need to follow the April 13 rules around filer ownership, CSV format, protests, and other validation blockers. See our complete guide →

Critical Deadlines You Need to Know

CAPE Declaration Filing

There is currently no announced deadline for filing CAPE declarations under Phase 1. However, CBP may set one in future guidance. File as soon as your data is ready.

Protest Filing — 180 Days from Liquidation

For entries that have been liquidated, you have 180 days from the liquidation date to file a protest under 19 USC § 1514. This is a hard deadline — miss it and you lose the right to protest.

Important: Even if you’re filing a CAPE declaration, trade law experts recommend also filing a protest as a backup strategy. Learn why →

CIT Lawsuit — 2 Years from Protest Denial

If your protest is denied, you have 180 days to file a lawsuit in the Court of International Trade. This may be the only option for finally liquidated entries excluded from CAPE Phase 1.

Refund Processing Timeline (After CAPE Filing)

Once you submit a CAPE declaration, here’s what to expect:

Note: The 60-90 day estimate is CBP’s guidance, not a binding commitment. Complex cases or high volumes may take longer.

What’s Coming Next?

Future CAPE Phases

CBP has indicated that future phases will expand eligibility to cover:

• Finally liquidated entries (liquidated more than 80 days ago)
• Entries currently blocked or slowed in Phase 1 (such as drawback, reconciliation, certain AD/CVD scenarios, and older liquidations)
• Additional processing improvements

CBP deployed the first Phase 2 lane for reconciliation-flagged entries on June 29, 2026. Other categories still require separate guidance, including already-filed Entry Type 09 reconciliations, drawback, open protests, and finally liquidated entries.

Ongoing Litigation

Several cases are still making their way through the courts:

• Freestyle World, Inc. v. United States - Lead IEEPA case; DOJ filed its class-certification opposition on July 28, 2026, the August 19 oral argument and August 26 closed settlement conference have passed, and no written class-certification ruling was verified as of August 27.
• Nintendo of America Inc. v. U.S. Department of the Treasury — Filed March 2026, seeking recovery of IEEPA duties through judicial process
• Various protest appeals and CIT filings by importers whose entries fall outside CAPE Phase 1

Your Action Plan for 2026

Stay Informed

The IEEPA refund process is evolving. We track every CBP announcement, CSMS message, and court ruling that affects importers.

Update — April 30, 2026: New Milestones to Add to Your Timeline

Ten days into Phase 1, three additional dates belong on every importer’s calendar:

Full breakdown of the April 28 order with the original PDFs: What the April 28 CIT order reveals about CAPE Phase 1 →. Full breakdown of the May 11 acceleration: First IEEPA refund payments could land May 11 — what to confirm before they do →.

May 2026 — Refunds Flow, CIT Escalates

Update — August 3, 2026: Freestyle World Class-Cert Schedule

The Freestyle World class-certification case now has a concrete briefing and hearing schedule:

• DOJ filed its response in opposition to the motion to lift the stay and for class certification on July 28, 2026 (ECF No. 18). Source: DOJ response, July 28, 2026.
• Judge Eaton’s July 30, 2026 order (ECF No. 19) sets the plaintiff reply for August 14, a closed pre-oral argument conference for August 17, and oral argument for August 19 at 11:00 a.m. EDT. Source: Order, July 30, 2026.
• Zonos re-filed its amicus curiae motion and supporting brief in Freestyle World on July 30, 2026 (ECF No. 20), with responses due August 20. Source: Zonos motion, July 30, 2026; CourtListener docket.
• The Federal Circuit dismissed the separate Euro-Notions appeal (No. 2026-1898) on July 28, 2026, granting the government’s unopposed motion after Euro-Notions voluntarily dismissed its CIT case. The other consolidated IEEPA appeals (V.O.S. Selections 2026-1895, AGS 2026-1897, Grant & Bowman 2026-1899) continue. Source: Federal Circuit order, July 28, 2026.

CBP filed the August 25 progress declaration, and the August 26 closed settlement-conference date has passed. No public post-conference order or written class-certification ruling was verified as of August 27. Importers with finally liquidated exposure should not wait for a possible ruling before protecting protest deadlines or seeking individual trade-counsel review.

Update — August 5, 2026: CAPE Pipeline Tops $100B; 19,726 Refunds Await ACH

• CBP’s August 4, 2026 Lord Declaration (ECF No. 24) reports that as of 3:00 p.m. EDT on July 31, approximately $128.68 billion in potential and certified refunds had been accepted for CAPE processing and approximately $100 billion had been completed, certified, and sent to the Treasury for disbursement. 252,496 declarations had been submitted and 178,213 passed file validation; 25.1 million entries passed entry-level validation, 17.69 million were liquidated IEEPA-free, and 5.02 million failed entry-level validation. Source: Lord Declaration, August 4, 2026 (ECF No. 24).
• The declaration also reports 19,726 refunds totaling approximately $1.6 billion still not transmitted to Treasury because ACH information has not been provided. Source: Lord Declaration, August 4, 2026, ¶ 6.
• The August 5, 2026 order (ECF No. 25) confirms the July 17 reliquidation order has been entered in more than 3,700 IEEPA cases and sets the next CAPE progress report for August 25 and a closed settlement conference for August 26. Source: Order, August 5, 2026 (ECF No. 25).

Update — August 20, 2026: DOJ Brief Adds an Appellate Checkpoint

The Department of Justice filed its opening brief on August 10, 2026, in the consolidated Federal Circuit appeal led by V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump, Appeal No. 26-1895. DOJ asks the Federal Circuit to vacate the CIT’s universal injunctions and argues that the court should distinguish relief for litigating plaintiffs from relief for importers who are not parties to the cases. Source: DOJ opening brief, August 10, 2026.

This filing does not change CAPE Phase 1 or Phase 2 eligibility and does not announce Phase 3. It does, however, make the litigation split clearer: CBP’s administrative refund process continues for eligible entries, while finally liquidated non-litigant claims remain subject to the appellate and class-certification disputes. Importers should continue to file eligible CAPE declarations, protect the 180-day protest deadline, and obtain case-specific counsel review for material finally liquidated entries.

Update — August 23, 2026: Phase 3 Has No Confirmed Opening Date

An August 19 report at IEEPATariffRefunds.info says CBP told the CIT it could not roll out CAPE Phase 3 as planned and could not provide an opening date. A separate August 21 report from Diaz Trade Law describes Phase 3 as delayed until further notice and cites International Trade Today. These are secondary reports, not an official CBP deployment CSMS. Until CBP publishes an operational notice, treat Phase 3 as pending, continue using Phase 1 and Phase 2 where eligible, and protect protest deadlines for entries still within 180 days of liquidation.

Update — August 27, 2026: CBP Confirms Phase 3 Delay and $106.6B Sent

• On August 25, CBP filed a new Brandon Lord declaration reporting activity through August 21: 272,029 CAPE declarations submitted, 191,494 passing file validation, 26.4 million entries accepted, and 18.76 million liquidated or reliquidated without IEEPA duties. Source: Lord Declaration, ECF No. 38.
• CBP reported approximately $132.5 billion accepted for processing and $106.6 billion completed, certified, and sent to Treasury. It also reported 22,170 refunds totaling approximately $1.7 billion held for missing ACH information.
• The declaration confirms Phase 3 is temporarily delayed while CBP builds validations for finally liquidated plaintiff entries covered by court-ordered reliquidation. Phases 1 and 2 remain fully operational.
• The August 26 closed settlement conference has passed, but no public post-conference order or written class-certification ruling was verified as of August 27. CAPE work does not stop the 180-day protest period.

Update — August 30, 2026: September 15–16 Becomes the Next CAPE Checkpoint

• The August 27 CIT order requires the government to submit a short CAPE progress report by September 15 and schedules a closed conference for September 16. Source: CIT Order, ECF No. 40.
• The same order says CBP will update IEEPA Duty Refund FAQs concerning Form 5106 and that additional Phase 3 timing information will be provided at the September 16 conference. It does not open Phase 3.
• The government’s August 28 response says CBP is researching Judge Eaton’s question about possible deletion of IEEPA entry information and expects to respond at the September 16 conference. Source: Government Response, ECF No. 42.
• Separately, CBP’s Form 5106 accuracy enforcement begins September 18. Importers should verify their IOR identity data using the Form 5106 checklist while continuing to protect CAPE and protest deadlines.

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