U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has provided the U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) with an updated picture of its progress processing refunds of duties imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

According to an Aug. 25 filing from CBP Executive Director of Trade Programs Brandon Lord, approximately 26.4 million import entries had been processed through CBP’s Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system as of Aug. 21. Those entries represented approximately $132.5 billion in potential and certified IEEPA duty refunds.

While the refund process is moving forward, CBP reported that approximately 22,170 refunds totaling $1.7 billion had not yet been transmitted to the U.S. Treasury.

The primary issue is missing Automated Clearing House (ACH) payment information. CBP said the required account information had not been supplied by the importer of record or the party designated through CBP Form 4811 to receive the refund.

For importers expecting refunds, the report underscores the importance of ensuring that payment and account information is properly established with CBP.

CBP also provided an update on a CAPE enhancement introduced June 29. The functionality allows importers and customs brokers to include certain entries subject to reconciliation in a CAPE declaration.

The change applies to eligible entries that remain unliquidated—or that liquidated within the preceding 80 days—and that had been flagged for reconciliation even though a Reconciliation Entry (Entry Type 09) had not yet been filed.

As of Aug. 21, CBP reported that approximately 2.3 million reconciliation-flagged entries had been successfully filed through CAPE and were awaiting processing.

CBP is also continuing to develop the next stage of the refund process. The agency has temporarily postponed CAPE Phase 3, which involves finally liquidated entries for which the CIT has ordered reliquidation.

CBP said the additional time is needed to develop validations designed to prevent unintended changes to duties other than the IEEPA amounts covered by the court’s orders.

The agency also plans to address situations in which IEEPA duties may have been incorrectly reported on the original entries. According to CBP, the additional safeguards are intended to help ensure that reliquidation is limited to the adjustments required by the court.

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