Which duties on Indian goods are refundable
The refundable duties are the IEEPA tariffs. On goods of Indian origin they ran in three steps, each reported on its own Chapter 99 line, and an entry of most Indian goods made between August 27, 2025 and February 6, 2026 carried 50% of IEEPA duty on top of the normal duty.
- April 5, 2025: the 10% baseline reciprocal tariff. India's 26% country rate took effect on April 9 and was paused the next day, leaving 10%.[16][17][18]
- August 7, 2025: India's reciprocal rate set at 25% (9903.02.26).[19]
- August 27, 2025: a further 25% on products of India tied to Russian oil (9903.01.84), charged on top of the reciprocal duty. It ended on February 7, 2026.[20][21][22]
- February 24, 2026: CBP stopped collecting all IEEPA duties on goods entered from 12:00 a.m. ET.[3]
Two tariffs, two different refund answers
"Tariff refund" in 2026 covers two separate measures with different answers. As of September 25, 2026, IEEPA duties are being refunded through CBP's administrative process, and Section 122 duties are not, outside three court plaintiffs. Start by checking which one your entries carried: the ACE ES-003 report, run with the IEEPA tariff indicator, lists IEEPA lines entry by entry.[5]
Status as of September 25, 2026| Question | IEEPA duties | Section 122 surcharge |
|---|
| Legal basis | Executive orders under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, ended by Executive Order 14389[2] | Proclamation 11012 under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974[8] |
| When collected | Until 12:00 a.m. ET on February 24, 2026[3] | 12:01 a.m. ET February 24 to 12:01 a.m. ET July 24, 2026[9] |
| Court ruling | Supreme Court: IEEPA does not authorize tariffs (February 20, 2026)[1] | Court of International Trade: unlawful (May 7, 2026), stayed by the Federal Circuit (June 11, 2026)[11][13] |
| Refund route | CAPE Declaration in the ACE Portal[4] | None published by CBP; CAPE covers IEEPA duties only[4] |
Eligibility checklist for each entry
Go through these points for each entry before anything is filed. Passing all of them is a good sign that CAPE will take the entry, not a promise: ACE runs its own checks, and CBP sets the refund amount at liquidation.[4] Whether a given entry qualifies is a question for your licensed customs broker.
- You were the importer of record. CBP refunds IEEPA duties only to the importer of record or the notify party it named on CBP Form 4811. A foreign exporter, such as an Indian seller that was not the importer of record, or a buyer who paid a US supplier more because of the tariff, has no CAPE claim.[4]
- The entry carried IEEPA duties. The goods were entered before 12:00 a.m. ET on February 24, 2026, and the entry summary declares at least one IEEPA Chapter 99 heading.[3][5]
- The entry is in ACE with an accepted status. Entries not filed in ACE are not taken yet.[4]
- It is unliquidated, or liquidated no more than 80 days ago. Entries that are suspended, extended or under review also go on a declaration and are refunded when they liquidate.[4]
- It is a type CAPE takes now. Not yet accepted: finally liquidated entries, entries under an open protest, entries on a drawback claim, Type 09 reconciliation summaries, and Type 21 and 22 warehouse entries. Warehouse withdrawals (Types 31, 32, 34 and 38) are accepted.[5][6]
- There is an ACE Portal account with refund bank details. CBP pays by ACH only and holds the refund until the bank details are in the ACE Portal.[4]
Why IEEPA duties are being refunded
On February 20, 2026 the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs.[1] The same day, Executive Order 14389 ended the additional duties imposed under IEEPA by Executive Orders 14193, 14194, 14195, 14257 and later orders.[2] CBP stopped collecting them on goods entered on or after 12:00 a.m. ET on February 24, 2026. Section 232 and Section 301 duties were not affected.[3]
On April 20, 2026 CBP opened CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) in the ACE Portal to take IEEPA refund requests. It is rolling CAPE out in phases, so some entry types are not accepted yet.[5]
Who files the claim, and who gets the money
CBP puts it plainly: "Only the IOR or the licensed customs broker who filed the entries can file a CAPE Declaration." An attorney cannot file one for an importer. The filer's ACE filer code has to match the entries, so a broker can file only for entries it filed itself, although it can put entries for several importers on one declaration.[4] If more than one broker filed your entries from India, each files for its own entries, or you file for all of them as importer of record.
The refund goes to "the IOR or the party designated by the IOR (the 4811 notify party) on either the CBP Form 4811 (Special Address Notification) or on the ACE Portal account, and on the entry summary."[4] CBP does not send refunds to consumers or other buyers who paid more because of an IEEPA duty.[4] If an Indian exporter and a US buyer agreed to share the tariff cost, any sharing of the refund is a matter for their contract, not for CBP.
How to claim an IEEPA refund, step by step
This is the process as CBP describes it. The importer of record or its licensed customs broker does the filing.
- Set up the ACE Portal. The importer of record needs an ACE Portal account with an Importer sub-account. A broker filing for it needs its own account.[4]
- Register bank details for refunds. CBP pays IEEPA refunds by ACH only. The refund account is registered in the ACH Refund Authorization tab and is separate from any ACH account used to pay CBP. Without it, CBP holds the refund.[5]
- List the entries. Run the ACE ES-003 report with the IEEPA tariff indicator to find entry lines with IEEPA duties, and check each entry's liquidation status.[5]
- Fix anything else on the entry first. File any post-summary correction for a non-IEEPA issue before the entry goes on a CAPE Declaration. Once a declaration is filed, entries cannot be removed and the declaration cannot be amended or canceled.[4]
- File the CAPE Declaration. Upload a CSV of entry numbers, up to 9,999 per file, in the CAPE tab. Several files are allowed, and each entry can be on only one accepted declaration. It cannot be filed through ABI, and CBP bars asking for an IEEPA refund by post-summary correction.[5][4]
- Deal with rejections. ACE validates the file, then each entry. An accepted declaration gets a CAPE claim number; rejected entries drop out with the reason, and the rest carry on.[5][4]
- CBP recalculates and pays. ACE removes the IEEPA Chapter 99 lines and duties, CBP liquidates or reliquidates the entry, and the refund is paid with interest under 19 U.S.C. 1505.[4]
- Track it. CBP does not email status updates. Use the ACE ES-022 and REV-603 reports, or ask the broker that filed.[4]
Deadlines, timing and interest
IEEPA deadline. CAPE currently accepts most entries that are unliquidated or no more than 80 days past their liquidation date. CBP chose 80 days so it can reliquidate within its 90-day voluntary reliquidation period under 19 U.S.C. 1501. Past 80 days, CAPE treats the entry as final and rejects it, so the working deadline for each entry is 80 days after liquidation.[4]
Timing. Once a declaration is accepted, CBP says valid refunds are generally issued within 60 to 90 days, including about 45 days for CBP review and time for Treasury. After an entry liquidates or reliquidates, most refunds reach the bank account in 3 to 5 weeks. Entries that are extended, suspended or under review are refunded when they liquidate.[4]
Interest. Interest is included in the refund under 19 U.S.C. 1505. It generally runs from the date the duty was deposited to the date the entry liquidates or reliquidates, at the rate the IRS sets and publishes quarterly in the Federal Register. There is no separate interest payment; the ACE ES-022 report shows principal and interest separately.[4]
Liquidation and protests. CBP's standard liquidation cycle is 314 days from the date of entry.[14] A protest against a CBP decision is generally due within 180 days of liquidation.[15] Whether a protest helps with an IEEPA or Section 122 refund is unsettled; ask your broker or trade counsel.
Section 122. CBP has published no refund process, so there is no filing deadline tied to one. The general liquidation and protest clocks still run on those entries.
Documents and access to have ready
The CAPE Declaration itself holds only entry numbers, and CBP asks for nothing else in the file.[4] Around it, have these ready:
- An ACE Portal account with an Importer sub-account, and the refund bank details registered in it.[5]
- The entry numbers, 11 characters each. Keep leading zeros by typing an apostrophe before the number in the CSV.[4]
- Your entry summaries (CBP Form 7501) and the ES-003 report, to confirm which lines carried IEEPA duties and to reconcile the refund when it arrives.
- CBP Form 4811, if someone other than the importer of record should receive the refund.[5]
- For Section 122 entries: the entry summaries, each entry's liquidation date and proof of payment, so a claim can be assessed if a refund route opens.
Entries CAPE does not take yet
As of September 25, 2026, CAPE does not accept entries whose liquidation is final, entries covered by an open protest, entries on a drawback claim, Type 09 reconciliation summaries and entries flagged for reconciliation with the Type 09 already on file, Type 21 and 22 warehouse entries, entries not filed in ACE, and some AD/CVD entries pending liquidation. CBP says it is looking at these for later phases.[4] For warehoused goods, file the withdrawals (Types 31, 32, 34 and 38), which is where the IEEPA duties were paid; CBP refunds them when the warehouse entry liquidates.[6]
Whether finally liquidated entries will be refunded at all is still in the courts. The government has appealed the Court of International Trade's IEEPA refund orders to the Federal Circuit, and as of September 25, 2026 there was no decision on those consolidated appeals.[7] For entries other than unliquidated ones and those inside the 90-day reliquidation period, CBP gives no guidance on whether a court case is needed.[4] Treat these entries as unsettled and take them to trade counsel.
Why the refund may not match the duty you paid
CBP recalculates each entry without the IEEPA lines and nets every over- and under-payment on the entry at liquidation, under 19 C.F.R. 159.1. If other duties on the entry were understated, the refund shrinks and can turn into a bill. CBP also uses refunds to pay any undisputed debt the importer owes the United States, under 19 C.F.R. 24.72.[4]
CBP charges no fee to process a tariff refund, and a request for a fee or bank details from someone claiming to be CBP is a scam. CBP warns that scammers are using emails, notices and social media to collect company information around the refund process. CAPE Declarations are filed only in the ACE Portal.[4]
Section 122: struck down, stayed, no refund route yet
Proclamation 11012 imposed a 10% ad valorem surcharge on most imports, Indian goods included, under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974, reported under HTSUS 9903.03.01.[8][9] Section 122 allows a surcharge of up to 15% for no more than 150 days unless Congress extends it.[10] The surcharge applied to goods entered from 12:01 a.m. ET on February 24, 2026 through 12:01 a.m. ET on July 24, 2026.[9]
On May 7, 2026 the Court of International Trade held, 2-1, that the proclamation exceeded the President's authority, but it ordered relief, including refunds with interest, only for the three plaintiffs it found had standing: the State of Washington, Burlap and Barrel, and Basic Fun.[11] The government appealed on May 8, 2026.[12] On June 11, 2026 the Federal Circuit stayed the judgment pending appeal, finding the government had made a sufficient showing that it is likely to succeed on the merits.[13] As of September 25, 2026 there was no Federal Circuit decision on the merits, and CBP had published no Section 122 refund process. CAPE is for IEEPA duties only.[4]
Where Atmavaan fits
Atmavaan is a freight forwarder for the India-USA lane. A CAPE Declaration can only be filed by you as importer of record or by the licensed customs broker that filed the entries, so if a broker filed your entries from India, start with that broker. For shipments you are moving now, Atmavaan books the freight and arranges US customs clearance through licensed customs brokers. For what Indian goods pay today, see US tariffs on India.
