As noted in our March 13 GT Alert, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is developing a refund process for importers who paid duties the Trump administration imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). The Court of International Trade (CIT) has been overseeing CBP’s progress in the case Atmus Filtration, Inc. v. United States, Court No. 26-01259, before Judge Richard K. Eaton. Below are three key developments from the week of March 17, 2026.
IEEPA Tariff Refund System Update
On March 19, CBP Executive Director Brandon Lord filed a declaration with the CIT, providing updated completion estimates for each component of CBP’s new refund system, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE), within CBP’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE). The four CAPE components and their current status are as follows:
- Claim Portal: 73% complete. CBP has begun testing substantially developed capabilities and will continue multiple rounds of critical testing prior to deployment.
- Mass Processing: 45% complete. CBP is developing two critical functions: ACE validations (to ensure automated entry summary updates are processed correctly) and event history tracking (to maintain an audit trail). CBP plans to complete remaining validations and begin testing within the week.
- Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation: 80% complete. CBP has begun testing CAPE’s liquidation/reliquidation function, with additional development and testing dependent on progress of other CAPE components.
- Refund: 63% complete. CBP has completed development of CAPE-specific refund processing functionality and has conducted testing of the refund consolidation function, which will consolidate refunds by liquidation/reliquidation date and importer of record.
In response to this progress report, in a March 20 order (Amended Order) Judge Eaton found that CBP continues to make “satisfactory progress toward the timely completion” of the IEEPA refund process and continued the suspension of his prior order requiring immediate liquidation of entries without IEEPA duties. Judge Eaton has ordered CBP to file a further progress report by 12:00 p.m. ET on March 31, 2026, with a closed settlement conference to follow that same day at 2:00 p.m. ET.
Final Liquidation and Protest Rights
At a March 19 settlement conference, the parties to the Atmus Filtration case discussed how to treat entries for which liquidation had already become final. Understanding the significance of this distinction requires brief background on the liquidation process.
- What Is Liquidation? Liquidation is the final computation of duties owed on an imported entry. Until an entry is liquidated, the amount of duties owed remains subject to adjustment. Once CBP liquidates an entry, the importer is notified, and that liquidation becomes final if it is not protested within the applicable timeframe.
- The 180-Day Protest Period: Under 19 U.S.C. § 1514, an importer generally has 180 days from the date of liquidation to file a protest with CBP challenging the liquidation. This is a strict deadline. If an importer fails to file a timely protest, the liquidation becomes final and the duties assessed are no longer subject to challenge through the administrative protest process. Once liquidation is final, the avenues for relief narrow.
- Why This Matters for IEEPA Refunds: The Amended Order directs CBP to liquidate unliquidated entries without regard to IEEPA duties, and to reliquidate entries for which liquidation is not yet final. However, the Amended Order does not — and as a practical matter cannot — address entries for which liquidation has already become final. The parties did not reach a resolution on how to provide relief for those entries at the March 19 settlement conference, and the Amended Order expressly notes that importers should be aware of the remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514.
Importers who have paid IEEPA duties on entries that have already been liquidated may wish to act promptly to determine:
- Whether the 180-day protest period under § 1514 remains open for any of their affected entries; and
- Whether they should file a protest to preserve their right to a refund, particularly given the uncertainty over whether the CAPE refund process will extend to finally liquidated entries.
Given the strict and non-extendable nature of the § 1514 protest deadline, importers should consider reviewing their entries and evaluating their options.
Expansion to Brazil and India
At the March 19 settlement conference, Judge Eaton announced he would expand the scope of his March 5 order. The Amended Order encompasses all duties imposed pursuant to IEEPA, now explicitly including those imposed on imports from Brazil and India.
The Amended Order directs CBP to liquidate all unliquidated entries subject to any IEEPA duties — including those from Brazil and India — without regard to those duties, and to reliquidate any liquidated entries for which liquidation is not yet final, likewise without regard to IEEPA duties. However, this directive is suspended pending CBP’s continued satisfactory progress on the development and completion of the CAPE refund system. Should CBP fail to demonstrate satisfactory progress, Judge Eaton might lift the suspension, which would require immediate compliance.
Importers of goods from Brazil and India subject to IEEPA duties should take note of this development and may wish to assess whether any of their entries may be affected.
Key Takeaways
Companies importing goods subject to IEEPA duties should monitor developments in the Atmus Filtration case, particularly in advance of the March 31 CBP progress report and settlement conference. Importers with entries that have reached final liquidation should consider evaluating protest rights and available remedies under 19 U.S.C. § 1514.
