CAPE Phase 3: finally liquidated IEEPA refunds open October 6, 2026
CBP's Brandon Lord told the CIT that CAPE Phase 3 goes live October 6, 2026 for finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs with court-ordered reliquidation. Who can file that day, who waits for separate instructions, and what to prep on ACH and ACE reports.
Finally liquidated IEEPA entries have sat outside CAPE since Phase 1. That changes on October 6, 2026 for a defined plaintiff cohort. On September 15, 2026, Brandon Lord, CBP's Executive Director for Trade Programs, filed a declaration in Freestyle World, Inc. v. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CIT Court No. 26-01088) stating that CAPE Phase 3 deploys that day for finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the Court has ordered reliquidation.
This is not a general reopen of every finally liquidated entry in ACE. It is a court-ordered, plaintiff-scoped phase. Treat it as distinct from the broader exclusion list that still appears on CBP's public IEEPA Duty Refunds FAQ.
CAPE Phase 3 goes live October 6, 2026 for finally liquidated plaintiff entries with CIT-ordered reliquidation. Day-one filing depends on a July 30, 2026 IOR submission.
What Lord's September 15 declaration says
Paragraph 8 of the declaration is the operational sentence. CBP will deploy CAPE Phase 3 on October 6, 2026. The covered pool is finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the Court has ordered reliquidation. Plaintiffs who submitted a valid importer of record number to CBP by July 30, 2026 can file CAPE declarations for Phase 3 as of that October 6 go-live. Plaintiffs who provided an IOR number after July 30, 2026 get additional instructions from CBP later.
CAPE Phase 3 deploy: October 6, 2026
Scope: finally liquidated plaintiff entries + CIT-ordered reliquidation
Day-one IORs: valid IOR number submitted to CBP by July 30, 2026
Later IOR submitters: separate CBP instructions
How this sits against CBP's public FAQ
CBP's IEEPA Duty Refunds page still describes CAPE as phased. Live phases named on the page are Phase 1 (certain unliquidated entries and certain entries within 80 days of liquidation) and Phase 2 (entries flagged for reconciliation where the reconciliation entry is not yet on file). A FAQ updated September 2, 2026 lists "Entries for which liquidation is final" among types CBP is evaluating for subsequent deployments, with further communications to follow. That public FAQ had not yet labeled Phase 3 or an October 6 date as of that September update.
The July 10, 2026 CAPE Trade Information Notice likewise lists entries for which liquidation is final as not currently accepted on a CAPE Declaration. Lord's declaration is the primary source that pins Phase 3's date and plaintiff-scoped finally liquidated coverage. Watch CBP.gov and CSMS for the trade-facing rollout note that matches the court filing.
Open protests, drawback-claimed entries, warehouse 21/22, and other buckets called out in the July TIN remain separate workstreams unless and until CBP publishes a later phase for them. Phase 3, per Lord, is finally liquidated plaintiff entries with CIT-ordered reliquidation, gated by the July 30 IOR submission cutoff for day-one filing.
Prep before October 6
- Confirm plaintiff / order status: Phase 3 coverage turns on finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs with CIT-ordered reliquidation. Inventory those entries; keep non-covered finally liquidated files offline.
- Check the July 30 IOR gate: If a valid IOR number reached CBP by July 30, 2026, plan to file CAPE Declarations on October 6. If the IOR number landed after that date, wait for CBP's separate Phase 3 instructions rather than assuming Portal acceptance.
- Enroll ACH refunds: Lord's declaration notes roughly $1.3 billion in completed refunds stuck because ACH account information was missing. Refund ACH is separate from payment ACH. Use the ACH Refund Authorization path in an Importer sub-account.
- Stage CSV CAPE Declarations: Same Portal mechanics as earlier phases: ACE Portal CAPE tab, CSV only (not ABI), max 9,999 entries per file, IOR or the filing broker for those entries.
- Wire ACE report monitors: ES-003 (line tariff / IEEPA indicator), ES-022 (CAPE entry summary), REV-603 (trade refund statuses), plus REV-613 / REV-615 for ACH rejects and CAPE detail once refunds move.
Contacts
Technical IEEPA refund questions: IEEPARefunds@cbp.dhs.gov. General: traderelations@cbp.dhs.gov. ACE technical: ACE Account Service Desk, 866-530-4172 or ace.support@cbp.dhs.gov.
- Brandon Lord declaration (Sept 15, 2026, CIT Ct. No. 26-01088): CAPE Phase 3 deploys October 6, 2026.
- Scope: finally liquidated entries filed by plaintiffs for which the Court ordered reliquidation, not every finally liquidated entry in ACE.
- Plaintiffs with a valid IOR number submitted to CBP by July 30, 2026 can file Phase 3 CAPE Declarations on October 6; later IOR submitters get separate CBP instructions.
- CBP's public IEEPA FAQ (updated Sept 2, 2026) still lists finally liquidated entries as a future capability; the court declaration is the Phase 3 date source.
- Before go-live: confirm plaintiff/order coverage, enroll ACH refunds, stage Portal CSVs (9,999 max, no ABI), and monitor ES-003 / ES-022 / REV-603.
- Declaration of Brandon Lord Responding to August 27, 2026 Court Order (Sept 15, 2026), Freestyle World, Inc. v. CBP, CIT Court No. 26-01088 · U.S. Court of International Trade (via CourtListener RECAP)
- International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) Duty Refunds · U.S. Customs and Border Protection
- Trade Information Notice: Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) (updated July 10, 2026) · U.S. Customs and Border Protection
This article is for general information and is not legal or tax advice. Drawback eligibility depends on your specific facts, and final refunds are determined by CBP at liquidation. Consult a licensed customs broker or attorney for your situation.