Update: October 6, 2026
CBP’s CAPE Phase III is scheduled to launch today for eligible, finally liquidated IEEPA entries covered by Court of International Trade reliquidation orders.
Importantly, a valid importer of record (IOR) number must have been submitted to CBP by July 30, 2026, for an eligible plaintiff to begin filing today. Being a plaintiff or having an IOR number in ACE does not, by itself, satisfy this requirement. Importers should work with their attorney to confirm court coverage and timely IOR submission.
Once eligibility is confirmed, contact your Alba representative to engage our team to prepare and submit your Phase III CAPE declarations.
For plaintiffs whose IOR number was submitted after July 30, CBP will provide additional instructions. The October 6 filing date does not apply to this group under the announced rollout.
Posted September 22
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will deploy Phase 3 of its Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system in the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) on October 6, 2026. Phase 3 extends CAPE’s IEEPA refund processing to a category of entries the first two phases could not reach: finally liquidated entries, reliquidated under a Court of International Trade (CIT) order.
What’s New in Phase 3
Phase 1 and Phase 2 of CAPE processed refunds for unliquidated entries and entries that had not yet become final. Finally liquidated entries, generally those liquidated more than 90 days earlier and therefore outside CBP’s ordinary reliquidation window under 19 U.S.C. § 1501, remained outside CAPE’s reach. CBP had taken the position that reliquidating those entries required specific court authority.
The CIT supplied that authority in a July 17, 2026 order, directing CBP to reliquidate, without regard to IEEPA duties, entries that had been liquidated for more than 80 days on which the plaintiffs had made estimated IEEPA deposits. That order is expected to be entered across each of the approximately 3,700 IEEPA refund cases currently assigned to Judge Richard K. Eaton at the CIT.
Phase 3 Eligibility Is Litigant-Specific
Phase 3 is not a universal refund mechanism. According to a CBP declaration filed by Executive Director of Trade Programs Brandon Lord on September 15, 2026, eligible plaintiffs who submitted a valid Importer of Record (IOR) number to CBP by July 30, 2026, will be able to file Phase 3 CAPE declarations beginning October 6.
Plaintiffs who submitted their IOR number after the July 30 deadline will receive additional filing instructions from CBP. Importers who have not filed suit in one of the roughly 3,700 pending IEEPA cases are not covered by this reliquidation order and should not expect Phase 3 to reach their finally liquidated entries on this basis alone.
This litigant-only limitation is consistent with the government’s position in its pending appeal of the CIT’s broader universal refund order, which Alba covered separately.
What Affected Plaintiffs Should Confirm
- A valid Importer of Record number was submitted to CBP by the July 30, 2026 deadline, or watch for CBP’s follow-up instructions if it was submitted later.
- Current ACH account information is on file with CBP, since electronic refund transmission depends on it.
- Which specific entries in their case qualify as “finally liquidated” and fall within the CIT’s reliquidation order.
Where Refund Processing Stands Overall
As of September 11, 2026, CBP had accepted approximately 286,044 CAPE declarations, covering approximately $134.7 billion in potential and certified refunds. Of that amount, approximately $122 billion had been certified and sent to the U.S. Department of the Treasury for disbursement.
Phase 3 adds a new category of eligible entries to this pipeline rather than replacing the processing already underway for Phase 1 and Phase 2 entries.
What Importers Should Do Now
- Confirm whether your entries fall within the approximately 3,700 IEEPA cases assigned to Judge Eaton at the CIT.
- Verify your Importer of Record number was submitted to CBP by the July 30, 2026 deadline; if not, watch for CBP’s supplemental instructions.
- Confirm ACH refund account information is current and on file with CBP.
- Identify which of your finally liquidated entries may qualify under the CIT’s reliquidation order.
- Continue monitoring the government’s pending appeal of the broader universal refund order, which could affect non-litigant importers’ eligibility in a future phase.
- Coordinate with litigation counsel on any case-specific filing instructions from the CIT or CBP.
References
- CBP Declaration of Brandon Lord, Executive Director of Trade Programs (filed Sept. 15, 2026, CIT)
- CIT Order Directing Reliquidation of Finally Liquidated Entries (July 17, 2026)
- CBP CAPE Refund Program Overview (CBP.gov)
Contact the Alba team for assistance confirming CAPE Phase 3 eligibility and coordinating entry-level documentation for the reliquidation process.
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