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The IEEPA ruling and your refund: what actually happened
Separate the court ruling, the refund process and your entry records before estimating a possible recovery.
Source review: September 28, 2026. Sources below are dated records, not confirmation of today's filing eligibility.
What happened
On February 20, 2026, the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. That holding does not by itself tell an individual importer the amount, timing or procedure for a refund. Read the February 20 opinion in Learning Resources / V.O.S. Selections (PDF).
Announcement date is not the effective date
The February 20 proclamation specified a temporary Section 122 surcharge beginning February 24, 2026, not February 20, with a stated end at 12:01 a.m. EDT on July 24 unless changed or extended. It included exceptions. A separate announcement is not proof that every shipment owes the same rate. February 20 proclamation.
Who may get a refund
Start with the actual entry summary and duty payment, not an assumed country-wide percentage. Record the IEEPA Chapter 99 lines, importer of record, liquidation status, prior refunds and any protest or other proceeding. The estimator is an organizing aid; neither a positive result nor an entry date establishes legal entitlement.
How refunds work
- CAPE: CBP's April 13 bulletin scheduled Phase 1 for April 20, 2026. It is inaccurate to describe that announcement simply as a module still being built.
- Entry status matters: that bulletin distinguishes liquidation of unliquidated entries from reliquidation of qualifying liquidated entries.
- Phase 1 is limited: the bulletin excludes, among other cases, entries over 80 days past liquidation and entries with open or suspended protests. This is not a universal deadline for every remedy.
- Do not substitute a generic 180-day countdown: have a customs professional identify the applicable route and deadline. The bulletin prohibits initiating an IEEPA refund request through a Post Summary Correction.
- Check the current instructions: submission validation, payment enrollment and subsequent updates matter. Do not withdraw a protest solely because this guide mentions CAPE.
CBP CSMS 68340863, published April 13, 2026. Later CAPE phases and the status of a particular entry remain unverified here. Do not include unrelated duty authorities in an IEEPA-only estimate.
What to do this week
- Ask your broker for a list of your entries with IEEPA tariff lines and their liquidation status.
- Get a customs attorney or broker's read on protest deadlines for your liquidated entries.
- Agree who will check current CBP instructions, preserve supporting records, submit through the correct channel and reconcile any refund received.
Also in this series: How to read a duty stack · De minimis changes: a DTC planning guide