In response to the United States Court of International Trade (CIT) order directing the government to begin processing refunds, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) announced the launch of its new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) Portal.
What is the CAPE Claims Portal?
Just yesterday, March 12, CBP provided an outline of new functionality within the ACE system – the CAPE Claim Portal. This portal will serve as the entry point for importers and customs brokers to submit IEEPA refund requests, which are being called a ‘CAPE Declaration’. Once programming is complete, a new tab will be available in both importer and customs broker ACE Portal accounts.
CBP is designing CAPE with four components (and developing accordingly), which they state reflects how requests will be processed into refunds.
The four components of CAPE are:
- Claim Portal
- Mass Processing
- Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation
- Refund
In their comments, CBP has stated programming of the CAPE Claims Portal is at the following stages:
- Claim Portal – 70% complete
- Mass Processing – 40% complete
- Review and Liquidation/Reliquidation - 80% complete
- Refund – 60% complete
What should Importers do while they wait for the Portal to go Live?
Be prepared to file when the portal goes live by completing the following during this waiting period
- Gain access to your importer ACE account
- Ensure you are familiar with the system’s functionalities
- Run reports to understand your total tariff exposure & potential refund amount, number of impacted entries, and liquidation status of these entries
- Enroll in ACH refund!
- This is an incredibly important step. No monies will be returned to importers via paper check. Every importer must be set up on ACH refund to receive refunds from CBP
Information on establishing an ACE account:
Every importer must establish an account on the ACE portal in order to receive electronic refunds and access entry filing & liquidation reports. The application can either be completed and emailed or completed online.
Here is a link to additional information regarding the ACE portal:
https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/how-to-use-ace/portal-applying
Application Option 1 - The PDF application:
https://www.cbp.gov/document/guidance/ace-secure-data-portal-account-application
Here is the email address to send the completed application to (processing time right now is around 2-3 weeks):
Application Option 2 – Online Submission:
https://ace-accounts.cbp.gov/s/importer-form
Some helpful tips for completing the application:
- Be sure to only complete sections designed for an importer and your company type. All other sections can be marked ‘NA’
The Laufer Group team will continue to monitor these changes and provide updates on any significant developments.
Please contact your local customer service or sales representative for additional information and service options and continue to visit laufer.com for more market Insights.