By: southernstarnavigation April 30, 2026 Comments(0)

CBP CAPE Filing Update: What the Latest Data Means for IEEPA Refunds

If your company is preparing to file for IEEPA tariff refunds through CAPE, the latest CBP data is giving us a very clear signal:

This process is not about speed. It is about accuracy.

CAPE is moving at scale, and while the system itself is working, a meaningful number of entries are not making it through validation. That is where delays are happening right now.

What the Latest CAPE Data Is Showing

CBP provided a detailed update through its April 28 filing, offering a real look at how CAPE is performing.

As of April 26 at 8:00 p.m. ET:

75,306 CAPE Declarations have been submitted
47,315 passed file validation, which is about 62.8%
11,222,927 entries have passed entry-level validation and were accepted for IEEPA duty removal
2,124,394 entries were rejected at the entry validation stage, even though the file itself passed
About 1,740,000 entries have already liquidated and moved into the refund process

CAPE launched on April 20 at 7:11 a.m. ET, and CBP reported a 70% increase in ACE log-ins on day one. Since then, the system has been running as intended, with only a brief 18-minute pause early on to adjust processing.

What This Means in Practice

There are two separate checkpoints in CAPE:

File validation
Entry-level validation

Passing the first does not guarantee passing the second.

Right now, that second step is where many entries are being stopped.

That means your submission can go through, but individual entries inside it can still be rejected. When that happens, those entries do not move forward to liquidation or refund.

Where Delays Are Happening

The data shows that the process is not slowing down at the system level. It is slowing down at the validation level.

Entries that are incomplete, inconsistent, or tied to certain conditions are not moving forward.

Common issues include:

Entries tied to drawback claims
Entries flagged for reconciliation
Entries in final liquidation status outside Phase 1 scope
Entries under protest or court injunction
Missing or incorrect IEEPA HTS lines
Entries not found or not active in ACE
Statement processing not complete
Entry types not allowed under CAPE Phase 1

There is also an important limitation to keep in mind.

If a CAPE refund is already in process for an entry, a Post Summary Correction cannot be filed against that same entry. If you were planning to submit a correction, it is important to review the status first and coordinate with your broker.

Tracking Your Status in ACE

CBP has added claim status tracking within ACE, allowing importers and brokers to see:

Submission status
Validation results
Accepted and rejected entries
Processing and liquidation progress
Refund status

This visibility is helpful, but it does not correct issues after submission.

The quality of the data going in is still what determines whether entries move forward.

CAPE Process Visual

To help simplify the process, we created a clear visual that outlines how CAPE works from submission through refund.

This visual highlights:

Real CAPE data and validation trends
Where entries are getting stopped
Claim status visibility in ACE
Key areas to focus on before filing

You can use this as a quick reference as you prepare your CAPE submissions.

CBP CAPE Process for IEEPA Refunds (Phase 1)

What You Should Do Before Filing

Before submitting or resubmitting a CAPE Declaration, take the time to review:

ACE Top Account access is active
ACH refund setup is complete
Entry numbers are verified and accurate
IEEPA HTS lines are present where required
Liquidation status has been checked
Entries involving protest, drawback, reconciliation, or suspension have been identified
Your customs broker has reviewed anything that looks unclear

The Bottom Line

CAPE is working exactly as designed.

But the latest data shows that validation is where many entries are being stopped.

Clean data moves forward.
Incomplete or incorrect data does not.

Taking the time to review your entries before filing can make a meaningful difference in how quickly your refund is processed.

Questions

CAPE is still new for many importers, and there is a lot happening quickly.

If you want a second set of eyes before you file, we are here to help.

Call us at 833-782-7628 Ext. 1