IEEPA Tariff Refund FAQs: Eligibility and Filing Steps

Reciprocal tariffs may be eligible only if the duties were imposed under IEEPA and appear on your customs entry summaries as IEEPA-classified duties, commonly under HTS 9903.01.25 or related codes. Section 301 China tariffs and Section 232 steel or aluminum tariffs are separate programs and are not refundable through the CAPE process described here.

To seek a tariff refund, the Importer of Record must identify eligible IEEPA duty payments, gather CF7501 entry summaries and duty records, calculate the refundable amount, and submit a CAPE Declaration through CBP’s ACE Secure Data Portal. Price Ridge handles this process end-to-end, including eligibility review, documentation coordination, CAPE filing, claim tracking, and refund disbursement coordination.

A company generally qualifies if it was the Importer of Record on U.S. entries from 2025–2026 that paid IEEPA duties, has not already filed its own CAPE Declaration, and has sufficient documentation to support the claim. Price Ridge’s baseline contingency filing threshold is $10,000 or more in IEEPA duties paid, with claim purchase options starting at $500,000.

You typically need CF7501 entry summaries, duty payment records, commercial invoices, packing lists, bills of lading or air waybills, and any CBP correspondence on affected entries. The CF7501 is especially important because it identifies the Importer of Record, entry number, port code, HTS subheading, country of origin, entered value, and duty amount needed for CAPE filing.

A CAPE Declaration is the CSV-format filing CBP requires to process an IEEPA tariff refund claim. It lists each eligible CF7501 entry summary with required fields such as entry number, port code, IOR number, entered value, IEEPA duty amount, HTS subheading, country of origin, and entry status. Incorrect formatting can cause CBP rejection.

CBP stated that Phase 1 unliquidated entries may take roughly 45–90 days from CAPE Declaration acceptance for review and liquidation. However, queue position matters because many importers are filing. Phase 2 finally liquidated entries are also eligible, but CBP had not announced a specific processing timeline as of 2026.

Price Ridge offers a free, no-obligation eligibility review and contingency-based filing with $0 upfront cost. The contingency percentage is discussed transparently before engagement and is paid only when CBP disburses your refund. For eligible claims of $500,000 or more, Price Ridge may also purchase the claim at 75–85 cents on the dollar.

Only the Importer of Record shown on the CF7501 entry summary has the legal right to claim the refund for that entry. If your supplier shipped DDP or a freight forwarder acted as IOR, the refund right may belong to them instead. Price Ridge verifies IOR status during the eligibility review.