Most of the IEEPA refund story is administrative. An importer files a CAPE declaration, CBP validates it, money moves. That covers the majority of the roughly $166 billion collected.
But there is a category of entries where the administrative path does not currently reach, and importers with a lot of early-2025 entries need to understand it. These are finally liquidated entries, and the current route to refunding them runs through a courtroom.
The customs law problem
Under 19 U.S.C. 1514, once an entry is liquidated and the 180-day protest window closes, the liquidation becomes final. CBP does not have general authority to reopen it. This rule exists to give both sides certainty. It was never written with a scenario in mind where the Supreme Court would declare an entire tariff program unlawful after the fact.
CAPE Phases 1 and 2 stay within CBP’s ordinary authority by limiting themselves to entries that are unliquidated or within 80 days of liquidation. Phase 3 is the bucket for everything older, and it required something more.
What the CIT did on July 17
On July 17, 2026, Senior Judge Richard Eaton of the Court of International Trade issued an order directing CBP to reliquidate entries that have been liquidated for more than 80 days, including finally liquidated entries. The order states plainly that it provides the government with the legal authority it otherwise lacked.
Here is the part that matters for you. The order applies to plaintiffs, meaning importers who have filed their own case at the CIT seeking IEEPA refunds. Those plaintiffs submit identifying information, including their importer of record numbers, to CBP through counsel. CBP issues instructions. Then the plaintiff files a CAPE declaration for the finally liquidated entries.
Importers who have not filed at the CIT are not covered by that order. CBP filed a status report on the Phase 3 process on August 4, and the process is underway for plaintiffs.
Why the appeal adds risk
The government has appealed the CIT’s underlying refund order. The Supreme Court’s ruling on the merits is settled: the tariffs were unlawful. What is being litigated is the procedure, scope, and mechanics of how refunds get paid, and to whom. Finally liquidated entries for non-plaintiffs are the category most exposed to that uncertainty. Legal commentators have been direct that importers who do not file at the CIT risk delay or permanent loss of refunds on those entries.
We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice. Our read as operators is simpler: if you have finally liquidated IEEPA entries with meaningful dollars attached, get a trade attorney’s view on a CIT filing soon.
How to know if this applies to you
Run the ES-003 Entry Summary Detail Report in ACE. Filter for entries with IEEPA duties. Look at the liquidation date. Anything liquidated more than 80 days ago is in this category.
For most importers, the finally liquidated entries are the earliest ones: February through mid-2025 entries that liquidated in the normal course before CAPE existed. If your import volume was heavy in the first half of 2025, this could be a large share of your refund.
Practical considerations
A CIT filing is a real legal action with real cost. Whether it makes sense depends on the dollar amount at stake. Some trade attorneys have filed on behalf of groups of importers, which spreads the cost. Others handle it per client.
The remaining phases of CAPE are still moving. Even if you pursue a CIT filing for the old entries, file your Phase 1 and Phase 2 entries now. There is no reason to hold everything for one process.
Keep your entry records organized by liquidation date. Every attorney and every CBP instruction will ask for that sort first.