A new federal portal designed to return billions of dollars in illegal tariffs launched Monday to a rocky start, as business owners reported technical glitches and overwhelming volume in a system the government says could eventually pay out up to $175 billion.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) says Phase 1 of the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, or CAPE, is limited mostly to recent shipments — specifically those that are still being processed or those where the government finished its final review within the last 80 days. Only the importer of record or the customs broker who filed the entries may submit a CAPE declaration, and refunds will be paid electronically. On its face, the filing is simple: a CSV file listing eligible entry numbers. Phase 1 covers about 63% of affected filings.
The requirements for a refund are more complex than they appear. To get paid, a company must have an active federal trade account within the Automated Commercial Environment and up-to-date banking records on file.
Additionally, the system currently rejects shipments that are tied up in other legal red tape, like cases where a company is already disputing a bill, asking for a different type of tax credit or trying to change a record where the legal deadline has already passed.
Trade attorneys told CBS News that the process leaves importers doing most of the work. One attorney said customs is “putting the burden on the importer,” rather than automatically calculating refunds, even though the agency already has payment records.
CBP says that 56,497 importers had completed the process to receive electronic refunds as of April 9, and that about $127 billion in principal International Emergency Economic Powers Act tariff payments and deposits are eligible for refunds in the system’s initial payouts.
Why businesses are still running into problems
The first day did not appear to go smoothly for everyone. CBS News reported that some businesses saw error messages or had trouble accessing the system. CBP said it was looking into those reports. One importer described the portal as overwhelmed. Others said account problems kept them from reaching the filing stage at all.
The refund process is also taking on a political dimension. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump told CNBC he would “remember” companies that do not seek refunds and said it would be “brilliant” if they chose not to apply. CNBC reported that some large companies, including Apple and Amazon, had yet to file claims. Trump did not explicitly threaten companies that do apply, but his comments add another layer of pressure to a process that was already technical and time-consuming.
Businesses also still face uncertainty because Trump has pursued replacement tariffs under other legal authorities. That means some firms could recover money tied to the old IEEPA tariffs while continuing to pay new duties.
What happens next
For now, the portal’s next test is execution: whether businesses can file claims without major problems, be processed at scale and paid on the timeline CBP has laid out. Later phases are expected to cover more complex entries that Phase 1 leaves out.
The bigger question is whether businesses decide the process is worth pursuing. Some companies say they plan to file immediately.
Others may wait, sell their claims or decide that the paperwork, delay and uncertainty outweigh the benefit. And even when refunds do arrive, reporting so far suggests shoppers should not assume cash refunds or lower prices will automatically follow.