By: Brian Walczyk, Compliance Manager, TradeInsights, LCB, CCS

Today, March 20, Judge Eaton issued an order for CBP to provide their next update about CAPE on March 31.

The order included a continuation of the suspension of the requirement for immediate action in refunds, as CBP continues to make “satisfactory progress toward the timely completion of a process to issue refunds of IEEPA duties paid with interest.”

The CIT did notate that no resolution was reached concerning reliquidations of entries that are considered “final.” Those entries would have been liquidated for greater than 180 days. The court did state that importers should be aware of the remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 (protest against decisions of CBP).

Every importer should continue to prepare by: Please contact TradeInsights if you require assistance with any of these preparations.

1. Creating an ACE Account.
2. Registering for ACH Refunds in ACE.
3. Running an ACE ES-003 Report with Liquidation Date.
4. Determining which entries may need a protest filed to protect IEEPA refund rights as CBP continues its development on CAPE.

With the case now before the CIT we will continue to watch for developments on the exact mechanisms the court will deem appropriate for seeking IEEPA tariff refunds.

Please contact your V. Alexander account team, or you may also contact our Trade Compliance team at tradeinsights@valexander.com with any questions, and you can always follow us on our website www.valexander.com for updates on this and other topics.