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

Effective February 6, 2026, CBP will transition to electronic refunds instead of offering refunds by check. A public inspection document was issued today in the Federal Register, with the formal publication set for later this week, that details the interim final rule.

The rule applies to all importers, brokers, filers, sureties, service providers, facility operators, foreign-trade zone operators and carriers, and any designated third parties listed on the CBP Form 4811.

As this is an interim final rule CBP will be taking comments on the rule through March 3, 2026, as identified in docket USCBP-2025-1076.

Following February 6, CBP will not issue any refunds by check unless a waiver has been approved.

This follows President Trump’s earlier executive order, from March, requiring that the federal government transition from paper checks to electronic payments for all federal disbursements.

We will continue to monitor this situation and issue updates as needed.

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.