The Trade Talk Desk · September 23, 2026
If you've been Googling "CAPE Phase 3" at 11pm trying to figure out whether your old, long-closed entries are ever getting their IEEPA duties back, you're in good company. Phase 3 is the most-asked-about, least-understood piece of CBP's refund rollout, and it goes live in less than two weeks.
Here's the short version: CAPE Phase 3 launches October 6, 2026, and it handles finally liquidated entries that the Court of International Trade has ordered CBP to reliquidate. That's a much narrower door than Phases 1 and 2. Below we walk through what CBP has actually said, how the trade community is reading it, the dates that matter, and what we expect to happen next. When something is our read and not CBP's word, we'll say so.
First, what is CAPE Phase 3?
CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) is the refund tool CBP built inside ACE after the Supreme Court held in Learning Resources on February 20, 2026 that IEEPA "did not authorize the President to impose the challenged tariffs" (National Law Review). CBP has been rolling it out in phases:
THE THREE PHASES OF CAPE
PHASE 2
June 29, 2026
Reconciliation-flagged entries with no reconciliation entry filed yet
PHASE 3 · UP NEXT
October 6, 2026
Finally liquidated entries covered by a CIT reliquidation order (plaintiffs only)
"Finally liquidated" means the entry is closed under the normal rules. CBP's own voluntary reliquidation window (90 days under 19 U.S.C. § 1501) has passed, and so has the protest window. CBP has told the court it "lacks authority to reliquidate finally liquidated entries absent a specific court order" (National Law Review). That one sentence is the reason Phase 3 works so differently.
What CBP has actually said about Phase 3
Our main source is CBP's September 15 status filing with the Court of International Trade. In it, Brandon Lord, executive director of CBP's Trade Programs Directorate, confirmed that starting October 6, businesses that submitted a valid importer of record (IOR) number to CBP by the end of July can seek refunds for finally liquidated entries through CAPE (Supply Chain Dive; Amundsen Davis). The key points:
Who's in: eligible plaintiffs who submitted a valid IOR number by July 30, 2026 (Mohawk Global).
Late IOR submitters: CBP says it "will provide additional instructions to plaintiffs who submitted their IOR numbers after the July 30 deadline." No date yet.
What it covers: finally liquidated entries "for which the US Court of International Trade (CIT) has ordered reliquidation." The underlying orders came from Judge Eaton on July 15 and July 21, and they direct CBP to reliquidate "without regard to" IEEPA duties (Morgan Lewis).
Payment mechanics: refunds go out electronically only, so you need valid banking info in the ACE Portal. Across CAPE, CBP's stated timeline is 60 to 90 days after acceptance, and interest is calculated under 19 CFR 24.36 (GHY International).
For scale, CBP had earlier pegged the Phase 3 bucket at roughly $11.4 billion, or about 7% of IEEPA tariffs (Cato Institute). Keep in mind Phase 3 only pays plaintiffs, so the dollars actually flowing through it will depend on who sued. Foley & Lardner estimates $30 billion or more could sit with finally liquidated entries if the government wins its argument that only plaintiffs get paid (Foley & Lardner).
How the trade world is talking about it
Out in the trade community, the mood is somewhere between "finally" and "fine print." A few themes keep coming up:
"Your litigation status still matters." That's Baker Tilly's Pete Mento, quoted in Supply Chain Dive. Phase 3 isn't a new refund right. It's CBP carrying out court orders that already exist.
Sue now or wait? Troutman Pepper Locke calls a CIT suit the "most certain path to recovery" for finally liquidated entries, one that is insulated from a bad Federal Circuit outcome, while acknowledging the cost and complexity (Troutman). Lighthill's John Anwesen put it more bluntly: "Phase 3 gives importers another reason to consider filing a CIT action now" (Freight Right via Stacker).
Small importers feel squeezed. Phases 1 and 2 were self-service. Phase 3 effectively requires a lawyer, and Freight Right reports attorney fees of $10,000 to $15,000 that don't pencil out for smaller claims. Cato's analysts wrote that "the deck is stacked against small firms that lack the resources to fight for and obtain what the government owes them" (Cato).
Delay fatigue. Phase 3 was first targeted for late July. CBP then postponed a planned August 20 launch to build new validations, with no new date until the September 15 filing (Baker Tilly).
Key dates for importers
Date | What happened / happens |
|---|---|
Feb 20, 2026 | Supreme Court invalidates IEEPA tariffs (Learning Resources) |
Apr 20, 2026 | CAPE Phase 1 launches |
Jun 3, 2026 | Government appeals Judge Eaton's universal refund order to the Federal Circuit |
Jun 29, 2026 | CAPE Phase 2 launches |
Jul 15 & 21, 2026 | CIT enters plaintiff-specific reliquidation orders |
Jul 30, 2026 | Deadline to submit a valid IOR number for Phase 3 eligibility |
Aug 6, 2026 | CIT hears class-certification arguments in V.O.S. Selections |
Sep 15, 2026 | CBP tells the CIT that Phase 3 will deploy Oct 6 |
Sep 18, 2026 | CBP begins voiding IOR numbers with inaccurate or incomplete Form 5106 data |
Oct 6, 2026 | CAPE Phase 3 goes live |
Feb 2027 | Earliest two-year deadlines for § 1581(i) suits on February 2025 deposits, measured from date of deposit (per Troutman) |
What we expect from Phase 3 (our read)
This part is our analysis, drawn from the sources above. It is not CBP guidance.
October 6 holds, but the start is slow. CBP gave the date to a federal judge, so we'd expect it to stick. The earlier delay was about building new validations, though, and new validations tend to mean early rejections. Plan on fixing a file or two.
The earliest Phase 3 money lands around December. Apply CBP's 60–90 day guidance to an October 6 filing and you get early December to early January for the first clean declarations. Anything that bounces restarts the clock.
A second window for late IOR submitters. CBP has promised "additional instructions." We'd expect a follow-on filing window for plaintiffs who missed July 30, not a hard cutoff.
Non-plaintiffs stay outside Phase 3 for now. The government's position is that finally liquidated refunds go "at most" to plaintiffs who filed protective actions (Foley). Only a class certification ruling in V.O.S. Selections or a Federal Circuit decision would change that, and neither has a date.
What to do before October 6
Check whether you're actually a plaintiff and when your IOR number reached CBP. That answers "am I in Phase 3?"
Review your Form 5106 now. You need a real physical address (not a broker's or a P.O. box), a company email, and a working phone number.
Confirm your ACH refund enrollment in ACE, including any Form 4811 designee.
Separate your finally liquidated entries from those still eligible under Phases 1 and 2, and flag anything involving AD/CVD, drawback, or open protests.
If you haven't sued, know your clock. Talk to trade counsel about whether a § 1581(i) action makes sense before the earliest deadlines in early 2027.
Quick FAQ
Can I file in CAPE Phase 3 if I never sued? Not under what CBP has announced. Phase 3 covers entries under CIT reliquidation orders, which today means plaintiffs.
I sued but sent my IOR number after July 30. Am I out? Not necessarily. CBP says separate instructions are coming for late submitters.
How long until I'm paid? CBP says 60–90 days after a declaration is accepted, plus interest.
Do my entries in Phases 1 and 2 change? No. Phase 3 adds a lane and leaves the existing ones alone.
Got questions?
Have our licensed customs brokers answer them in the comments below. Tell us your situation (plaintiff or not, entry dates, where you're stuck) and we'll weigh in.
We'll keep tracking Phase 3 as it rolls out. Subscribe to get updates as they happen.