U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s refund system for defunct Trump administration levies will take between 60-90 days to deliver returns for eligible entries, according to a new page on the agency’s website.
The timeline could be extended, however, if “a compliance concern requires further CBP review,” per the agency.
CBP previously said the process would take up to 45 days between entry acceptance and refund delivery. The agency shared the prior timeframe in the latest in a string of court-ordered development updates with the Court of International Trade.
As part of the most recent update, CBP said the four stages of the system, known as the Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries, were between 60% and 85% complete. A subsequent court filing confirmed the agency was on track to go live with the CAPE system on April 20.
CBP confirmed the go-live date on the new page, reiterating that the first phase of the system’s rollout is designed to handle entries liquidated in the previous 80 days.
“This will allow sufficient time for CBP to process and reliquidate entries by the 90th day to meet the agency’s legal timeframe for voluntary reliquidation," according to the site.
The agency also shared its plans to develop additional capabilities in future iterations, including the ability to process finally liquidated entries. Last month, the Court of International Trade amended its initial order directing CBP to begin issuing refunds to include such entries. The court has maintained a stay on the order while the agency continues to develop its refund system.
CBP is scheduled to provide another development update to the court by Tuesday.
