Post-filing guide for licensed customs brokers.

How do I check whether CBP has processed my CAPE Declaration?

After uploading your CAPE Declaration CSV to the CAPE tab in ACE, use the ESO 22 report (Entry Summary Operations report) to monitor processing status. The ESO 22 shows whether your entries have been picked up by CBP's validation queue and reflects changes in entry status as reliquidation proceeds.

Check the ESO 22 at the port/center level where your entries were filed. Status updates are not instantaneous — CBP has indicated a processing target of up to 45 days for validated declarations.

Tip: Run the ESO 22 together with the REV 603 and REV 615 reports for a more complete picture of where your entries are in the process.

What do the CAPE Indicator values Y and P mean?

These values appear in the ES-003 report once you add the CAPE Indicator result object. Based on Phase 1 experience:

Note: CBP has not published official definitions for Y and P. The above reflects observed behavior from Phase 1 filers. Some entries are now showing updated labels like "Processed by CAPE Liq Batch" in place of P.

How do I use the REV 603 and REV 615 reports to track refund payments?

These are revenue reports within ACE that show duty deposit and disbursement activity.

ESO 22 confirms entries are processing. REV 603 shows whether the duty credit has posted. REV 615 confirms the refund has been forwarded to Treasury. Seeing the refund in REV 615 but not yet in the bank means Treasury disbursement is in process — not that something has gone wrong.

How long does it take for a CAPE refund to appear in the bank account?

After a CAPE Declaration is validated and reliquidation occurs, the refund moves through three steps: CBP reliquidates and calculates the refund with statutory interest → refund is transmitted to Treasury (visible in REV 615) → Treasury disburses to the importer's ACH-enrolled bank account.

Phase 1 filers are reporting deposits arriving approximately 7 days after the refund date shown in the ES-003 report. The refund date reflects when CBP transmitted to Treasury — Treasury then takes roughly a week to process the ACH.

Critical: The importer must have refund-specific ACH enrollment in place before the refund reaches Treasury. If ACH enrollment is missing, the refund is held. See the After Your Refund Is Issued section for details on ACH enrollment requirements.

What's the difference between "refund transmitted to Treasury" and "refund deposited"?

When CBP shows a refund as transmitted, it has completed reliquidation and sent the payment order to Treasury's Financial Management Service. These are separate systems — a refund can show as transmitted in ACE while still pending on Treasury's end. If an importer sees the refund in REV 615 but has not received the deposit after several business days, confirm ACH enrollment details are accurate.

"Unable to calculate duty" — what causes this and how do I fix it?

Three separate causes produce this error:

• Entry is Extended or Suspended — CAPE accepted it but can't recalculate because the final duty isn't set until the extension ends. The refund is still coming — it issues at normal liquidation rather than the standard window. Not a rejection.
• Zero-duty conflict — Usually a filing error where the base HTS line shows $0 duty while the Chapter 99 IEEPA line carries the full amount. ACE can't resolve the math. The broker needs to review the underlying entry.
• Unknown cause — A small number of Type 01 entries with no Extended/Suspended status and correct IEEPA codes are still hitting this. CBP hasn't documented a root cause. Email IEEPARefunds@cbp.dhs.gov with the entry number.

"HTS relationship sequence mismatch" — what does this mean?

This error indicates the relationship between your base HTS classification code and the Chapter 99 overlay code is not valid in ACE's tariff schedule database. A transposed digit or expired code will produce this error. This error is also appearing on FTZ Type 06 weekly entries that cleared correctly at the time — CAPE's validation logic is stricter than the original filing validation. No workaround is confirmed for FTZ entries; email IEEPARefunds@cbp.dhs.gov with your entry numbers.

My CAPE submission was rejected because of a $0.50 rounding difference. What happened?

CBP's system calculates refund amounts independently. When CBP's computed duty amount differs from the submitted data — even by rounding — the portal may reject the entry. Do not manually adjust the duty paid figure. Use the exact duty paid amount from the original entry summary. If CBP's calculation differs, the entry may need resolution through the protest path rather than CAPE.

What is the "center ID code pending" status in ACE?

This means the processing center assignment for that entry has not been finalized in ACE. CAPE submissions for entries in this state may sit in queue without progressing. Contact the relevant CBP Center of Excellence and Expertise (CEE) for the port where the entry was filed — this is a CBP-side administrative resolution.

REV 603 is showing the same entry twice — is that a double-counting error?

Before treating this as a confirmed double-count, verify the entry numbers and liquidation dates for both appearances. If the liquidation dates differ, the entries represent two distinct events. A common cause: if both a customs broker and the importer submitted CAPE Declarations for the same entries, CBP may show multiple claims. The REV 615 sum — not the REV 603 total — is the reliable figure for actual refund amounts. If entry numbers and dates are identical, escalate to CBP's revenue division.

What is the "4811 form" referenced in CAPE filing questions?

CBP Form 4811 is used when a customs broker needs to receive a refund directly on behalf of an importer, rather than having the refund go to the importer's ACH account. Without a filed 4811, refunds disburse to the importer of record — not the broker.

Is the CAPE refund issued to the broker's ACE account or the importer's ACE account?

The refund is disbursed to the importer of record (IOR) — not the customs broker. The broker files the CAPE Declaration, but the refund is paid to the importer's ACH-enrolled bank account.

• The IOR must have refund-specific ACH enrollment — not the broker
• ACH set up for duty payments is not sufficient — refund-specific enrollment is a separate step
• If a broker holds POA and manages the importer's ACE account, enrollment still needs to be under the importer's IOR profile

Can I file a Post-Summary Correction (PSC) after submitting a CAPE Declaration?

No. Per CSMS #68397097, once you submit a CAPE Declaration for an entry and it is accepted, CBP locks that entry — no PSCs are permitted until the entry liquidates.

This is a significant pre-filing consideration. If an entry has a known classification or valuation error, correct it via PSC before submitting to CAPE. Filing CAPE first and discovering an error afterward means you cannot fix the underlying entry data until liquidation.

Can CBP audit my importer after a CAPE refund is issued?

Yes. CAPE reliquidation does not foreclose CBP's authority to audit the underlying entries. Entries that received CAPE refunds are not protected from audit. If CBP later determines an entry was misclassified, the reliquidation may be reversed.

Retain complete documentation for every CAPE filing — the Filing Record generated by RefundDesk is designed for this purpose under 19 CFR §111.23.

This is not legal advice. Brokers with specific audit concerns should consult legal counsel familiar with CBP enforcement.

ACH duty payment enrollment vs ACH refund enrollment — what's the difference?

These are two separate ACH setups in ACE and one does not substitute for the other. Brokers and importers who have been paying duties via ACH for years are discovering their refund enrollment is either missing or inactive.

If a refund has been transmitted to Treasury but no deposit has arrived, confirm the IOR has completed refund-specific ACH enrollment — not just payment enrollment — under their importer sub-account in ACE.

What is REV-613 and when does it matter?

REV-613 is the ACH rejection report. If Treasury attempted to disburse a refund but the ACH transaction failed — typically due to incorrect or missing bank account information — the rejection will appear here. REV-615 shows the refund was transmitted; REV-613 shows whether that transmission was successfully received.

If your REV-615 shows a refund was sent to Treasury but no deposit has arrived and no rejection appears in REV-613, the most likely cause is ACH refund enrollment that is incomplete or associated with the wrong ACE profile. Contact ACE support to verify enrollment status.

Why am I only receiving a partial refund — not all my accepted entries at once?

CBP is disbursing refunds in batches keyed to liquidation date, not filing date. Entries that had already liquidated before you filed are processed first; entries that are unliquidated at the time of filing will process when they reach their natural liquidation date — often months later.

A broker who filed 100 entries on April 20 may see refunds arrive in several separate ACH deposits over weeks or months as different liquidation date cohorts are processed. This is expected behavior, not an error.

To estimate timing: check the liquidation date in your ES-003 report. Entries with earlier liquidation dates will arrive first. Unliquidated entries will process at their scheduled liquidation.

My ACH deposit is slightly less than what REV-615 shows. Why?

Multiple Phase 1 filers are reporting that the actual ACH deposit is approximately 0.6–2.4% less than the amount shown in REV-615. The discrepancy does not appear to correspond to any individual entry's principal or interest amount.

For now: do not assume the shortfall represents an error on your filing. Track the discrepancy by Refund ID using REV-615, and document it for your records in case CBP issues a reconciliation notice.

My ACE account keeps getting locked (Error Code 41). What's happening?

Error Code 41 is an account deactivation triggered by CBP's security system. Under normal conditions, accounts lock after 30 days of inactivity. Due to high portal traffic during Phase 1, CBP's system has been deactivating accounts within days — even for users who logged in recently.

Resolution requires contacting ACE Help Desk directly. ACE support is available 24/7 — calling outside peak hours (evenings or weekends) significantly reduces wait times. Some brokers have reported account reactivation in under 10 minutes during off-peak hours.

Mitigation: clear your browser cache before each login session and log in more frequently than your normal cadence until portal traffic normalizes.

What is the Section 122 tariff refund, and when does the window open?

Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 is a separate tariff authority currently the subject of active litigation. Unlike IEEPA, Section 122 tariffs are subject to a statutory 150-day limit on emergency authority. The outcome may open an additional refund window for affected entries. Note that 9903.03.xx HTS codes are Section 122 — not IEEPA — and are not eligible for CAPE Phase 1.

Current status (May 2026): Litigation is ongoing. No Section 122 refund window has opened as of this writing.

Will ADCVD entries be covered in CAPE Phase 2?

Antidumping and countervailing duty (ADCVD) entries were explicitly excluded from CAPE Phase 1. CBP has indicated ADCVD entries require separate handling because the duty calculations involve Commerce Department determinations. Whether they will be addressed in a Phase 2 has not been formally announced as of May 2026.