IEEPA Tariff Refund: Who Gets the Money Back?

Importer of record, DDP seller or US buyer: whose refund is it?

Since the Supreme Court ruling, Korean brands and their US partners often ask us:

"We paid 15% on our Korean goods last year. Do we get that back?"

"Our supplier in Korea shipped DDP. Who files for the refund?"

The short answer: CBP pays the refund to the importer of record (IOR) named on the entry, not to whoever carried the cost. Per CBP's refund page, refunds go to the IOR or to the party the IOR designates on CBP Form 4811. A Korean brand gets the money only if it was the IOR.

Not every entry qualifies for an IEEPA tariff refund yet. Here is what is settled and what is pending, as of October 16, 2026. It is not legal advice: decide whether to file, protest or sue with a licensed US customs broker or a trade attorney.

1. Refunds started with the February 20, 2026 Supreme Court ruling

On February 20, 2026, in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump, the Supreme Court held that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) "does not authorize the President to impose tariffs." The 2025 reciprocal tariffs rested on that law.

Collection stopped: per CSMS #67834313, CBP stopped collecting these duties on goods entered on or after 12:00 a.m. Eastern on February 24, 2026.
Other duties stayed: the same message says Section 232 and Section 301 duties are not affected.
Scale: per the Court of International Trade's October 8, 2026 opinion, CBP collected $166 billion under IEEPA. As of October 2, 2026, about $136.6 billion had been accepted for refund processing, and about $126 billion in duties plus interest had been refunded.

The ruling removed one set of duties. Every other duty on your entries still stands.

2. CBP pays refunds through CAPE, one phase at a time

CBP built a tool called CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) inside ACE, its electronic filing system. Per CBP, the IOR or its customs broker uploads a CSV list of entry numbers, a CAPE Declaration. CBP strips the IEEPA duty from each entry, recalculates, and refunds the difference with interest.

The tool opened in phases:

Phase 1 (April 20, 2026): unliquidated entries, and entries within 80 days of liquidation (CBP's final duty assessment) (CSMS #68340863).
Phase 2 (June 29, 2026): entries flagged for reconciliation (types 01, 02, 06) with no reconciliation entry (type 09) on file yet (CBP).
Phase 3 (October 6, 2026): finally liquidated entries, but only for plaintiffs in the more than 4,000 cases where the court's order has been entered (CIT opinion).

Rules for every declaration, per CBP:

Up to 9,999 entries per declaration. An accepted declaration cannot be amended.
Refunds generally arrive 60 to 90 days after acceptance, which includes 45 days of CBP processing.
Interest is included under 19 U.S.C. 1505.
CBP charges no fee. Anyone who claims to be CBP and asks for a fee or financial information is running a scam, CBP warns.

If an entry liquidated more than 80 days ago and you are not a plaintiff, CAPE has no path for it as of mid-October 2026. CBP's page, last updated September 30, 2026, lists finally liquidated entries only as a type it is evaluating for later phases.

3. The IEEPA tariff refund goes to the importer of record, not to whoever bore the cost

Only the IOR, or the licensed customs broker that filed the entries, can file a CAPE Declaration. CBP's FAQ says an attorney cannot file one. The refund goes to the IOR or its Form 4811 notify party, by ACH, to a US bank account on file in the ACE Portal. CBP also says it does not refund consumers who paid higher prices.

So the answer depends on who was the importer of record on each entry:

A US buyer was the IOR: the buyer gets the refund. Whether any of it goes back to the Korean supplier is a contract question, not a CBP one.
The Korean brand's US company was the IOR: that company gets it.
The Korean head office was the IOR: it can file and receive the refund itself. Korea Customs Service told Korean exporters on February 21, 2026 that sellers who shipped DDP can apply to CBP directly. Per the same release, about 6,000 of some 24,000 Korean exporters of affected goods shipped DDP.

DDP and IOR are not the same thing. DDP is a sales term that says who pays the duty. The IOR is the party named on the entry, and CBP rejects a declaration when the filer's IOR number does not match the entry summary. For example, a Korean seller can ship DDP while a courier or forwarder files the entry under its own name; then the courier holds the refund claim, not the seller. If you ship parcels direct to US customers, recheck the DDP and DDU setup we described in our de minimis guide.

The name on the entry, not the party that paid, decides who gets the money. A Korean IOR with no US bank account should ask its broker how to set up a Form 4811 notify party.

4. A 15% rate on Korean goods does not mean a 15% refund

In 2025, goods from South Korea paid a combined 15%, and part of that was the normal (MFN) duty. CBP's FAQ says that for framework countries (the EU, Japan, South Korea, Switzerland) the MFN part stays in effect and is not refunded. CBP's example: MFN 5% plus IEEPA 10% equals 15%, and the refund is 10%.

For example, on $10,000 of goods with a 5% MFN rate, the refund is the $1,000 IEEPA portion plus interest. The $500 MFN duty stays paid.

CBP also nets other duties when it recalculates the entry. If Section 232 or 301 duties were underpaid, they reduce the refund, and CBP says the process can even end in a bill. Only the IEEPA portion comes back, after netting.

5. What CAPE does not refund

CAPE covers IEEPA duties only. These stay paid:

Section 232 duties on products such as steel and aluminum (CSMS #67834313).
Section 301 duties. Since 12:01 a.m. Eastern on July 24, 2026, goods from South Korea pay at least 12.5% in total: when the MFN rate is below 12.5%, the Section 301 duty tops it up to 12.5% (USTR notice). We explain the math in our HTS code guide.
The 10% Section 122 surcharge that ran from February 24 to July 24, 2026 (proclamation). On May 7, 2026, the CIT granted a permanent injunction only to the importer plaintiffs in the case against it (Slip Op. 26-47).

Some entries cannot go on a CAPE Declaration for now (CSMS #68340863 and CBP's error table):

Entries where a surety paid the duties in whole or in part
Entries on a drawback claim, and entries with an open or suspended protest
Refunds started by a post summary correction (PSC), which CBP prohibits

Duty drawback is a separate program: it refunds duties when imported goods are exported or destroyed (CBP).

IEEPA tariff refund paths by entry status

As of October 16, 2026, the path depends on the entry's liquidation status and whether you sued.

Entry status	CAPE path as of October 16, 2026	Source
Unliquidated	Phase 1 (from April 20)	CSMS #68340863
Liquidated within the last 80 days	Phase 1	CBP FAQ
Flagged for reconciliation, no type 09 filed	Phase 2 (from June 29)	CBP
Finally liquidated, CIT plaintiff	Phase 3 (from October 6)	CIT opinion, October 8
Finally liquidated, no lawsuit	No path yet; class action pending	CIT opinion, CBP
Surety paid the duties	Not eligible	CSMS #68340863
On drawback or under open protest	Not now; later phase under review	CBP

6. Settled and pending, as of October 16, 2026

Three points are settled: the Supreme Court ruling, the end of collection on February 24, 2026, and refunds to the IOR. The rest is still moving.

Class action: on October 8, 2026, in Freestyle World, Inc. v. CBP, the CIT certified a class of importers of record that paid the challenged duties between February 1, 2025 and February 19, 2026 and have not sued separately. Certification is not a payout. CBP had announced no CAPE phase for class members as of mid-October.
Appeal: per the same opinion, the government appealed on June 3, 2026 the part of the CIT's order that requires reliquidation of all affected entries. The Federal Circuit has not ruled.
February 20 to 23, 2026: the class period ends February 19, but CBP kept collecting on goods entered before February 24. Ask counsel whether those four days fall inside the class.
Deadlines: a protest is due within 180 days of liquidation (CBP). A CIT suit of this kind must be filed within two years after the claim accrues (28 U.S.C. 2636(i)). Ask counsel when your clock started.

Waiting is a legitimate choice for older entries, but only after you know your deadlines.

Five things to ask your customs broker, US buyer or Korean supplier

Before you count on a refund, get these answers.

1. Which entries since February 2025 carry our goods, and who is the IOR on each one?

2. Does each entry carry an IEEPA Chapter 99 HTS number, and when did it liquidate, if at all?

3. Has anyone filed a CAPE Declaration for these entries? What are the claim numbers and the status?

4. Does the IOR have an ACE Portal account, ACH refund enrollment and, if needed, a Form 4811 notify party?

5. What does our contract say about who keeps a refund, and was the tariff passed through in price?

Wrap-up

The refunds are real: about $126 billion had gone out by October 2, 2026, per the CIT. But CBP pays only the IOR, and entries more than 80 days past liquidation still wait on the courts. For a Korean brand, the first job is to pull the entry numbers and confirm who the IOR was.

LinkONE offers US import regulation and customs consulting, including import document review, from its warehouse in Fullerton, California.

In the end, the refund question is not how much you paid. It is whose name is on the entry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who receives an IEEPA tariff refund?

The importer of record (IOR), or the notify party the IOR designates on CBP Form 4811, receives the refund (CBP). Only the IOR or the licensed broker that filed the entries can file the CAPE Declaration. CBP pays by ACH to a US bank account on file in the ACE Portal and does not refund consumers.

Can a Korean seller that shipped DDP file for a refund?

A Korean seller can file only if it was the IOR on the entries (CBP). Korea Customs Service said on February 21, 2026 that exporters who shipped DDP can apply to CBP directly (KCS release). If a courier or forwarder filed the entry under its own IOR number, the claim sits with that company.

If I paid 15% on Korean goods, do I get all 15% back?

No. The 2025 rate of 15% included the MFN duty, which stays in effect, and only the IEEPA portion is refunded (CBP). In CBP's example, MFN 5% plus IEEPA 10% gives a 10% refund, plus interest.

What happens to entries liquidated more than 80 days ago?

As of October 16, 2026, only CIT plaintiffs can file those entries, through CAPE Phase 3, which opened on October 6 (CIT opinion). Other importers are covered by the class the CIT certified on October 8, which is not a refund order. Protests are due within 180 days of liquidation, so talk to a broker or trade attorney now.

How long does a refund take, and does it include interest?

CBP says valid refunds generally arrive within 60 to 90 days after it accepts the declaration, and interest is included under 19 U.S.C. 1505 (CBP). CBP charges no fee for refunds, so treat any request for a fee as a scam.

Sources

Fees and rules in this post are as of October 2026.

-LinkONE-