Preserve Your Rights or Pay the Price: CIT Urges Importers to File Protests to Protect Liquidated IEEPA Refund Claims Still Eligible for Protest.

In an order issued on March 20, 2026, Judge Richard K. Eaton signaled that importers should act promptly to file protests for entries liquidated within the past 180 days where IEEPA tariffs were applied. The order follows a second declaration by Brandon Lord, Executive Director of the Trade Programs Directorate within CBP’s Office of Trade, as well as a closed-door conference with government counsel concerning the status and scope of CBP’s new Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system, which is being implemented to address CBP’s obligations to liquidate and reliquidate entries without the inclusion of IEEPA tariffs.

However, following discussions with government attorneys on March 19, 2026, the Court noted that “no resolution was reached with respect to the reliquidation of entries for which liquidation has become final.” In light of this uncertainty, the Court emphasized that importers should be mindful of the remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 (Protests Against Decisions of the Customs Service).

Accordingly, importers, consignees, and other interested parties should strongly consider filing protests to preserve their rights to potential refunds before the 180-day statutory deadline following liquidation or each entry expires. Filing a protest is critical: absent a timely protest, CBP generally has only 90 days after liquidation to voluntarily reliquidate an entry, unless a protest is filed. Once the 180-day period lapses, liquidation becomes final and CBP currently lacks authority to reliquidate an entry with IEEPA tariffs unless and until such authority is established – whether through legislative intervention, a definitive court ruling requiring such relief, or regulation. Importers should be mindful that such authority may not be forthcoming in the immediate future. This highlights the necessity of safeguarding rights by submitting protest filings promptly.

For the time being, CBP has indicated that it will continue to liquidate entries with IEEPA duties and will not voluntarily reliquidate previously liquidated entries until CAPE is implemented. With each passing day, the window to file a protest continues to close for eligible entries. Accordingly, parties seeking refunds should carefully consider whether or not to file a protest to preserve their rights. For those who do not file a protest on eligible entities, they risk losing their ability to use the existing administrative protest mechanism and having to wait for an uncertain future refund process. For entries outside their protest window, parties will need to evaluate whether to await further court action regarding non-protestable entries or pursue relief through the Court of International Trade (CIT).

Importers, consignees, and other parties that may be eligible to claim refunds under IEEPA and that require additional information or assistance in evaluating their eligibility or navigating the protest process are encouraged to contact Buchalter to consult with one of our attorneys.

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