CIT Opens a Plaintiff-Specific Path for Certain CAPE-Ineligible Entries

The new orders

Beginning July 15, Judge Richard Eaton began entering substantially similar orders in thousands of pending IEEPA refund cases. The orders direct CBP to reliquidate, without the IEEPA duties, the plaintiff's entries that have been liquidated for more than 80 days.

The relief is subject to a defined process. Plaintiff's counsel must submit the importer-of-record identification numbers in accordance with CBP instructions, and reliquidation occurs only after CBP accepts the plaintiff's CAPE declaration.

Why the court order matters

CBP has consistently taken the position that it cannot voluntarily reliquidate finally liquidated entries after the statutory period has closed. The new orders supply the legal authority the government says it needs to process those entries for the plaintiffs before the court.

This does not mean every old entry is automatically paid. Some entries may require further court assistance, and the order expressly leaves the case stayed except for the specified steps. But it creates a concrete plaintiff-specific pathway where CAPE alone had none.

The most important limitation

The orders are not universal. They apply to the plaintiffs in the cases in which they are entered. An importer that never filed suit does not automatically receive the benefit of another company's order.

That is the practical consequence of the government's universal-relief appeal: CAPE can handle the bulk refund process, while litigation may be necessary to supply legal authority for the entries CAPE cannot reach on its own.

THE BOTTOM LINE: The refund process now has two tracks: administrative processing for CAPE-eligible entries and plaintiff-specific court authority for certain older entries. Importers need to know which track each entry requires.

Tariff Refund Project can run that analysis at no charge and, where litigation is warranted, file and manage the CIT action on a contingency basis.