As we’ve moved through the early weeks of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s CAPE system for issuing tariff refunds, Bestway has been helping customers work through the system and get things in order to receive their refunds as quickly as possible.
For the most part, the system has worked well – even better than some expected. Here is a rundown on the highlights:
- The CAPE system launched at 8 a.m. CDT on April 20, exactly when CBP had said it would. While there were some glitches for about 20 minutes, the system corrected itself quickly and has worked mostly smoothly ever since.
- Some of our clients have received partial refunds within 20 days, which is much faster than the 60-to-90 days CBP said to expect.
- Many of these partial refunds are only 15-to-20 percent of the total owed, and some importers haven’t received anything yet. But in just about every case in which importers set up their accounts correctly, the system is at least performing as predicted – and in many cases better.
As for issues and concerns, these mainly have to do with problems some importers have had when setting up their accounts through the ACE portal, which is the portal through which refund applications are submitted.
The process of setting up accounts can be a bit complicated, so Bestway has put together a step-by-step tutorial we can provide to importers to help set up their ACE accounts.
Most customs brokers are offering assistance with all things CAPE (we certainly are), and in many cases can simply handle this for you.
In Bestway’s case, we offer a full end-to-end service that includes weekly updates, refund amounts and auditing of your CAPE declaration to make sure everything goes through. We also confirm with the importer once the funds have been deposited.
Our toolkit includes FAQs on electronic refunds, as well as a form for electronic enrollment.
In the meantime, here are some links to CBP resources that can help:
- One Page Overview: ACH Refund Enrollment
- Frequently Asked Questions: ACE Portal and ACH Refunds FAQs
- Training Video: Applying for an ACE Portal Importer Account and Enrolling in ACH Refunds
- Training Guide: ACE Portal Importer Account Application
- Training Guide: ACH Refund Enrollment in the ACE Portal
- Rejected ACH Refund Information: Replacement Refund Instructions
