Your IEEPA refund is coming. Here is what needs to be in place before you can receive it

The CAPE portal goes live around mid-April. Between now and then, there is a setup problem that is going to catch a lot of importers off guard, not because it is complicated, but because it is easy to assume someone else already handled it.

Since February 6, 2026, CBP no longer mails refund checks. Every refund of duties, taxes, and fees goes out electronically through the ACE Portal. If your banking information is not in the system when CBP processes your CAPE declaration, the refund goes into a suspense account. It sits there, with no interest accruing, until you complete the enrollment and request a reissuance. That is an avoidable delay on money you are already owed.

There are two things to get done before the filing window opens: your ACE account needs to be structured correctly, and ACH banking information needs to be registered at the right level within it. This post covers both, plus what to do if you do not have a U.S. bank account.

Getting your ACE account in order

If your company does not already have an ACE Portal account, you need your company name exactly as it appears on file with Customs, your Employer Identification Number, and an email address to register. The name matching part is not a technicality to overlook. CBP edits against its system records, and a mismatch between your ACE account name and your bond or entry data will create processing problems. If you are not certain what name CBP has on file, a bond query will tell you before you run into it at the wrong moment.

ACE accounts have three levels, and this matters because people often set up banking information in the wrong place. The Top Account is your main company profile. The Business Activity level identifies your company as an importer. The Importer Sub-Account is where financial settings live, including ACH refund information. When CBP talks about ACH enrollment in ACE, they mean at the Importer Sub-Account level. Log in to the right place before you start clicking around.

Setting up ACH banking information

Once you are in the Importer Sub-Account view, the ACH Refund Authorization tab is on the far right of the screen. Click Get Info / Refresh to see whether banking information is already on file. If it is, review it and make sure it is current. If anything needs to change, a user with Full Access permission to the ACH Refund Tab has to make those updates. If no information is there at all, the Add ACH Info button will be visible.

A U.S. bank account is required. CBP validates against a U.S. ABA routing number, so the account has to be able to receive ACH payments in dollars. If your company banks outside the U.S., the question to ask your bank is whether they have a U.S. correspondent bank with a valid ABA routing number. If they do, that may work. If they do not, you have two choices: open a U.S. account through FDIC.gov/GetBanked, or designate someone with a U.S. account to receive refunds on your behalf. One thing that is easy to miss: CBP does not actually store banking information in the ACE Portal. The portal is where you manage it, but the data itself lives in CBP's financial system. If you ever see a discrepancy between what the portal shows and what CBP says is on file, that is why.

If you do not have a U.S. bank account: Form 4811

Importers without a U.S. bank account can designate a third party, such as a licensed customs broker, to receive refunds on their behalf. The authorization is done through CBP Form 4811, officially called the Special Address Notification. Two ways to file it: submit the completed form by email to your assigned Center of Excellence and Expertise, or add the third party directly through the Notify Parties tab in the ACE Portal. The Notify Parties tab can only be accessed by the Trade Account Owner.

If you go the Form 4811 route, use the January 2026 version from cbp.gov. Older versions of the form are still floating around online and should not be used. Also, and this part matters: the third party you designate has to be enrolled in ACH themselves. Authorizing a customs broker who is not set up on ACH does not fix the problem. Confirm their enrollment status before you submit the authorization.

If your company has not been assigned to a Center of Excellence and Expertise yet, CBP directs you to submit Form 4811 to the Center that most closely aligns with the tariff number of your highest-valued commodity.

What happens if nothing is set up

If there is no ACH enrollment and no Form 4811 authorization in place when CBP processes your refund, the money goes into suspense. There's no automatic reissuance, no interest, and no action until you complete the setup and request it manually. For importers with significant IEEPA exposure, that is not a situation worth letting happen by default.

A few other things worth knowing

IEEPA tariff reports cost $25 per report when accessed through a third-party provider. Through your own ACE Portal account, the same reports are free. If you are being charged for something you can pull yourself at no cost, now you know.

CBP also has contact information for your Trade Account Owner on file, including email address and phone number. If that information is out of date, CBP correspondence may not reach the right person. The TAO email can be updated electronically through a 5106 Update filing.

How ShipTech can help

We can run a bond query to confirm the exact company name CBP has on file for your business. We can help with ACE account setup if you are starting from scratch. And for importers without a U.S. bank account, we can act as a designated refund recipient through Form 4811, receiving the refund through our ACH account and remitting it to you. If you want to talk through your specific situation before the CAPE portal opens, reach out to your ShipTech account manager.