CAPE Phase 1, Day One, Better Than Feared

Apr. 21, 2026
By: David G. Forgue

If you had an office pool about what time CAPE would crash on day 1, you probably don’t have a clear winner. And that’s a good thing. Because, whatever the office pool prize was, the point is to get refunds in the hands if importers, and that is not happening with a crashed system.

Anecdotally, we understand that some importers had trouble logging in. Some also had uploads fail for one reason or another, while others dealt with (and maybe continue to deal with) a variety of error codes. This more or less comports with the Customs report that 98% of CAPE logins were successful. The remaining 2% is a lot of people.

So, one day in what are the takeaways? First, generally the system does work, so you should utilize it. Second, unless you have entries on the cusp of the 80 day limitation, it’s OK to take a breath and try again. Panic and anger are probably not necessary at this point. Save those for later. But gets your claims in, because it is your money.

If you have questions about the general IEEPA refund process, whether in the CAPE context or the context of entries not able to use CAPE, do not hesitate to contact any attorney at Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, LLP.