CAPE Phase 2: What's Excluded from Phase 1 and What to Do About It

TL;DR – CBP has said Phase 2 will happen but has given no timeline — only "as soon as ready." Phase 1 covers roughly 63% of IEEPA-affected entries. The other 37% — primarily finally liquidated entries, open protests, drawback claims, reconciliation entries, and AD/CVD cases with pending Department of Commerce instructions — are waiting with no scheduled date. If your entries are excluded and their Form 19 protest window is still open, file now. That deadline won't wait for Phase 2.

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What Phase 1 Actually Covers

Phase 1 is intentionally narrow. CBP limited it to the cleanest, most technically straightforward entries — those that don't present procedural complications or require coordination with other agencies.

Phase 1 accepts two categories of entries:

Unliquidated entries — entries CBP has not yet finalized. These represent the majority of Phase 1 volume.

Entries liquidated within the past 80 days of your CAPE filing date — entries that have been finalized but are still within the 90-day voluntary reliquidation window under 19 U.S.C. § 1501, which gives CBP the legal authority to reverse them without a protest. The 80-day window is measured from the date you submit your CAPE Declaration, not from April 20, 2026.

CBP estimated Phase 1 covers approximately 63% of entries on which IEEPA duties were paid. The remaining 37% fall into excluded categories.

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Complete List of What's Excluded from Phase 1

Entry Type	Why Excluded	What to Do Now
Finally liquidated (>80 days from your filing date)	Outside voluntary reliquidation window; government disputes CIT authority to reliquidate	File Form 19 protest within 180 days of liquidation — if that window is still open
Open protests / 520(d)s	CAPE and protests cannot run simultaneously on the same entry	Withdraw protest and refile via CAPE if entry is still within the 80-day window; otherwise keep the protest
Drawback claims (Type 47)	Excluded by CBP from Phase 1; entries subject to a pending drawback claim cannot be processed	Consult your broker — drawback and IEEPA refund paths interact in ways that depend on your specific entries
Reconciliation entries (Type 09)	Flagged reconciliation entries and their underlying entries require separate processing	Wait for Phase 2; no current alternative
AD/CVD with DOC instructions pending	Requires manual processing under 19 U.S.C. § 1505(c); CBP has stated the mechanism to process these has not yet been built	Wait; approximately 166,000 entries and $2.9B in IEEPA duties are in this category
Entries not filed in ACE / no liquidation status	Cannot be validated without ACE data	Wait for Phase 2; no current path
TIB — Temporary Importation Under Bond (Type 23)	Structural complexity with bond requirements	Wait for Phase 2

Phase 1 also accepts but does not immediately pay certain categories: warehouse entries (Type 08), and entries in suspended, extended, or "under review" status. For these, the declaration is processed but the actual payment is held until the entry liquidates through normal CBP channels.

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The Finally Liquidated Problem — and Why It's Legally Complicated

Finally liquidated entries are the largest excluded category and the most legally contested.

As of April 1, 2026, CIT Judge Richard Eaton stated that "no resolution has been reached with respect to the reliquidation, by way of CAPE, of entries for which liquidation has become final," and reminded importers to be aware of the remedies available under 19 U.S.C. § 1514 — the protest statute.

The government's legal position is that entries more than 180 days past liquidation are permanently foreclosed from refund under the rule of finality in 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a). The government has previously won on this argument in other contexts. Whether courts will override this position for IEEPA specifically is unresolved.

CBP has indicated it intends future CAPE phases to address finally liquidated entries. But no mechanism has been described, no timeline has been given, and the legal dispute remains open.

For importers: if your finally liquidated entries are still within the 180-day protest window, file a Form 19 protest immediately. This preserves your legal rights regardless of what happens with Phase 2. Entries more than 180 days past liquidation may have no remaining legal path to refund.

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Form 19 Deadline Math — Which Entries Are Still Actionable

The Form 19 protest window is 180 days from the liquidation date under 19 U.S.C. § 1514. That window doesn't pause or extend because Phase 2 hasn't been announced.

The table below uses April 26, 2026 as the reference date. The CAPE Phase 1 cutoff (~Feb 5, 2026) assumes filing in late April — because the 80-day window is measured from your actual CAPE submission date, this cutoff shifts forward by one day for every day you wait to file.

Liquidation Date	180-Day Protest Deadline	Status
Before Oct 29, 2025	Before Apr 26, 2026	❌ Protest window closed — no remaining path
Oct 29 – Dec 6, 2025	Late Apr – Jun 2026	⚠️ Closing now — file Form 19 immediately
Dec 7, 2025 – ~Feb 5, 2026	Jun – Aug 2026	⚠️ Form 19 only — outside 80-day CAPE window, protest still open
After ~Feb 5, 2026	N/A	✅ Within 80-day CAPE Phase 1 window — use CAPE, not Form 19

Important: entries in the third row (Dec 7, 2025 – ~Feb 5, 2026) cannot use CAPE Phase 1 but can still be protested. Their 180-day window closes June through August 2026. File Form 19 for these entries — don't wait for Phase 2.

See Form 19 Protest Guide for the exact filing process.

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Open Protests: Can You Switch to CAPE?

If you filed a Form 19 protest specifically to recover IEEPA duties, you may be able to withdraw it and refile via CAPE — but only if the entry is still within the 80-day Phase 1 window from your filing date.

The practical test: check the entry's liquidation date. If it liquidated within the past 80 days, withdrawing the protest and filing CAPE is likely faster — CBP processes CAPE refunds in 60–90 days, while protests can take years.

If the entry is outside the 80-day window, do not withdraw the protest. It's your only remaining path. Withdrawing a protest on a finally liquidated entry while Phase 2 has no announced timeline would leave you with no recourse.

Important nuance for 520(d) claims: a 520(d) is a specific statutory claim distinct from a Form 19 protest, often filed to recover duties on entries that later qualified for preferential treatment like USMCA. Whether a 520(d) can be withdrawn and replaced with CAPE depends on the specifics. Consult your broker or customs attorney before withdrawing any 520(d) on IEEPA entries.

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AD/CVD Entries: The $2.9 Billion Category with No Mechanism Yet

For entries subject to antidumping or countervailing duties where the Department of Commerce has issued liquidation instructions, Phase 1 does not process these entries at all. They are fully excluded.

CBP has confirmed that processing these approximately 166,000 entries — representing roughly $2.9 billion in IEEPA duties — requires manual processing under 19 U.S.C. § 1505(c). CBP has stated the mechanism to handle these entries has not yet been built.

Unlike warehouse entries or suspended entries (which are accepted by Phase 1 and held for payment), AD/CVD entries with pending DOC instructions see no Phase 1 action. There is no additional filing step to take — they are in a queue waiting for Phase 2 to build the functionality to process them.

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What CBP Has Actually Said About Phase 2

The official CBP position as of late April 2026: Phase 2 will launch "as soon as ready." No date, no scope description, no filing process announced.

The CIT has required CBP to file periodic progress reports on Phase 1 implementation. The April 28, 2026 court filing covers Phase 1 status. Phase 2 timing has not been addressed in these filings.

The most honest assessment: Phase 2 depends on two parallel tracks. First, CBP needs to build the technical functionality for manual processing of excluded entry types. Second, the legal question of whether courts can order reliquidation of finally liquidated entries needs to be resolved before CBP has clear authority to process that largest category. Either track could take months.

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What to Do While You Wait

File Form 19 protest — for finally liquidated entries still within the 180-day window. This is the most time-sensitive action. The deadline is fixed by statute and will not move. See Form 19 Protest Guide.

Withdraw protest and file CAPE — for entries where you filed an IEEPA-specific protest and the entry is still within the 80-day Phase 1 window. CAPE is faster than a protest running to conclusion.

Wait and monitor — for AD/CVD entries with DOC instructions, reconciliation entries, TIB entries, and drawback entries where there's no alternative path. Sign up for CBP CSMS notifications at cbp.gov and monitor the IEEPA refunds page for Phase 2 announcements.

Frequently Asked Questions

How large is the excluded 37% in dollar terms? CBP has not broken out the dollar value by phase. However, AD/CVD excluded entries alone represent approximately $2.9 billion in IEEPA duties across 166,000 entries. Finally liquidated entries — which form the largest share of the 37% — likely carry significant additional dollar value from the early IEEPA period.

Will Phase 2 definitely cover finally liquidated entries? CBP has indicated it intends to address them in future phases. But as of April 1, 2026, CIT Judge Eaton noted that no resolution on this has been reached, and the government's legal position — that the rule of finality bars reliquidation — remains contested. Phase 2 covering these entries is the expected outcome, not a guaranteed one.

Can I file both a Form 19 protest and wait for Phase 2? Yes. Filing a protest doesn't prevent you from using CAPE if Phase 2 becomes available for your entries. It preserves your rights in the meantime. If Phase 2 launches and covers your entries before CBP acts on your protest, you can reassess at that point.

My AD/CVD entries show as rejected in Phase 1. Do I need to refile? No. AD/CVD entries with pending DOC liquidation instructions are excluded from Phase 1 — they won't be accepted regardless of how many times you resubmit. There's no action to take; these entries are waiting for Phase 2 functionality to be built.

When will CBP announce Phase 2? No timeline has been given. CBP has explicitly declined to provide details beyond "as soon as ready." Monitor the CBP IEEPA refunds page at cbp.gov and subscribe to CSMS notifications — those are the authoritative sources for any Phase 2 announcement.

Is there any path for entries liquidated more than 180 days ago? Based on current law and government legal positions, generally no. The rule of finality under 19 U.S.C. § 1514(a) bars reliquidation after the protest window closes. The government has argued this applies even to IEEPA entries. Whether court orders could override this for specific importers is a legal question — consult a customs attorney if you have significant duties in this category.