January 5, 2026
Electronic Refunds Interim Final Rule Effective February 6, 2026
Beginning February 6, 2026, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will issue all refunds electronically via Automated Clearing House (ACH) (subject to limited exceptions), as announced in the Electronic Refunds Interim Final Rule published January 2, 2026 in the Federal Register (FR Document 2025-24171).
In preparation for this change, CBP recently improved the ACH refund sign-up process by:
For more detailed information regarding duty refund payments, click on the attached slideshow here.
For importers and other parties who may receive CBP-issued refunds after February 5, 2026, review CBP’s Electronic Refund Enrollment Reference Sheet and take any necessary steps to ensure readiness for this mandatory transition.
For more information about refunds issued to authorized “4811 notify parties,” review the above-referenced IFR.
Please contact us if you have any questions about this or any other trade matter.
In preparation for this change, CBP recently improved the ACH refund sign-up process by:
- Adding an automated ACH Refund Authorization tool in the ACE Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal)
- Automating the ACE Portal’s importer account application, which is necessary to access the new ACH Refund Authorization tool
For more detailed information regarding duty refund payments, click on the attached slideshow here.
For importers and other parties who may receive CBP-issued refunds after February 5, 2026, review CBP’s Electronic Refund Enrollment Reference Sheet and take any necessary steps to ensure readiness for this mandatory transition.
For more information about refunds issued to authorized “4811 notify parties,” review the above-referenced IFR.
Please contact us if you have any questions about this or any other trade matter.
