Dear valued professional,
Immediate action is required to ensure that you can receive any refunds issued by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Effective February 6, 2026, CBP will no longer issue refund checks and will instead process all refunds exclusively through Automated Clearing House (ACH). Importers who are not properly configured to receive ACH refunds may experience delays or may be unable to receive refunds until the required setup is completed.
This message follows our July 16, 2025 Advisory Update advising that the U.S. Treasury Department would discontinue the use of paper checks for federal payments, including CBP duty refunds.
Pursuant to CSMS Message 67305746 (January 6, 2026) and the Electronic Refunds Interim Final Rule published January 2, 2026 in the Federal Register (FR Document 2025-24171), CBP now requires that all refunds issued after February 5, 2026 be processed electronically via ACH, subject to limited exceptions.
Currently, 330,566 importers have paid IEEPA duties, yet only 21,423 importers are configured in the ACE Portal to receive ACH refunds, meaning the vast majority of importers are not currently set up to receive CBP refunds electronically.
What steps do you need to take now to ensure you are set up accordingly?
Set up an ACE Portal Account via this link:
ACE Account Application
You will only need:
- Company name
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Email address
Once you have registered, follow these steps:
Step 1: Identify Sub-account Type — IMPORTER
Step 2: Designate an Account Owner — Select an individual or entity who will serve as the manager (Trade Account Owner – TAO) of your corporate account.
(This does not need to be a company owner.)
Step 3: Login and set up the account — Create user profiles and sub-accounts.
NOTE: The account setup is three-tiered:
- Top Account — Main company profile
- Business Activity — Identifies your company as an importer
- Importer Sub-Account — Used to manage importer operations and financial settings
Setting up your ACH in the ACE Portal
The Importer Sub-Account is where ACH refund banking information is managed.
- As the Trade Account Owner, log in to your ACE Portal account.
- Navigate to the Importer Sub-Account view and locate the ACH Refund Authorization tab.
Then:
- If banking data already exists, select Get Info/Refresh to display the information in the Banking Details fields.
- If no banking information exists, select Add ACH Info to enter the banking information for the importer account.
- If ACH banking information changes, a user with Full Access permission to the ACH Refund tab must update the information to ensure accurate refund processing.
NOTE: Banking information is not stored in the ACE Portal. It is maintained in CBP’s financial system.
We are monitoring developments closely and will advise clients when any changes occur.
For additional information, please contact our imports team at dante@versacigroupintl.com
