U.S. Customs and Border Protection modernizes electronic refund enrollment process
- Logistics
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will implement a change in its refund process by switching entirely from issuing physical paper refund checks to only issuing refunds electronically via Automated Clearing House (ACH). This change will be effective as of February 6th, 2026, and is intended to improve efficiency and security throughout the whole process. All U.S. importers that might be eligible for refunds need to act in order to either make sure their ACH account info is added to their Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) account in order for CBP to process refunds, or they need to assign a customs broker like EgeTrans USA, Inc. as their broker to receive refunds on their behalf.
CBP has shared more information about this update and a reference sheet, which are available via the following links:
If you are an importer to the U.S. and would like to receive refunds directly, there are a few steps that need to be taken care of:
- Set up an ACE account with importer sub-account.
- Enter your ACH information of a U.S. bank into your ACE account.
If you do not have an ACE account and/or do not wish to receive refunds directly and/or you are a foreign importer without a U.S. bank to receive the refunds, you can designate a 3rd party like EgeTrans USA, Inc. via CF 4811 to receive ACH refunds on your behalf. The CF 4811 form is available here.
If you would like for EgeTrans USA, Inc. to receive the refund from CBP on your behalf and pass on the refund upon receipt, we are happy to handle this for a fee. Please contact us for further information. We are happy to help you.
Please be aware:
If there is no ACH account info on file with CBP or no valid 4811 designation on file, refund checks will not be issued. CBP will not proactively notify importers of refunds that could not be processed.
In case you have questions or need further details, please contact us. We are happy to help you