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The Section 1514 protest window — what importers need to know
For most importers thinking about IEEPA tariff refunds, the date that matters most is not when the Supreme Court ruled. It is the date U.S. Customs and Border Protection liquidates each of your entries.
Liquidation starts the clock on the most important deadline in administrative refund recovery: the 180-day Section 1514 protest window. If your business is going to pursue refunds for invalidated tariffs, understanding this window — what it is, when it opens and closes, and what happens if you miss it — is essential.
What liquidation actually means
When goods enter the United States, your customs broker files an entry summary with CBP. The duties owed are calculated based on the classification, country of origin, value, and applicable tariff rates. Initially, those duties are deposited.
Liquidation is the formal process by which CBP finalizes the duties owed on that entry. It can happen automatically — most entries liquidate by operation of law roughly one year after entry — or it can be accelerated or extended in specific circumstances. Once an entry is liquidated, CBP's determination of duties owed becomes final, subject only to the formal protest process.
Liquidation is not a notification event in the way most people expect. CBP does not send you a letter that says "your entry has been liquidated." The liquidation appears in CBP's electronic records, and the date is what triggers downstream deadlines. Most importers learn about liquidation timing from their customs broker or by checking entry records directly.
What Section 1514 provides
Section 1514 of the Tariff Act of 1930 gives importers the right to challenge CBP's determination on a liquidated entry by filing a formal protest. The protest must be filed within 180 days of the date of liquidation. This is the administrative remedy for an importer who believes duties were overpaid, classifications were incorrect, or — in the current refund context — duties were collected under an authority later determined to be invalid.
A timely Section 1514 protest preserves the importer's right to a refund. If CBP grants the protest, the refund is processed. If CBP denies it, the importer has the right to seek further review at the Court of International Trade.
Without a timely protest, the liquidation generally becomes final and unappealable. Even if the underlying tariff was invalid — as is the case with the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down — an importer who lets the 180-day window pass typically loses the administrative refund right for that entry.
Why the timing problem is acute right now
Most importers paid IEEPA tariffs across many entries spread over more than a year. Each of those entries liquidates on its own schedule. That means the protest deadlines are not one date — they are a rolling series of dates, with each entry carrying its own 180-day clock.
Entries from the earliest IEEPA period, in early 2024, generally liquidated in early 2025. Their protest windows have already closed or are about to. Entries from later in 2024 are at various stages of the protest window now. Entries from 2025 are still pending liquidation or in the early part of their windows.
The practical effect: a business that does nothing is steadily losing refund rights, entry by entry, as each protest window expires. Even if the total recoverable amount is large, the recoverable portion shrinks every month that passes.
What CAPE changes
CAPE, the streamlined administrative refund process CBP rolled out for post-SCOTUS refund claims, operates alongside the Section 1514 protest mechanism. For eligible claims in CAPE Phase 1 or Phase 2, the administrative process is faster than filing individual protests entry by entry.
But CAPE does not eliminate the underlying deadlines. The protest window discipline still applies. An importer who waits to engage with CAPE until late in their protest windows risks running out of time on their earliest, often largest, entries.
The practical strategy is to begin the recovery work early — not at the deadline. Identify which entries are approaching their protest windows. File or join claims for those first. Move the more complex portions of the recovery in parallel.
When you need professional help
Some refund situations are simple enough to handle through a customs broker or accountant familiar with CAPE filings. Others — especially those involving complex classifications, multi-country exposure, or contested legal questions — require recovery counsel with trade law experience. And many situations are a mix: some entries fit a streamlined administrative path, while others need formal legal representation.
The right professionals for your situation depend on what your refund profile actually looks like. A general business attorney is rarely the right choice for IEEPA recovery work. A customs broker may be sufficient for a clean Phase 1 claim but not for a contested classification case.
What Corvant does
Corvant analyzes your refund exposure across the protest windows, identifies which entries are approaching expiration, and connects you with recovery partners qualified for your specific situation — whether that's a customs broker, an accountant, a recovery attorney, or some combination.
The 180-day clock is running on entries you've already imported. The first step is knowing where you stand.