They're two different refunds, and they can't both be used on the same entry. For the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down, CAPE almost always wins — and filing drawback by mistake can cost you the bigger one.
Want the detail? The full CAPE breakdown. Rather just ask? hello@aduaria.com.
File drawback on an entry that qualifies for CAPE and you can forfeit the larger refund — the full duty plus interest, with nothing exported. It's a one-way door, and sequence matters. This is the most expensive mistake on IEEPA entries right now.
The decision isn't "CAPE or drawback" for your whole book — it's per entry, per duty type. IEEPA reciprocal duty on an entry routes to CAPE. Ordinary and Section 301 duty on a different entry routes to drawback, if those goods are exported or destroyed. The two programs coexist across your book; they just can't both touch the same entry.
That's exactly the kind of routing that goes wrong by hand. Aduaria reads your entry history, identifies which entries carry IEEPA duty eligible for CAPE and which carry duty recoverable through drawback, and keeps them separate — so you don't file the smaller refund on an entry that qualifies for the larger one. A licensed customs broker reviews and signs.
Still expanding: as of the review date below, reconciliation entries, protested entries, and AD/CVD are not yet CAPE-supported and may route through other channels.
General information, current as of 15 Aug 2026 — not legal advice. CAPE is an evolving CBP process; confirm current CBP guidance before acting. For the fuller breakdown, see the CAPE section on our duty drawback page.
They are two different refund mechanisms. Duty drawback (19 U.S.C. § 1313) refunds up to 99% of the duty on imported goods that are later exported or destroyed. CAPE is CBP's process for refunding the IEEPA tariffs the Supreme Court struck down in February 2026 — it returns the full duty with interest and requires no export. The two are mutually exclusive on the same entry.
Generally no. For entries carrying the struck-down IEEPA tariffs, CAPE is almost always the better path — full duty plus interest, with nothing exported. Because CAPE and drawback are mutually exclusive per entry, filing drawback can forfeit the larger CAPE refund.
As of the review date, reconciliation entries, protested entries, and AD/CVD are not yet CAPE-supported and may route through other channels. CAPE is an evolving CBP process, so confirm current guidance for your specific entries.
Run a 60-second estimate, then let us separate your CAPE-eligible entries from your drawback-eligible ones — before anything is filed.