Guide · IEEPA duty refunds
FedEx, UPS and DHL tariff refunds
Updated · By Joshua Giles, founder of Supercargo (JG Core Ltd)
Can I get a tariff refund from FedEx, UPS or DHL?
It depends on who was importer of record. CBP refunds IEEPA duty only to the importer of record or its 4811 notify party. If the carrier cleared the shipment in its own name, the carrier claims and passes refunds on under its own process. If you were importer and the carrier was your broker, you or the carrier files a CAPE Declaration (CBP, checked 23 October 2026).
Whose name is on the entry?
Look at the importer of record on the entry summary (CBP Form 7501, blocks 27 and 30) or ask the carrier for it. That one fact decides who claims.
The carrier was the importer of record
You cannot file a CAPE Declaration for these entries: CBP accepts declarations only from the importer of record or the broker that filed the entries, and pays only the importer of record or its 4811 notify party. The carrier claims, and how it passes the money back to whoever paid the duty is the carrier’s process, not CBP’s. Watch for the carrier’s own notice, and keep the invoices showing the duty you paid.
You were the importer of record; the carrier was your broker
This is an ordinary IEEPA refund. Find the IEEPA lines with the ES-003 report, check each entry’s window, and either file the CAPE Declaration yourself in the ACE Portal or ask the carrier’s brokerage, as the broker that filed the entries, to file it. Either way the refund is paid to you by ACH, so your ACE Portal account needs refund bank details.
You bought from a seller who shipped DDP
If the price you paid included duty, the importer of record was the seller or its forwarder, and CBP refunds them. Whether any of it reaches you is a matter between you and them. The kit includes a letter to start that conversation.
What each carrier has said
- DHL Express. Where you were the importer of record, DHL offers to file IEEPA refund claims for you if you authorise it on its form, sending an Excel list of eligible entry numbers or DHL air waybills. The form states an Import Documentation Fee of $2.10 per entry, and that refunds cannot be issued by CBP without an ACH Refund Account on file. DHL’s authorisation form.
- FedEx. FedEx has said it receives refunds as importer of record, that it would begin paying customers around 10 August 2026 through a refund portal, and that customers who decline to share data with its vendors are still refunded, more slowly (as reported by Supply Chain Dive, 25 June 2026). Check your status on FedEx’s tariff page.
- UPS. UPS publishes its process on its US customs tariff refunds page. We could not read it on 23 October 2026, so we state nothing about it beyond CBP’s rule: if UPS was the importer of record, UPS claims; if you were, you or your broker files CAPE.
Carrier processes change faster than CBP’s rules. Treat the carrier’s own page as current.
Amazon sellers who shipped by courier
Inventory sent by courier to FBA is usually entered in the seller’s own name, with the carrier acting as broker, but not always. Check each entry. Where you were importer of record, the refund is yours to claim through CAPE, and the deadlines run from each entry’s liquidation date: 80 days in CAPE Phase 1. See the five eligibility checks.
Dozens of courier entries? The IEEPA Tariff Refund Kit (£49$59€55) tracks every entry’s CAPE and protest deadline on one sheet, with the questions to put to the carrier’s brokerage and a letter for DDP suppliers.
Straight answers
How do I get a tariff refund from FedEx, UPS or DHL?
First find out who was importer of record on the entry. If the carrier was, CBP refunds the carrier and you wait for the carrier’s own refund process. If you were, you or the broker that filed the entry files a CAPE Declaration in the ACE Portal, and CBP pays you by ACH.
Should I file a CAPE claim for a parcel FedEx, UPS or DHL cleared?
Only if you were the importer of record on that entry. CBP accepts CAPE Declarations only from the importer of record or the licensed broker that filed the entries.
Are the carrier’s brokerage or disbursement fees refunded?
CBP refunds IEEPA duty with interest. A carrier’s own brokerage or service fees are not duty, so they are not part of CBP’s refund; whether a carrier returns any of them is up to the carrier.
I sell on Amazon. Does any of this apply to me?
If you imported inventory for FBA in your own name, yes: you are the importer of record and claim through CAPE like any other importer, whether a carrier, a forwarder or your own broker filed the entry. If a supplier shipped DDP into the US, the supplier was the importer and the refund is theirs.
My carrier refund hasn’t arrived. What can I do?
If the carrier was importer of record, the refund reaches CBP’s side only once the carrier’s own CAPE Declaration is processed, which CBP says generally takes 60 to 90 days after acceptance; after that, timing is the carrier’s. Check the carrier’s refund page or portal with your tracking or invoice numbers. If you were importer of record, check ES-022 and REV-603 in ACE.
Someone offered to claim my carrier refund for a fee. Is that safe?
Be careful. CBP pays refunds only by ACH to the importer of record or its notify party, and publishes a fact sheet on refund fraud solicitations. If the carrier was importer of record, nobody else can claim from CBP for you.
Sources, last checked 23 October 2026: CBP, IEEPA Duty Refunds (last modified 30 September 2026); CBP Trade Information Notice, CAPE Phase 1; DHL Express IEEPA authorisation form; Supply Chain Dive on FedEx refunds (25 June 2026).
For United States shipments: Supercargo is not a licensed customs broker and does not conduct customs business as defined in 19 CFR 111.1. Figures shown for prospective shipments are management estimates on a commodity code you supply. Classification, valuation and entry remain the responsibility of you as importer of record and of your licensed broker, and reliance on Supercargo does not establish reasonable care for the purposes of 19 U.S.C. 1484.
Start with the audit
Your last twelve months of entries, reconciled to the unit, for a fixed £900$1,200€1,050. Refunded in full if the variance is under 2%.