Notice2025-18470
New Functionality Pertaining to Electronic Refunds in the Automated Commercial Environment
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
September 24, 2025
Issuing agencies
Homeland Security DepartmentU.S. Customs and Border Protection
Abstract
This document announces that U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is making the availability of electronic refunds via Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) more accessible by deploying a new functionality, the ACH Refund Authorization tab, in the Automated Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 183 (Wednesday, September 24, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 24, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45956-45957]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-18470]
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DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY
U.S. Customs and Border Protection
New Functionality Pertaining to Electronic Refunds in the
Automated Commercial Environment
AGENCY: U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Department of Homeland
Security.
ACTION: General notice.
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SUMMARY: This document announces that U.S. Customs and Border
Protection (CBP) is making the availability of electronic refunds via
Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) more accessible by deploying a new
functionality, the ACH Refund Authorization tab, in the Automated
Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal).
DATES: The new functionality in the ACE Portal will become operational
on September 30, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Comments concerning this notice may be submitted at any time
to Nate DeRosa at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7b1d0915561a1813091e1d0e151f080e0b0b14090f3b18190b551f1308551c140d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0c6a7e62216d6f647e696a7962687f797c7c637e784c6f6e7c2268647f226b637a">[email protected]</span></a> with a subject line
identifier reading, ``ACH Refund.''
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Nate DeRosa, Revenue Division, Office
of Finance, at (317) 298-1042 or <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#5137233f7c303239233437243f35222421213e2325113233217f3539227f363e27"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="6e081c00430f0d061c0b081b000a1d1b1e1e011c1a2e0d0c1e400a061d40090118">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Currently, to receive certain electronic
refunds from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), each importer or
person, business firm, or other organization that is entitled to
receive such refunds or other disbursements from CBP must submit an
Automated Clearinghouse (ACH) Refunds Enrollment Form via an email
message to CBP's Revenue Division. Once CBP receives and manually
processes the enrollment form, refunds are deposited electronically in
the importer's bank account.
With this notice, CBP is announcing that it is making the
availability of electronic refunds via ACH more accessible by deploying
a new functionality, the ACH Refund Authorization tab, in the Automated
Commercial Environment Secure Data Portal (ACE Portal). CBP developed
the ACH Refund Authorization tab in the ACE Portal for faster
processing of applications for electronic refunds via ACH (ACH Refund).
This new tab in the ACE Portal is now the primary method for applying
for ACH Refund for importers or similar parties that are entitled to
receive refunds or disbursements from CBP and that are able to obtain
an ACE Portal account, replacing the more manual email process. If an
individual or entity is not able to obtain an ACE Portal account or
otherwise cannot access the ACE Refund Authorization tab in the ACE
Portal, the individual or entity may submit an ACH Refunds Enrollment
Form for manual processing.
An importer or other party that is entitled to receive refunds or
disbursements from CBP must have an ACE Portal account before applying
for ACH Refund.\1\ The ACE Portal account application process allows
CBP to validate that the applicant is a person authorized to act on
behalf of the importer or other party that is entitled to receive
refunds or disbursements from CBP. Once the ACE Portal account is
established, the account owner may log in, set up the account, and
create user profiles and sub-accounts. Only individuals with the
designated account owner role in the ACE Portal will be able to perform
certain functions, including applying for ACH Refund. CBP is developing
a new ACE Portal account user permission that will give account owners
the ability to grant access to the ACH Refund Authorization tab to
other trade account users. CBP will announce this new development at a
later date.
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\1\ The application for an ACE Portal account and instructions
on how to apply are found at <a href="https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/getting-started/portal-applying">https://www.cbp.gov/trade/automated/getting-started/portal-applying</a>.
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To apply for ACH Refund, the importer or other party with an
account owner role in the ACE Portal that is entitled to receive
refunds or disbursements from CBP must navigate to the ACH Refund
Authorization tab within the ACE Portal and provide information for the
U.S. bank account designated to receive electronic refunds. Once this
bank account information is successfully submitted and approved in the
ACE Portal, all future refunds owed to the importer or other party that
is entitled to receive refunds or disbursements from CBP will be issued
electronically to the designated bank account.\2\
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\2\ An importer or broker who created an ACE Portal account will
be able to view the Refund ACE Report, which includes a summary of
the total number of outstanding refunds requested, the total dollar
amount requested in all outstanding refunds, and a consolidated
table of all outstanding refunds and relevant data for the ACE
account user's own refunds. The deployment and availability of the
Refund ACE Report was announced in a Federal Register notice
published on August 11, 2022 (87 FR 49600).
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An importer may designate a third party, such as a licensed customs
broker, to receive a refund check on behalf of the importer. To
accomplish this, the importer must fill out and submit CBP Form 4811
(Special Address Notification) via an email message to the importer's
assigned Center of Excellence and Expertise (Center) or the Center that
most closely aligns with the tariff number of the importer's highest
valued commodity, designating the third party as the recipient of the
refund. At this time, third parties designated by an importer on a
processed and approved CBP Form 4811 will continue to receive refunds
via paper check until CBP transitions the refund process for designated
third parties to electronic payment. CBP will announce any further
requirements or expansions of the availability of electronic refunds,
such as for designated third parties, in a separate document published
in the Federal Register.
CBP encourages importers and other parties entitled to receive
refunds or disbursements from CBP to apply for access to an ACE Portal
account and utilize the new ACH Refund Authorization tab to receive
refunds electronically and take advantage of the benefits associated
with electronic refunds. This enhancement provides operational and
functional benefits to both the trade community and CBP. Electronic
refunds can be processed and deposited in the designated bank account
in one to two business days, whereas the mailing of a traditional paper
check takes much longer, in addition to the time it takes to deposit
the check in the refund recipient's bank account. Electronic refunds
also provide security benefits over paper checks as they are less
likely to have post-payment issues, such as claims of missing or
misdelivered payments or check fraud. For CBP, electronic refunds
reduce the printing and mailing costs associated with paper checks and
save resources that currently go towards supporting check fraud
investigations, including the tracking, researching, and reissuing of
check refunds.
Additionally, while third party refund recipients designated on a
CBP Form 4811 will still receive paper checks at this time, CBP
encourages these designated third parties to apply for
[[Page 45957]]
access to an ACE Portal account and sign up for ACH Refund in order to
be ready to receive refunds electronically when CBP announces that
functionality. CBP will provide any support needed for setting up an
ACE Portal account and applying for ACH Refund.
Jeffrey Caine,
Chief Financial Officer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
[FR Doc. 2025-18470 Filed 9-23-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 9111-14-P
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