Why You Should Use an Attorney — Not a Consultant or Customs Broker — to File Your IEEPA Refund Declaration

The invalidation of the tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) has opened the door to one of the largest customs refund opportunities in modern history. Following the Supreme Court’s decision and the Court of International Trade’s order directing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to liquidate and reliquidate affected entries without IEEPA duties, importers are now submitting refund claims through CBP’s Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) tool. The amounts at stake are enormous — tens of billions of dollars in principal and interest across millions of entries.

With that much money in play, the natural question for any importer is: who should actually prepare and file my refund declaration? Trade consultants and licensed customs brokers will all offer their services. Many do excellent work on day-to-day compliance. But filing an IEEPA refund declaration is not a routine entry transaction. It is the front end of a legal claim against the United States government, and the choice of who handles it has consequences that reach far beyond the keystrokes in the ACE portal. Here are three reasons that choice should be a customs attorney.

1. Attorney-Client Privilege Protects Your Communications

When you work with a consultant or a customs broker, the advice you receive and the information you share generally enjoy no legal protection. If a dispute arises — and with claims of this size, CBP scrutiny and even litigation are realistic possibilities — your emails, memos, and candid conversations with a non-attorney advisor can be discoverable. Worse, the advisor themselves can be compelled to testify about what you told them and what they told you.

The attorney-client privilege exists precisely to prevent that. Communications between you and your customs attorney, made for the purpose of obtaining legal advice, are confidential and protected from compelled disclosure. There is no equivalent “broker-client privilege” or “consultant-client privilege” in U.S. law. The limited accountant privilege that exists for certain tax matters does not extend to customs proceedings.

Why does this matter for an IEEPA refund? Because preparing these claims often surfaces sensitive judgment calls: how entries were classified, whether the correct duty amounts were originally deposited, how to characterize entries that touch multiple tariff programs, and how to handle any irregularities discovered along the way. You want to be able to discuss those issues candidly with your advisor and develop the strongest position — without worrying that the conversation itself becomes evidence against you. Only an attorney can offer that protection.

2. Only an Attorney Can Take Your Case to Federal Court

A refund declaration is not the end of the road; it is the beginning. CBP may accept your claim, reduce it, delay it, or deny part or all of it. The government has already signaled that it will continue to contest aspects of the refund process. Some entries will raise compliance questions. Some declarations will be rejected on technical grounds. And the ordinary customs remedy framework still applies underneath the CAPE process.

If CBP denies relief, the path forward runs through a protest under 19 U.S.C. § 1514, and if that protest is denied through litigation in the U.S. Court of International Trade (28 U.S.C. § 1581(a)) — with further appeal available to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A consultant cannot file suit on your behalf. A customs broker cannot file suit on your behalf. Corporations cannot represent themselves in federal court at all; they must appear through licensed counsel. Only an attorney admitted to the bar of the Court of International Trade can carry your claim from an administrative filing into a federal courtroom.

This is not a hypothetical concern for the IEEPA refunds specifically. Strategic decisions made at the declaration stage — how a claim is framed, what is preserved, what deadlines are protected — directly shape what relief remains available later. An advisor who can only operate inside the ACE portal is, by definition, planning only for the best-case scenario. An attorney who can litigate is building your filing with the full remedy framework in mind from day one, so that if CBP says no, your right to challenge that decision in court is preserved rather than forfeited.

3. Trust Fund Accounting Rules Protect Your Refund Money

IEEPA refunds frequently involve very large sums, and in many engagements those funds — or related deposits, bonds, and fees — pass through the hands of the advisor managing the claim. This is where a difference most importers never think about becomes critical: how that money is held.

Attorneys are bound by strict professional rules governing client funds. Money belonging to a client must be held separately from the lawyer’s own operating accounts, in a dedicated client trust account, and meticulously accounted for. Lawyers cannot commingle client money with firm money, cannot use it to cover their own expenses, and must keep records that allow every dollar to be traced and returned. These rules are enforced by state bar authorities, and violations carry severe professional consequences up to and including disbarment.

Consultants and customs brokers operate under no comparable trust-accounting regime. When a multi-million-dollar refund is at issue, that distinction is not academic. With an attorney, your refund proceeds are governed by fiduciary obligations and an enforcement structure built specifically to protect client money. With a non-attorney advisor, you are relying on a commercial relationship and whatever contract terms you managed to negotiate — and you may have far less recourse if something goes wrong.

The Bottom Line for Importers

Filing an IEEPA refund declaration looks, on the surface, like a data-entry exercise. It is not. It is the opening move in a legal claim against the federal government, often worth a substantial sum, with real possibilities of denial, delay, and dispute. The advisor you choose determines whether your communications are protected, whether your claim can be defended all the way through federal court, and whether your money is held to fiduciary standards.

Customs brokers and trade consultants have their place, and a great many are skilled professionals. But on a claim of this magnitude and legal sensitivity, the protections that come with an attorney — privilege, the ability to litigate, and trust-account safeguards — are not luxuries. They are the difference between filing a form and protecting a claim.

If your company paid IEEPA tariffs and you are evaluating how to pursue a refund, our firm can help you file your CAPE declaration the right way and protect your rights at every stage that follows. As a member of the bar of the U.S. Court of International Trade, Erik Lieberman represents importers from the initial refund filing through protest and, if necessary, litigation. Contact Erik at 202.830.0300 or erl@liebermanpllc.com to discuss your IEEPA refund.

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This article is provided for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice. Reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. For advice regarding your specific circumstances, please consult a qualified customs attorney.