In corporate America, mergers and acquisitions are normal and expected, and they happen with predictable regularity. If you’re a company that was caught up in the tax refunds that were recently deemed illegal and unconstitutional and your corporation was sold off or merged with another, you may be wondering about who will receive the IEEPA refunds that are about to be disbursed via the CAPE system. This is usually not an administrative issue because for the most part, companies that find themselves merging with others possess significant capital to the tune of millions of dollars. To make matters worse, the IEEPA refunds are currently being litigated at the Court of International Trade, and the government is filing appeal after procedural appeal, muddying the waters. According to legal proceedings, only the importer of record on each entry summary is entitled to the refund as they are the legal entity that paid the duties. If the importer no longer exists, there may be a situation where the refund may very well get straddled between the successor entity, the predecessor entity’s bankruptcy estate and even the IRS. Confused? Read on to gain clarity with regard to the current IEEPA refunds.
Are you looking for a best IEEPA refunds attorney? Please call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to learn more about your legal options for justice and compensation as they relate to IEEPA refunds and the process. McCready Law is proud to announce that we have joined forces with Frost Law Arizona to help corporations and businesses that were unlawfully levied duties against during the February 2025 to February 2026 period, and thanks to the Supreme Court ruling, the government was ordered to pay back all these duties to over 300,000 affected businesses across the country. Our strategic partnership means we are able to assess your claim, consolidate your entries via an in-depth forensic audit to discover just how much the government owes you, file protective orders on your behalf, and even litigate your claim in front of the Court of International Trade should the government become recalcitrant about processing your IEEPA refunds. We offer the forensic audit at NO CHARGE as well as a 100% FREE initial consultation phone-call, and we work efficiently and ensure all your valid entries are presented as a complete dossier to CBP and relevant authorities, leaving you to focus on more pressing business matters. Need assistance with IEEPA refund rejections or processing? Call us NOW at (314) 481-63338 to speak with an experienced attorney and tax experts at no cost to you.
Refunds Follow the Importer of Record
According to 19 U.S.C. § 1520 and the protest provisions of 19 U.S.C. § 1514, CBP has no power to issue refunds to anyone except the importer of record that is captured on the original entry summary. This means that if your company acquired another entity that paid IEEPA duties between February 2025 and February 2026, you will not automatically receive the refund even if you now own the assets and liabilities of the target company.
Here’s the in-depth analysis:
- Asset purchase agreements that have custom refund rights signed over to the buyer of a corporation are enforceable against CBP, but only if the assignment is indicated prior to the refund being paid, and only if the seller remains in existence to execute the assignment documents. If the seller was dissolved after closing, CBP will assert that the refund rights are supposed to go back to the state as unclaimed state.
- Stock purchases, however, leave you, the target entity intact as a legal individual, which simply means that refund rights remain with the entity. Even if the entity was acquired as a subsidiary, but files its own tax returns and refund claims, you cannot consolidate their refund.
- Mergers are perhaps the most complex of all business acquisitions, and CBP’s systems simply do not recognize successor entities automatically. You are therefore required to file a notice of name change via CF 5106 to CBP and provide merger documentation, after which you must file protests or cape declarations in the name of the surviving entity.
Best IEEPA Refunds Attorneys – Call Us Today!
If your company acquired another business that paid IEEPA duties or your corporation was acquired or merged with another and want to know more about your rights to the IEEPA refunds, you need expert legal and tax assistance before filing a CAPE declaration. Call McCready Law NOW at (314) 481-63338. We will conduct a forensic assessment of the transaction documents, determine who owns the rights as well as file necessary succession noticed with CBP, as well as pursue the refund on your behalf. Please note that the call and assessment are both 100% FREE, and we work closely with award-winning Frost Law Arizona to ensure that all tax implications are taken care of. Thanks for choosing us, and we look forward to helping you.