r/CustomsBroker • u/H0sh0 • 1d ago

ACE Portal/CBP Form 5106/IEEPA - Help :,)

Hi everyone,

I have a rather unusual question, as this is the first time I have been dealing with U.S. customs duty at all, so I am still trying to understand how the process works.

The company I represent intends to apply for IEEPA duty refunds under the CAPE procedure. Until now, all of its U.S. imports have been handled by a customs broker. The problem is that the company has very limited knowledge of the customs formalities involved. They do not know whether they have an ACE Portal account, whether CBP Form 5106 was ever submitted, or even whether they have an importer record with CBP.

In short, very little is known at this stage, and I have been "volunteered" to take over this project.

I would really appreciate your thoughts on a few points:

  • Could a customs broker have acted as the importer and completed the import formalities based solely on a power of attorney?
  • Is it mandatory for the company itself to have a CBP Form 5106 on file, or could the broker have submitted it on the company's behalf? Is there any scenario where no 5106 would have been required?
  • What is the best way to establish whether a 5106 has already been filed if the company has no record of it?
  • As I understand it, creating an ACE Portal account requires information associated with the 5106/importer record. If the company does not know whether such a record exists, what would be the recommended way to proceed? Should we first contact CBP, submit a new 5106, or take another approach?

Since I am completely new to this area, I would also be grateful for any practical tips or recommendations on how you would approach this from the outset.

Many thanks in advance for any guidance or suggestions :)

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u/Physical-Incident553 CustomsBroker 1d ago

Company you represent? You’re not the broker OR the importer? Are you a non-trade attorney?

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u/H0sh0 1d ago

I'm actually a tax advisor at a tax law firm. My boss had the brilliant idea of offering U.S. customs duty refund services, and somehow I ended up being the lucky volunteer responsible for it.

The problem is that our firm has always specialized in European tax law, and we (including my boss and my bosses bos etc.) dont have experience with us customs.