IEEPA Tariffs Paid Through DHL, FEDEX, UPS Part 128 Informal Entries

What Part 128 Actually Covers

19 CFR Part 128 is the CBP framework governing express consignment operators and carriers. It covers the hub operations run by FedEx, UPS, DHL, plus a few independent facilities (IBC, Micom). Under 128.24(a), informal entry procedures are generally used for non-restricted shipments not exceeding USD 2,500 in value. These shipments are most often consolidated on a single entry. The entry is filed on CBP Form 3461 or its electronic equivalent, with the advance manifest serving as a supporting document.

This was the "de minimis" workhorse for individual parcels shipping into the United States. Before the de minimis suspension took hold in August 2025, a large share of these parcels cleared duty-free under Section 321. Once de minimis was suspended for all countries, an informal entry was used for most imports under USD 2,500.

NOTE: We will continue to update this post as information on the next phase of IEEPA refunds becomes available for duty paid via FedEx, UPS, and DHL.

READ ABOUT IEEPA REFUNDS VIA CAPE →

The headlines have mostly involved large importers such as Toyota, Costco, Elizabeth Arden, and Reebok who proactively filed suit in the Court of International Trade. But there are thousands of small businesses who have paid anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars in IEEPA tariffs. Many of these goods arrived via FedEx, UPS, and DHL.

The complicating part is that most of these imports qualified as informal entries. The carriers made entry on behalf of the consignee. And these entries are typically not individual entries but are consolidated with thousands of other shipments. In other words, there is not a single entry number attached to each waybill. Rather, there is one entry linked to thousands of individual shipments.

The other complicating part is that the refund itself is issued via the ACH payment system. Most companies who receive goods via FedEx, UPS, and DHL do not have an ACH refund account set up.

How IEEPA Applied on an Informal Entry

There was nothing special about IEEPA via an informal entry. The same rules applied. The Chapter 99 headings — 9903.01.25 for China, 9903.01.10 for Canada, 9903.01.01 for Mexico, and the reciprocal tariff headings for other origins — were reported on the entry like any other ad valorem duty. The rates stacked on top of the standard MFN (column 1) rate plus other section tariffs such as Section 301 and Section 232.

What makes express informal entries distinctive is that carriers can make an entry on behalf of the consignee without securing authorization to do so. For formal entries, by contrast, a power of attorney is required.

Informal Entries and IEEPA Refunds: Three Issues to Know

1. Nominal Consignee versus Importer of Record

The nominal consignee designation exists in Part 128 for scenarios where the US-based party shown on paperwork is the carrier, forwarder, or consolidator itself, not the ultimate buyer. In that case, a carrier's IRS EIN can appear on the entry, but this is for manifest identification, not IOR status.

2. Informal Entries Liquidate Immediately

Under 19 CFR 159.10(a), the effective date of liquidation for an informal entry is the date of duty payment or the date of release. Nearly every informal entry that paid IEEPA duty was already finally liquidated by the time the Supreme Court ruled. A Court of International Trade (CIT) amendment issued 27 March 2026 extended refund relief to finally-liquidated entries. This extension may be challenged on appeal.

3. Delivery Duty Paid (DDP) Shipments

Under DDP terms, the commercial arrangement often has the shipper outside the USA paying the IEEPA duty along with other import charges. This does not change who CBP records as the IOR on the entry. The duty-payer and the IOR are legally distinct. For the purposes of CBP, the consignee remains liable for compliance even on DDP shipments. DDP terms apply to formal entries as well but are much more common on lower-value imports for product samples and warranty parts.

Representative Duty Math on Typical Informal Entries

Rates shown are representative of peak periods during the IEEPA window. Actual rates varied over time as executive orders were amended and country-specific pauses took effect.

Estimating the Informal Entry Share

CBP does not publish a clean breakdown of IEEPA duties by entry type, so actual figures are not known.

• Informal entries account for a minority of duty dollars but a large share of entry count. The bulk of IEEPA collections sat on formal entries clearing full commercial shipments.
• After August 2025, when de minimis was suspended, express informal entries absorbed hundreds of millions of parcels per month that had previously cleared on a manifest.
• Assuming informal entries represent roughly 3 to 5 percent of IEEPA duty dollars, the range lands at approximately USD 5 billion over the eleven-month window.

Average Declared Value

The estimated average value of Section 321 de minimis entries was only around USD 40. However, many of these were imported with under-declared values and, in any case, lost their duty-free status when de minimis was suspended. Courier-classified B2C shipments and B2B replenishment parcels for commercial consignees likely resulted in a higher average declared value, but the exact number is not known.

Who Was the Importer of Record

This is the part that trips up a lot of importers, and it matters enormously for the refund process. On an express informal entry, the importer of record is the ultimate consignee — the business or person in the United States to whom the goods are consigned. The express carrier is not the IOR even if their identification number is used as a header on the consolidated entry.

19 CFR 143.26 governs who may make entry on an informal shipment:

The parties eligible to enter are the owner, the purchaser, or the consignee of the goods. On an express informal entry, the carrier is almost never the owner or purchaser, so by default the ultimate consignee fills the IOR role.

What makes express carriers look like the IOR is a separate mechanic: the carrier is the entry filer acting as a customs broker. FedEx, UPS, and DHL each hold customs broker licenses and file the CBP Form 3461 on behalf of the consignee using their own filer code. In ACE, the entry shows the carrier's broker as the filer, but the IOR field carries the consignee's name, US address, and IRS employer ID number, SSN, or CBP-assigned number.

How the IEEPA Line Appears on Carrier Invoices

IEEPA duties on express informal entries were billed to the consignee on the carrier's duty and tax invoice, typically ten to twenty business days after delivery. The IEEPA portion is identifiable on carrier duty invoices by the Chapter 99 HTS reference (9903.xx.xx) alongside the MFN classification. In some cases, mostly with respect to imports via UPS, the details of the entry are not always provided.

What the Supreme Court Ruling Changed

On 20 February 2026, the Supreme Court held IEEPA tariffs to be invalid. Duties were no longer charged beyond 24 February 2026. A Section 122 surcharge was imposed almost immediately under separate authority, so shipments entering the US today still incur additional duty beyond the standard MFN rate. The IEEPA line is gone, and tariffs paid under this authority are now starting to be refunded for formal entries to importers with an ACH refund account on file.

Refunds on Informal Entries: What to Expect

Phase 1 of CBP's Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries (CAPE) system is active. CBP pushes refunds via ACH to the importer's bank details on file. However, Phase 1 does not currently address refunds on informal entries. Phase 2 is expected to extend the process.

Most consignees on express informal entries, particularly small businesses and individual consumers, never registered an ACH account with CBP because they never expected to be treated as an importer of record. The express carrier handled everything. Consignees will need to sign up for electronic refunds, as CBP no longer issues paper checks.

A further complication: when the shipper paid the duty under DDP terms through the carrier's account, the commercial reality is that the shipper absorbed the cost, not the consignee. But the refund goes to the IOR, which is the consignee. How shippers recover duty they effectively paid on behalf of their customers is a commercial question between the parties, not a CBP question.

What the ACH System Is

What Happens Now for Informal Entries

There is an expectation that IEEPA refunds will eventually be applied for informal entries through Phase 2 of CAPE. For businesses using express informal entries, the action now is to record what was paid, confirm your importer identity record, and prepare the bank details of a US-based account that can be linked to ACH.