u/Helpful-Door-7763

I’m looking for some technical guidance on a CAPE (Consolidated Administration and Processing of Entries) refund for an import from October 2025.

The Scenario:

• Value/Duty: ~$30k shipment of organic foods; ~$4,500 in duties paid (Chapter 99/IEEPA).
• IOR Issue: For USDA organic compliance reasons, we used a 3rd party to act as the IOR. The BOL and Entry Summary (7501) are in their name/tax ID.
• Financials: Our business paid all duties and fees through our broker, but we are not the IOR on record with CBP.
• Status: Entry was filed October 2025. I suspect it's still unliquidated (standard 314-day cycle), but I can’t confirm because I’m currently locked out of my ACE portal and support hasn't responded to my reactivation request.

My Questions for the Experts:

1. IOR Standing: Since the 3rd party is the legal IOR, does the CAPE refund have to be filed by them (or their broker)? If we file the CAPE declaration ourselves, will CBP reject it because the Tax ID doesn't match the 7501?
2. Payment Logistics: I understand CAPE refunds are issued via ACH to the account on file for the IOR. If the 3rd party is the IOR, is there any mechanism to directed that refund to us (the ultimate consignee/payer), or are we at the mercy of the 3rd party to pass that money through?
3. Liquidation Risk: Given the October 2025 date, is there a high risk this has already liquidated? If so, does that push us out of Phase 1 (which I believe is limited to unliquidated or <80 days post-liquidation)?
4. ACE Lockout: Has anyone had success getting the ES-003 or liquidation status via the ACE Account Service Desk (ASD) recently? They haven't been responsive, and I need to verify my entry data before the Phase 1 window shifts.

Is there a viable path to recover this $4,500 without the 3rd party IOR taking a massive cut or blocking the process?