Customs & Border Protection officials haven't responded to our inquiry as to what was the cause of Alcohol & Tobacco Tax & Trade Bureau advising industry members to "hold up on submitting 2026 Q1 CBMA Importer Refund Claims."

From the TTB website: "Due to potential data errors in the myTTB CBMA Importer Claims System, TTB recommends that importers carefully check the quantity information for each entry summary line before submitting claims for the first quarter of 2026. TTB asks that importers with data errors wait to submit first quarter claims until TTB can ensure the correct data displays in the system.

"What happened? The myTTB CBMA Importer Claims System allows importers to see relevant data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) and identify the specific entries to include in their CBMA refund claim.

"For a significant number of first quarter 2026 entries, the ACE data was subject to a transmission error that increased the quantity imported in TTB’s database. Entry summary and post-summary correction data from January 2026 – mid-February 2026 are the most impacted."

We wondered if the error was the result of lack of personnel or some other issue, so we asked CBP's press people. They didn't respond.