ACE CATAIR Updated for FY2027 COBRA User Fees: What Filers Must Know

Key Points

• CBP updated the ACE CATAIR Entry Summary Create/Update chapter to reflect Fiscal Year 2027 Customs COBRA user fees, effective October 1, 2026.
• The adjusted fee amounts and limitations are already in force; entry summaries filed on or after October 1, 2026 must use the new figures.
• ACE Production will be offline for standard invasive maintenance from 10:00 p.m. ET Saturday, October 3, 2026, to 4:00 a.m. ET Sunday, October 4, 2026.
• Technical questions about the CATAIR update should go to your assigned CBP Client Representative; fee-related questions should go to the Entry Summary Accounts and Revenue Division.

On this page

1. What changed in the ACE CATAIR
2. FY2027 COBRA user fees: applicability and effective date
3. ACE production maintenance window
4. Required actions for importers, brokers, and compliance teams
5. Key references

CBP has published two operational updates that affect every ACE filer starting October 1, 2026: a CATAIR revision incorporating new Fiscal Year 2027 Customs COBRA user fees, and a planned six-hour ACE production outage scheduled for the night of October 3-4, 2026. The links in this article go to the primary documents, including the official CSMS bulletins themselves. Read the source.

What changed in the ACE CATAIR

The ACE CATAIR Entry Summary Create/Update (CSMS #70086122) has been revised to incorporate the FY2027 Customs COBRA user fee schedule. The updated CATAIR chapter is posted on CBP's ACE CATAIR page under the Chapters: Current Capabilities tab. Brokers and in-house filers who build or validate entry summary data against the CATAIR specification should download the current version to confirm their systems are populating fee fields correctly.

Customs COBRA fees, governed by 19 U.S.C. 58c, are adjusted periodically. The fee amounts and any associated limitations (such as caps and minimums) changed as of the October 1, 2026 effective date. Because ACE performs automated validation against CATAIR specifications, entry summaries that carry stale fee values risk reject errors or post-summary corrections.

FY2027 COBRA user fees: applicability and effective date

The revised fee schedule is effective October 1, 2026, the first day of Fiscal Year 2027. This means any entry summary with a line-item or merchandise processing fee calculation keyed to the new fiscal year must reflect the updated amounts. Importers who self-file and brokers running automated fee-calculation routines should verify their software has been updated to pull the FY2027 figures rather than FY2026 values.

CBP's Entry Summary Accounts and Revenue Division is the designated contact for questions about the fee amounts themselves. Your assigned CBP Client Representative handles technical integration questions about the CATAIR specification changes.

ACE production maintenance window

Per CSMS #70087229, ACE Production will undergo standard invasive maintenance and will be unavailable from 10:00 p.m. ET Saturday, October 3, 2026, through 4:00 a.m. ET Sunday, October 4, 2026, a window of approximately six hours. During this period, electronic filing, query, and status functions in ACE will not be accessible.

Filers with time-sensitive entries, protests, or PGA transmissions due around that window should plan submissions before 10:00 p.m. ET on Saturday or after 4:00 a.m. ET on Sunday. Brokers operating in multiple time zones should convert the window to local time for their operations teams.

Required actions for importers, brokers, and compliance teams

• Update fee tables immediately. Download the revised ACE CATAIR Entry Summary Create/Update chapter from CBP's CATAIR page and confirm your entry-summary system reflects the FY2027 COBRA user fee amounts and limitations, which have been in effect since October 1, 2026.
• Test before the maintenance window. Submit any test or certification transactions ahead of 10:00 p.m. ET on October 3 to avoid the six-hour outage.
• Reschedule time-sensitive filings. Queue entries, protests, or partner government agency transmissions that cannot wait until after 4:00 a.m. ET on October 4 before the maintenance window begins.
• Route questions correctly. Send CATAIR technical questions to your CBP Client Representative and fee-amount questions to the Entry Summary Accounts and Revenue Division.

Key references

• CSMS #70086122 - ACE CATAIR Entry Summary Create/Update: FY27 Customs COBRA User Fees (CBP, October 1, 2026)
• CSMS #70087229 - ACE Production Standard Invasive Maintenance, October 3-4, 2026 (CBP, October 1, 2026)
• ACE CATAIR Chapters: Current Capabilities - CBP's official CATAIR specification repository
• 19 U.S.C. 58c - Statutory authority for Customs COBRA user fees