[Due for payment 2026-03-30] Tags - Unable to import multi-level tags

[lanitochka17]

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Version Number: v9.3.40-0
Reproducible in staging?: Yes
Reproducible in production?: No
If this was caught during regression testing, add the test name, ID and link from BrowserStack: https://test-management.browserstack.com/projects/2219752/test-runs/TR-10400/folder/13176676/41237315/1260624865
Email or phone of affected tester (no customers): htad26+gwewewewd@gmail.com
Issue reported by: Applause Internal Team
Bug source: Regression TC Execution
Device used: Windows 10 / Chrome, iOS 23 / iPhone 13
App Component: Workspace Settings

Action Performed:

1. Create a new workspace
2. Enable tags
3. Click on Import > Multi-level tags > Upgrade workspace
4. Choose a file for independent tags > Import
5. Do the same for dependent tags

Expected Result:

Multi-level tags are imported

Actual Result:

Import failed error appears and tags are not imported

Workaround:

Unknown

Platforms:

• Android: App
• Android: mWeb Chrome
• iOS: App
• iOS: mWeb Safari
• iOS: mWeb Chrome
• Windows: Chrome
• MacOS: Chrome / Safari

Screenshots/Videos

Bug7106318_1773845215233.bandicam_2026-03-18_17-38-57-148.mp4

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Issue Owner

Current Issue Owner: @szymonzalarski98

[melvin-bot]

Triggered auto assignment to @blimpich (DeployBlockerCash), see https://stackoverflowteams.com/c/expensify/questions/9980/ for more details.

[melvin-bot]

💬 A slack conversation has been started in #expensify-open-source

[github-actions]

👋 Friendly reminder that deploy blockers are time-sensitive ⏱ issues! Check out the open `StagingDeployCash` deploy checklist to see the list of PRs included in this release, then work quickly to do one of the following:

1. Identify the pull request that introduced this issue and revert it.
2. Find someone who can quickly fix the issue.
3. Fix the issue yourself.

[OSBotify]

Investigation Summary

Classification: Backend bug
Causing PR: Unable to identify App PR - appears to be a backend issue (High confidence)
Related Issues: #80844, #84969 (similar multi-level tag import failures)

Recommendation: NEEDS INVESTIGATION

The issue is reproducible on staging (v9.3.40-0) but NOT on production. After investigating, I found that:

1. PR Enable platform tree shaking in hermes bundle #83359 (the known culprit from previous identical issues) is NOT in the current codebase - the babel.config.js and metro.config.js files do not contain the experimentalImportSupport or disableImportExportTransform changes
2. The frontend ImportSpreadsheet.tsx component has not been modified recently
3. No App PRs in the current deploy touch multi-level tag import functionality
4. The expensify-common update (PR [NO QA] Update expensify-common version #85633) only changed ExpensiMark text parsing, unrelated to tag imports

Since the issue only affects staging and no frontend changes explain the regression, this appears to be a backend issue with the ImportMultiLevelTags API endpoint.

Labels: Removing DeployBlockerCash and keeping DeployBlocker. This requires backend investigation as no App PR is causing the issue.

Detailed Analysis

Evidence

• Issue reproducible on staging (v9.3.40-0), not production
• User uploaded valid CSV file for multi-level tags
• Frontend validation passes (CSV is in allowed extensions)
• Error occurs at backend API level with "Import failed" message
• Current babel.config.js line 66: presets: [require("@react-native/babel-preset")] (no disableImportExportTransform)
• Current metro.config.js line 38: inlineRequires: true (no experimentalImportSupport)

Verification

• Affected API: ImportMultiLevelTags command
• Frontend code: /home/runner/_work/App/App/src/components/ImportSpreadsheet.tsx - unchanged since before this deploy
• Action code: /home/runner/_work/App/App/src/libs/actions/Policy/Tag.ts line 843-908 - unchanged
• Validation logic: Lines 71-85 in ImportSpreadsheet.tsx - working correctly, allows CSV/TSV for multi-level tags
• Dynamic import: Line 104 import("xlsx") - this works fine on current codebase

Root Cause

The frontend successfully:

1. Validates the CSV file
2. Reads the file content
3. Parses the spreadsheet with xlsx library
4. Sends the parsed data to the backend

The failure occurs when the backend ImportMultiLevelTags API processes the request. The error message "Import failed" comes from the failureData in Tag.ts line 882, indicating the backend returned an error.

Possible backend causes:

• Backend validation logic changed to reject valid multi-level tag formats
• Backend parsing of the uploaded file is failing
• Backend database/storage issue preventing tag creation
• Backend API regression introduced in a recent backend deploy to staging

History of Similar Issues

• Issue Tags - Import multi-level tags to workspace is failed #80844 (Jan 2026): Same symptom, caused by PR Cleanup platform specifics from hermes build #80110 tree-shaking changes, fixed by reverting
• Issue Android - Tags - Multi level tags file cannot be imported #84969 (Mar 2026): Same symptom, same cause (PR Enable platform tree shaking in hermes bundle #83359 re-introduced tree-shaking), fixed by reverting
• Current issue [Due for payment 2026-03-30] Tags - Unable to import multi-level tags #85708: Same symptom, but tree-shaking changes are NOT in the codebase

This suggests either:

1. A backend regression unrelated to the App
2. An environmental issue specific to staging
3. A different frontend regression not yet identified