Carbon Border Adjustment MechanismCBAM
The CBAM definitive period began on 1 January 2026. Certificate sales start on 1 February 2027, postponed from 1 January 2026 by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083. A 50-tonne de minimis threshold exempts an estimated 90% of importers while covering 99% of embedded emissions.
- Instrument
- Regulation (EU) 2023/956
- Amended by (EU) 2025/2083
- Definitive period from
- 1 January 2026
- Certificate sales from
- 1 February 2027
- Postponed from 1 January 2026
- De minimis
- 50 tonnes / calendar year
- Except hydrogen and electricity
- Sectors
- 6
- Cement, iron & steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen
- Transitional phase
- 2023–2025
- Reporting only, no payment
Where these figures come from
The 50-tonne threshold exempts 90% of importers while still covering 99% of embedded emissions
Article 2(3a) of the CBAM Regulation, as inserted by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, replaced the old per-consignment value rule with a single mass-based threshold of 50 tonnes per calendar year, applying to all CBAM goods except hydrogen and electricity. The Commission estimates that 90% of importers fall out of scope and 99% of embedded emissions remain covered.
CBAM puts a carbon price on imports of cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen, matching the price EU producers pay under the ETS. The definitive period started on 1 January 2026, replacing the 2023–2025 reporting-only transitional phase. Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, in force since 20 October 2025, introduced a single de minimis threshold of 50 tonnes per calendar year and postponed the start of certificate sales to 1 February 2027.
Definitive period and certificate sales dates
The definitive period starting on 1 January 2026 means importers of covered goods must be authorised and must account for embedded emissions.
Certificate sales were postponed to 1 February 2027. Emissions from 2026 are declared and settled with certificates purchased from that date. Authorisation and data collection obligations apply from 1 January 2026.
Embedded emissions data from suppliers
CBAM prices embedded emissions in the goods, not emissions at the importer's own site. The data comes from the producer, often outside the EU. Where actual data cannot be obtained, default values apply. Defaults are set conservatively and typically exceed actual embedded emissions.
Penalties
Enforcement runs through national competent authorities under the regulation's own penalty provisions.
Charge for missing certificates
Where an authorised declarant fails to surrender the certificates due, a penalty applies per tonne of unaccounted embedded emissions, in addition to the obligation to surrender the certificates.
National amounts not listed here
Member-state implementing penalties have not been checked against national instruments for this entry, so no figures are shown.
Figures will appear here only once traced to the regulation or a national instrument.
Does this apply to you?
Scope follows the goods and the tonnage imported.
- Importers into the EU of cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity or hydrogen
- Above 50 tonnes of CBAM goods per calendar year (the threshold does not apply to hydrogen or electricity)
- Indirect customs representatives acting for importers not established in the EU
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Common questions
- When do importers actually start paying for CBAM?
- Certificate sales begin on 1 February 2027, postponed from 1 January 2026 by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083. The definitive period itself began on 1 January 2026, so 2026 obligations exist and are settled with certificates purchased from February 2027.
- Is there a small-importer exemption?
- Yes. A single de minimis threshold of 50 tonnes of CBAM goods per calendar year applies to all covered goods except hydrogen and electricity. The Commission estimates it exempts 90% of importers while still covering 99% of embedded emissions.
- Which sectors does CBAM cover?
- Cement, iron and steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen. The UK's separate CBAM covers a different set — it excludes electricity.