Insights / CBAM guide

CBAM for Energy-Grid Importers: The 2026 Guide

A company that imports more than 50 tonnes a year of the goods listed in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 must import them as an authorised CBAM declarant, and its declaration and certificates for 2026 imports are due by 30 September 2027.

For an energy-grid company the first question is whether what it imports is in Annex I at all. Steel structures and lattice towers are. Transformers, motors and insulated cables are not. The questions after that are the 50 tonne threshold, who declares, and what it costs.

Does CBAM Reach What You Import?

Is CN 7308 (Steel Structures and Lattice Towers) Covered by CBAM?

Are steel structures and lattice towers under CN heading 7308 listed in CBAM Annex I?

Yes. Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 lists iron and steel headings 7301 to 7311, 7318 and 7326, so 7308 structures, towers and their parts are CBAM goods and count toward the 50 tonne threshold.

• Annex I, iron and steel: Agglomerated iron ore 2601 12 00, Chapter 72 except ferrous scrap (7204) and some ferro-alloys of 7202, and headings 7301 to 7311, 7318 and 7326.
• Annex I, aluminium: 7601, 7603 to 7614 and 7616.
• Not in Annex I: Finished transformers (8504), motors (8501) and insulated cables (8544) are Chapter 85 goods and are not CBAM goods today.

Do Imported Transformers, Motors and Cables Fall Under CBAM?

Do finished transformers (8504), motors (8501) or insulated cables (8544) count as CBAM goods?

No, not today. Chapter 85 goods are not in Annex I of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, so they carry no CBAM duty and do not count toward the 50 tonne threshold. A Commission proposal of 17 December 2025, COM(2025) 989, would extend CBAM to some downstream steel and aluminium intensive goods from 2028; it is a proposal, not law.

• Annex I: Lists cement, electricity, fertilisers, hydrogen, iron and steel and aluminium by CN code; Chapter 85 is not among them.
• COM(2025) 989: A proposal: which headings it would add, and from when, is decided only when it is adopted.

Which Countries are Exempt from CBAM? Norway, Switzerland and Türkiye

Are goods from Norway, Switzerland or Türkiye exempt from CBAM?

Goods originating in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are outside CBAM and do not count toward the 50 tonne threshold (Article 2(4) and Annex III of Regulation (EU) 2023/956). Türkiye is not in Annex III: the EU-Türkiye customs union gives no CBAM exemption.

• Annex III point 1: Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, and the territories of Büsingen, Heligoland, Livigno, Ceuta and Melilla.
• Article 2(5): Origin means non-preferential origin under the Union Customs Code (Article 59 of Regulation (EU) No 952/2013), not the country you buy from.
• Article 60(2) UCC: Goods processed in more than one country originate where they underwent their last substantial, economically justified processing.
• Türkiye: Not in Annex III; steel and aluminium from Türkiye are CBAM goods like any other third-country origin.

The CBAM 50 Tonne Threshold: What Counts and What Does Not

How does the CBAM 50 tonne de minimis threshold work?

An importer is exempt for a calendar year while the net mass of the Annex I goods it imports in that year does not cumulatively exceed 50 tonnes (Article 2a(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956). Once it is exceeded, every tonne imported that year is in scope (Article 2a(2)).

• Article 2a(1): Only goods listed in Annex I count, by net mass (Annex VII point 1), aggregated over all CN codes per importer per calendar year.
• Article 2a(4): Electricity and hydrogen are outside the threshold.
• Annex III: Goods originating in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland are outside CBAM and do not count toward the 50 tonnes.
• Article 27(2)(b) and 25a(4): Splitting imports artificially to stay under the threshold is circumvention; the authority disregards non-genuine arrangements.
• 50 t exactly: Fifty tonnes is not more than fifty tonnes: an importer at exactly 50 t is still under the threshold.

Who Declares, and the Authorisation

CBAM Authorisation: Who Needs It and the 31 March 2026 Window

Can we keep importing CBAM goods while our application for authorisation is pending?

Only if you applied by 31 March 2026. Article 4 lets only an authorised CBAM declarant import CBAM goods. Under Article 17(7a), an importer or indirect customs representative that applied for authorisation by 31 March 2026 may keep importing while the authority decides. That window has closed: an importer that did not apply by then must be authorised before importing above the threshold.

• Article 4: CBAM goods are imported only by an authorised CBAM declarant.
• Article 5(1): An importer applies for the status before importing.
• Article 17(7a): The provisional route covered only applications made by 31 March 2026.
• Article 26(2): Importing without authorisation draws a penalty of three to five times the EU ETS excess emissions penalty on the embedded emissions.

CBAM for Exporters Outside the EU: Who Declares and Who Verifies

We export steel to an importer in the EU. Who declares under CBAM and surrenders certificates, us or them?

The EU side. The authorised CBAM declarant, normally the importer in the EU or its indirect customs representative, declares and surrenders certificates (Articles 4, 6 and 22). An operator outside the EU may ask to be registered in the CBAM registry (Article 10), and has its embedded emissions verified by an accredited verifier (Article 10(5) and Article 18).

• Articles 4, 6 and 22: Authorisation, declaration and surrender sit with the authorised CBAM declarant in the EU.
• Article 10: A third-country operator may register in the CBAM registry; the registration is valid for five years (Article 10(3)).
• Article 10(5): Embedded emissions are verified by a verifier accredited under Article 18 and can be shared with the declarant.

Deadlines, Certificates and Cost

CBAM Declaration and Certificate Surrender Deadline for 2026 Imports

By when must the CBAM declaration be submitted and certificates surrendered for goods imported in 2026?

By 30 September 2027. The annual CBAM declaration and the surrender of CBAM certificates both fall on 30 September of the year after the imports (Articles 6(1) and 22(1) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956, as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083).

• Article 6(1): The authorised CBAM declarant submits the CBAM declaration for the previous calendar year by 30 September.
• Article 22(1): Certificates matching the declared embedded emissions are surrendered by the same 30 September.
• Article 20(1): Certificates go on sale from 1 February 2027, so they can be bought before the first surrender.
• 15 February 2027: This date in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2549 applies only where an authorisation is revoked with effect within 2026. It is not the general deadline.

CBAM Certificates: When They Go on Sale, the 2026 Price and the Quarterly Holding

When can CBAM certificates be bought, how is the 2026 price set, and how many must be held each quarter?

Certificates go on sale on 1 February 2027 (Article 20(1)). Certificates for 2026 emissions are priced at the quarterly average EU ETS price of the quarter of import (Article 21(1a)). There is no quarterly holding for 2026; from 2027 the account must cover at least 50 percent of the emissions embedded in goods imported since the start of the year at each quarter end (Article 22(2)).

• Article 20(1): Sale of CBAM certificates starts on 1 February 2027.
• Article 21(1a): For 2026 emissions the price is the average of the EU ETS auction prices of the calendar quarter in which the goods were imported.
• Article 22(2): From 2027, at the end of each quarter, certificates on the account cover at least 50 percent (not 80) of the embedded emissions of the year so far.
• Article 36(2)(c): The quarterly holding applies from 1 January 2027, so there is none for 2026 imports.

CBAM and the Phase-Out of Free Allocation, Year by Year

How does the phase-out of EU ETS free allocation change the number of CBAM certificates surrendered each year?

The CBAM obligation is reduced to reflect the free allocation EU producers of the same goods still receive (Article 31 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956), and that free allocation shrinks each year under Article 10a(1a) of Directive 2003/87/EC: the CBAM factor is 97,5 percent in 2026, 95 in 2027, 90 in 2028, 77,5 in 2029, 51,5 in 2030, 39 in 2031, 26,5 in 2032 and 14 in 2033, and from 2034 there is none. So the share of embedded emissions you pay for rises every year until it is the whole.

• Article 31 (CBAM): Certificates to surrender are adjusted to reflect the extent of EU ETS free allocation for the same goods.
• Article 10a(1a) (EU ETS): The CBAM factor on free allocation: 97,5 % (2026), 95 % (2027), 90 % (2028), 77,5 % (2029), 51,5 % (2030), 39 % (2031), 26,5 % (2032), 14 % (2033), none from 2034.

Do Indirect Emissions Count for Steel and Aluminium Under CBAM?

Do indirect emissions from the electricity used in production count in the CBAM embedded emissions of steel or aluminium?

No. Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 lists iron and steel, aluminium, hydrogen and electricity (CN 2716 00 00, added by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083) as goods for which only direct emissions are taken into account (Article 7(1)). Indirect emissions count only for cement and fertilisers.

• Article 7(1) and Annex II: Direct emissions only for iron and steel, aluminium, hydrogen and electricity.
• Cement and fertilisers: The only CBAM goods whose embedded emissions include indirect emissions.

CBAM Default Values and the Carbon Price Paid Abroad

If we declare embedded emissions with default values, can we deduct the carbon price our supplier paid?

Only through default carbon prices. Where default values are used, the deduction for a carbon price paid in the country of origin follows the default carbon prices route of Article 9(4) of Regulation (EU) 2023/956. Deducting the carbon price actually paid requires declared actual emissions and evidence of the payment (Article 9(1) and (2)).

• Article 9(1) and (2): Deduction of the carbon price effectively paid, on actual embedded emissions, with evidence.
• Article 9(4): Default carbon prices set by the Commission, the route that goes with default values.

Penalties

CBAM Penalties: Not Surrendering Certificates and Importing Without Authorisation

What are the CBAM penalties for not surrendering certificates and for importing without authorisation?

There are two penalties and they are not interchangeable. An authorised declarant that fails to surrender certificates by 30 September pays the EU ETS excess emissions penalty for each certificate not surrendered (Article 26(1)). A person importing without authorisation pays three to five times that amount on the whole year's embedded emissions (Article 26(2) and (2a)).

• Article 26(1): Failure to surrender: the excess emissions penalty of Article 16(3) of Directive 2003/87/EC, per certificate not surrendered.
• Article 26(2): Importing without authorisation, including crossing the 50 t threshold without the status: three to five times that penalty.
• Article 26(2a): Paying the Article 26(2) penalty releases the declaration and surrender duty for those goods.

Last checked against the act text on 2026-10-20. For information only, not legal advice.