Insights / CBAM
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)).
What the act says
- 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.
What to do
- Keep authorisation in place before the import that takes you over 50 t.
- Reconcile declared emissions and certificates well before 30 September.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (CBAM), consolidated text (CELEX 32023R0956)
- Directive 2003/87/EC (EU ETS), as amended by Directive (EU) 2023/959 (CELEX 32003L0087)
Last checked against the act text on 2026-10-20. For information only, not legal advice.