CBAM deadlines

The CBAM declaration for 2026 imports is due by 30 Sep 2027.

The declaration covers a whole calendar year of imports, so it is filed in the following year, and the certificates for those imports are surrendered by the same date.

If your imports pass the 50-tonne threshold during the year, the first quarterly holding is due by the end of the quarter after the one in which you passed it.

CBAM certificates go on sale on the common central platform on 1 Feb 2027. Certificates for 2026 imports are bought from then on. See the certificate price

Yes, from 2027 imports onwards. At the end of each quarter, an authorised CBAM declarant must purchase certificates covering at least 50% of the embedded emissions of the goods imported since the start of the year. If your imports pass the 50-tonne threshold during the year, the first holding is due by the end of the quarter after the one in which you passed it.

There is no quarterly purchase for 2026 imports.

Yes, within limits. Certificates left on the account after surrender can be sold back to the Member State if the request is made by 31 October of the year of surrender, so by 31 Oct 2027 for 2026 imports. Certificates that are neither surrendered nor sold back are cancelled without compensation: those bought for 2026 imports on 1 Nov 2027, and later ones on 1 November of the second year after they were bought.

Not below the threshold. An importer whose CBAM goods do not exceed 50 tonnes of net mass in a calendar year is exempt, except for electricity and hydrogen, which are always covered.

Once a year’s imports go over the threshold, CBAM applies to all of that year’s imports, including those made before. An importer who expects to go over it must apply for the status of authorised CBAM declarant before importing, or as soon as it expects to pass the threshold. Estimate the certificates for an import