What does Kariqa do for CBAM declarants?
Kariqa keeps an EU importer's CBAM work in one place: the imports of CBAM goods, the non-EU producers and installations behind them, the embedded emissions those producers report, and the CBAM certificates owed and bought. It works out the number of certificates each import needs, using the emissions reported by your producers or the EU's default values, and tracks every deadline, including the surrender of certificates in the CBAM Registry by 30 September.
Do I need to be an authorised CBAM declarant?
If your imports of CBAM goods exceed 50 tonnes net mass in a calendar year, you, or your indirect customs representative, must hold the status of authorised CBAM declarant. The status is applied for through the CBAM Registry, with the competent authority of the EU country where you are established.
The 50-tonne threshold does not apply to imports of electricity and hydrogen - importing these goods always requires the status of authorised CBAM declarant.
How are imports recorded?
Imports can be uploaded as customs declaration XML files or entered by hand. Each import line is tied to its CN/TARIC code, country of origin and the producer's installation, and a recorded import can be corrected later.
Kariqa also tracks the 50-tonne threshold and shows when a year's imports stay under it.
How are certificates calculated?
For every import, Kariqa works out the CBAM certificates required from the embedded emissions reported for it: the producer's verified actual emissions, or the EU's default values for the country of origin. Default values include a mark-up that depends on the year and the sector. Kariqa then deducts the free allocation adjustment and the carbon price paid in the country of production.
Actual emissions are used once they have been verified by an accredited CBAM verifier, until then the calculation uses the default value. The reference data behind the figures (default values, CBAM benchmarks, the CBAM factor and the certificate price) comes from the European Commission and is updated as the Commission publishes it. Before actual emissions are used in your calculations, Kariqa's CBAM specialists review the supporting documents, such as the verification report and the proof that a carbon price was paid. This review does not replace verification by an accredited verifier.
How does Kariqa help with non-EU producers?
Kariqa keeps your producers, their installations and the goods they supply in one register. You can:
- add a producer's details and emissions yourself;
- connect to a producer already on Kariqa, or invite one by email;
- ask a connected producer for verified emissions for a CN/TARIC code, with a date to respond by.
Once a producer accepts, its verified emissions feed straight into your calculations. If a connection ends, you keep a copy of the figures you had used, so your recorded imports are unaffected.
How are certificates and deadlines tracked?
You buy CBAM certificates on the EU's common central platform, where sales start in February 2027. You record each purchase in Kariqa with its receipt, and Kariqa shows the number of certificates required, bought and still to buy for each import year. For goods imported in 2026, the certificate price is the Commission's price for the quarter in which the goods were imported; from 2027, the Commission publishes a weekly price.
From 2027, Kariqa checks at the end of every quarter that you hold enough certificates to cover at least 50% of the embedded emissions of the goods imported since the start of the year. It also shows when you hold more certificates than you need. Excess certificates can be repurchased, within the limits set by the CBAM Regulation, on a request made in the CBAM Registry by 31 October. Kariqa does not make the request on your behalf. Certificates bought for 2026 emissions that are still unused are cancelled on 1 November 2027.
The deadlines for each import year are listed in the app, and reminders arrive as they approach.
Can I keep records for an audit?
Yes. Every action in Kariqa is logged, and you can export your data and the audit trail for your own archive or for a check by the competent authority.
Under the CBAM Regulation, an authorised CBAM declarant keeps the records of the information used to calculate embedded emissions, including the verifier's report, and the evidence of any carbon price paid in a non-EU country, until the end of the fourth year after the year in which the CBAM declaration was or should have been submitted.
Support with the CBAM declaration and CBAM certificates
Alongside the app, the Kariqa team assists authorised CBAM declarants with:
- the annual CBAM declaration: compiling imports, the embedded emissions supplied by producers and the supporting documents, and checking them before the declarant submits the declaration in the CBAM Registry;
- buying CBAM certificates: planning how many certificates to buy and when, so that the quarterly holding requirement and the annual surrender are met, and guiding the declarant through purchases on the common central platform.
The CBAM declaration is submitted, and CBAM certificates are bought, by the authorised CBAM declarant, who remains responsible for both. Kariqa assists. It does not act as a customs representative or as a CBAM declarant.
Where do I start?
Create an account to set up your company and start recording imports. To see the cost of a single good first, try the CBAM calculator.