CBAM guide
The carbon border, made legible.
CBAM is one regulation with a lot of moving parts — commodity codes, default values, deadlines, declarant status. This is the plain-language guide we keep current as the rules shift, so you can see what the obligation asks of you, in order.
Start here
The essentials, in order.
-
What is CBAM? The carbon border, explained.
The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism puts a carbon price on imported steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, hydrogen and electricity — here's how it works and who it's for.
Updated 29 Jun 2026 Read → -
CBAM deadlines 2026–2027: the dates that bite
The CBAM timeline through the definitive period — when certificates start, when the annual declaration is due, and the de minimis threshold that exempts the smallest importers.
Updated 29 Jun 2026 Read → -
CBAM default values and the markup
When you can't prove a supplier's actual emissions, CBAM bills you at the default — set high on purpose. Here's why proving actuals lowers both the bill and the recorded carbon.
Updated 20 Aug 2026 Read → -
How to become an authorised CBAM declarant
In the definitive period you cannot bring CBAM goods into free circulation without authorised declarant status. Who applies, where, what's assessed, and why to start early.
Updated 20 Aug 2026 Read → -
Regulation (EU) 2026/1740: the default values, replaced
The August correction replaced Annexes I and IV retroactively to 1 January — new numbers, a new data model, TARIC-level codes, and a route column that finally works. Read against the act itself.
Updated 14 Aug 2026 Read → -
Importer of record vs indirect representative: who declares CBAM?
CBAM lands on a person, not a shipment. How the obligation falls between the importer and the indirect customs representative — and what accepting it actually means.
Updated 20 Aug 2026 Read → -
The CBAM 50-tonne exemption: are you out of scope?
The de minimis threshold exempts importers of 50 tonnes or less of CBAM goods per year. How the cumulative test works, who it doesn't cover, and what to do near the line.
Updated 20 Aug 2026 Read →
More guides on the way — registry how-to, declarant vs indirect representative, sector and country guides — as we publish them.
CBAM-as-a-Service
Stop reading about CBAM. Run it.
Estimate a shipment in the free calculator — or apply to the pilot to read your first real declaration.