Overview

Importe in die EU: Sammeln Sie schon Daten oder leben Sie noch?

In the summer of this year, the EU extended certificate trading to compensate for emissions to products that are manufactured and imported outside the EU.

With the regulation on a CO2 border adjustment system (EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism - ‘CBAM’ (Regulation (EU) 2023/956)) of May 2023 and the implementing regulation of 17 August 2023, the EU has created a new mammoth task, especially for small and medium-sized companies, for certain imports from non-EU countries.

If you import cement, hydrogen, iron/steel, fertilisers, aluminium and/or electricity from non-EU countries, you may be one of the (un)fortunate entrepreneurs who will have to act with immediate effect. Which goods are specifically affected by this measure is defined in Annex 1 of the CBAM Regulation on the basis of the CN codes.

If the products you import are listed there, you have had to fulfil extensive documentation and reporting obligations in connection with the emissions generated during the manufacture of these goods since October of this year. Please contact your suppliers to obtain the necessary information. The EU Commission has provided a practical guide in English for suppliers outside the EU - it comprises a whopping 266 pages (available at https://taxation-customs.ec.europa.eu/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism_en).

1. quarterly reporting obligations since 01 October 2023

The transition phase has been in force since 1 October 2023. All companies that import goods from the above-mentioned product groups into the EU must report their imports to the European Commission on a quarterly basis.

The first report must be submitted by 31 January 2024. The reports must contain comprehensive information on the type and quantity of imported goods, their country of origin and production, the production routes and, above all, the direct and indirect emissions generated.

2. Further obligations from 2026

From 01.01.2026 you will be subject to further obligations:

- Authorisation obligation: only authorised companies may import goods from the above-mentioned product groups into the EU. If your company is not authorised, you may no longer import the goods concerned or must commission an authorised third party to import them.

- Certificate obligation: In order to offset the emissions generated during the production of the imported goods, compensation certificates must be purchased or levies paid.

- Reporting obligation: Finally, you must report annually on the emissions actually generated during the production of the imported goods. If the reported quantity of emissions exceeds the available offset certificates, you must subsequently purchase certificates and pay a penalty.

With this in mind: Happy Data Collecting.