EUROPEAN COMMISSION PROPOSAL ON CBAM SIMPLIFICATION
As part of the first Omnibus package, yesterday, February 26, 2025, the European Commission proposed a set of changes to simplify, among other regulations, the CBAM, and reduce bureaucracy. These proposals are varied and can be summarized as follows:
1.New exempt threshold:
Importers importing less than 50 tonnes of products subject to the CBAM regulations would be exempt from the CBAM regulations. However, this new threshold will not apply to electricity and hydrogen imports.
According to data from the European Commission, this measure would eliminate CBAM obligations for approximately 182,000 importers, or 90% of them, mostly SMEs, and would still cover more than 99% of the emissions included in the scope.
Importers who do not reach the threshold must identify themselves as "occasional importers of the CBAM regulations" when submitting their customs declarations and check that they do not exceed the threshold throughout the year. These importers would not have to carry out any additional administrative procedures or access the CBAM Registry. At any time of the year, an occasional importer who identifies itself as such could decide to apply for CBAM status if it expects to exceed the de minimis threshold.
2. Purchase of CBAM certificates and deduction of CO₂ prices
The financial burden of the CBAM for companies will be deferred. The sale of CBAM certificates for 2026 will start only in February 2027, which means that there will be no need to buy CBAM certificates in 2026 (although they should be considered in the spending forecasts for 2027).
The number of CBAM certificates that should be held in the account of the authorised declarant at the end of each quarter would be reduced from 80% to 50%. And, also, declarants would be given the option of using default values for such calculation, or of basing the calculation on the number of CBAM certificates delivered in the previous year for the same imported goods.
At the same time, restrictions on the return of undelivered CBAM certificates would change. The one-third limit would be replaced by the number of certificates that the declarant would have required to purchase.
Since information on CO₂ prices actually paid in third countries is often difficult to obtain, the EU Commission intends to publish "standard values" for CO₂ prices in third countries. The details would be regulated separately.
3. Delegation of reporting obligations and extension of deadlines.
The draft provides for the delegation of CBAM obligations by authorized CBAM filers to third parties. This will allow companies to outsource or concentrate tasks within the group. However, the authorized CBAM declarant will still be responsible for regulatory compliance.
For the final period, the annual deadline for CBAM returns would be moved from May 31st to August 31st, which would coincide with the date of delivery of CBAM certificates.
The repurchase deadline would be moved to September 30th and the certificate cancellation date will be October 1st, 2027. This amendment would give facility operators more time to verify their emissions data and filers to submit their CBAM reports and purchase CBAM certificates.
4. Simplifications in the determination of emissions.
Since the collection of actual values of individual installations poses multiple challenges, it is proposed to allow the use of default values at the discretion of the CBAM declarant, without requiring justification.
Uncalcined clay is excluded as a CBAM good (CN 2507 00 80).
Precursor materials of EU origin would be excluded from the calculation of emissions.
Emissions calculations:
The draft regulation does not yet contain detailed simplifications on the determination of emissions, but it does provide the legal basis for many useful simplifications.
For example, a simplification is proposed for the calculation of emissions in complex goods, such as steel and aluminum products, where most of the emissions are found in their precursors. In addition, these production steps are usually not covered by the EU ETS. To reduce the burden on these operators, it is proposed to exclude end-product manufacturing processes from the emissions calculation limits for steel and aluminium products. The only information required would be the material of the precursors purchased. This would better align the EU ETS system boundary with the boundary defined in the EU CBAM. We will need further clarification from the EU on exactly the exclusion threshold of the requirement to perform CBAM calculations for manufacturing processes.
5. Accredited verifiers.
It is proposed to eliminate the verification of emissions, as such verification does not provide clear added value, since the use of default values provided by the Commission is permitted.
That said, in the event that real values are not used, the accredited verifier would in principle have to visit the installation and provide a reasonable guarantee that the methodology for calculating emissions is correct.
6. Electricity as well CBAM.
Electricity, as a CBAM asset, would not be obliged to report on the indirect emissions associated with its production. This is implicit in the current CBAM Regulation, but it had not been explicitly described.
7. Access to the CBAM Registry.
Access to accredited verifiers would be guaranteed, and access to the portal of operators of installations in third countries would be reformed, to clarify that parent entities are covered by the definition of an operator of an installation.
8. Ongoing plans to expand the scope and tighter control.
Companies that remain subject to the CBAM after the approval of these amendments should expect the goods affected by the CBAM to be expanded. In particular, the European Commission expressly mentions the extension to intermediate goods:
"Simplifying the mechanism would also be a key enabler for a possible future extension of the scope, especially to intermediate goods".
By focusing on the largest importers, the EU Commission also aims to reduce the administrative burden for EU and national authorities. In addition to stricter supervision, the proposed amendment to the CBAM Regulation provides for harsher penalties. National customs authorities will also monitor the flow of CBAM goods.
This simplification precedes a future extension of the CBAM to other ETS sectors, derivative goods, followed by a new legislative proposal on extending the scope of the CBAM in early 2026.
9. What remains to be done in 2025.
While this Omnibus package should not be lost sight of, and the proposed amendments are widely expected to enter into force, as long as the amendments have not been adopted by Parliament and the Council, importers would need to continue to prepare for the full implementation of the CBAM in 2026.
This means that:
Companies should continue to ensure that the requirements for CBAM authorised declarant status are met in order to avoid supply chain disruptions on 1 January 2026 if the Council or Parliament does not raise the threshold.
Finally, the costs associated with the purchase of CBAM certificates associated with imports made in 2026 (and due in 2027) should also continue to be included in contracts.
On the other hand, the quarterly reporting obligations of the CBAM reports for the transitional period remain in force as they currently stand.
You can find more information about the EU Omnibus package at this link.
