United Kingdom · last verified 2026-10-30
UK CBAM starts 1 January 2027. The log starts with the importer.
The UK tax is not a copy of EU CBAM. The sector list is shorter, the threshold is a sterling value, and registration opens later than the charge.
Who and what
The liable person is the importer: the business in whose name, or on whose behalf, the customs declaration is made. A tax agent can file returns for you but cannot register you. Private individuals importing for non-commercial purposes are not liable.
Covered goods: aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel, as listed by commodity code. Electricity is not on the UK list, and scrap and most ferro-alloys are excluded. Only direct emissions count; indirect emissions follow in 2029 at the earliest. Look up your commodity code.
The £50,000 test
You must register once the value of CBAM goods you import reaches £50,000 under either test:
- Looking ahead: on any day, you expect to import £50,000 or more in the next 30 days.
- Looking back: on the first day of each month, you imported £50,000 or more over the previous 12 months. During 2027 you only look back to 1 January 2027.
Key dates
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | The CBAM charge applies to covered goods imported from this day. |
| 1 January 2028 | Registration opens with HMRC (Government Gateway, EORI number). |
| 31 January 2028 | Deadline to register for anyone who became liable during 2027. |
| 31 May 2028 | First return and payment, covering all of 2027. |
| From 2028 | Quarterly returns, for example Q1 2028 due 31 July 2028. |
Once registered, you file a return for every period, including a nil return when you imported nothing.
Records below the threshold
If you import covered goods but stay under £50,000, you still keep records that prove you are not liable: value, classification and dates. Between becoming liable and registering, keep every record you need for the first return.
Embodied emissions come either from verified data supplied by the producer or from default values. HMRC will publish the default values before CBAM starts; a carbon price already paid abroad can reduce the charge through carbon price relief.