United Kingdom · last verified 2026-09-14
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
Liable person: the importer of specified goods in aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, iron and steel. Electricity is not on the UK list. Indirect emissions are delayed until 2029 at the earliest.
Register with HMRC if the value of those goods over the preceding 12 months, or expected in the coming 30 days, exceeds £50,000. Registration is expected to open by 1 January 2028. The first accounting period is 2027.
Records below the threshold
If you import covered goods but stay under £50,000, you still keep records that prove you are not liable. That is already a CO2-adjacent log: value, classification, and enough evidence to defend the de minimis.
HMRC will publish detailed monitoring, reporting and default-value guidance; treat methodology pages as pending until that pack is out.