Regulations and trends
What is CBAM, and what does it mean for Indian exporters?
CBAM puts a carbon price on EU imports of steel, aluminium and other goods from 2026. Key dates, the data exporters must provide, and why traceability matters.
Quick answer
CBAM, the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, puts a carbon price on imports of iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity and hydrogen into the EU. Its definitive period began on 1 January 2026. Importers must declare the embedded emissions of goods, using data from the producing installation, and buy CBAM certificates to cover them.
Updated 30 October 2026. Written by the Ajinkya Technologies engineering team, reviewed by Amey Kadle.
CBAM explained
CBAM ran a transitional reporting phase from October 2023 to the end of 2025. From 1 January 2026, importers bringing in covered goods above a de minimis threshold of 50 tonnes a year need to be authorised CBAM declarants. The first annual declaration, covering 2026 imports, is due by 30 September 2027, and CBAM certificates go on sale from February 2027.
The embedded emissions must be calculated per production installation, ideally from actual, verified data supplied by the producer. Where actual data is missing, default values apply, and these are generally set conservatively, which can make goods more expensive for the importer. That creates a commercial reason for exporters, including Indian steel and aluminium producers, to supply credible installation level data.
For a producer this is a traceability and data problem as much as an environmental one. Energy, fuel and material inputs need to be measured and allocated to products, and those products linked to the shipments that go to each EU customer. Plants that already track heats, batches and dispatches digitally can attach emissions data to the same records; plants that rely on paper and spreadsheets will find it hard to produce verifiable figures.
Key concepts
- Covers iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen
- Definitive period from 1 January 2026
- 50 tonne per year de minimis for importers
- First declaration for 2026 imports due 30 September 2027
- Installation level data beats default values
Questions
Does CBAM apply to Indian exporters?
The legal obligation falls on the EU importer, but importers need emissions data from the producing installation. Indian exporters who can provide credible data help their customers avoid conservative default values.
When do CBAM payments start?
The definitive period began on 1 January 2026. CBAM certificates go on sale from February 2027, and the first annual declaration for 2026 imports is due by 30 September 2027.
What data does an exporter need for CBAM?
Embedded direct and relevant indirect emissions per installation and product, based on measured energy, fuels and inputs, ideally verified, and linked to the goods shipped.
References
How we help with CBAM
We build the production and dispatch traceability layer CBAM reporting depends on, linking heats, batches and energy data to shipments; we do not provide emissions verification.
Traceability rules by industry, with dates and sources, and how to build for them.
Related terms
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