EU importers must account for embedded emissions and surrender Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificates for electricity imported under the definitive regime, introduced on 1 January 2026. The first annual declaration and certificate surrender for 2026 imports are due by 30 September 2027, according to the European Commission’s electricity-specific CBAM FAQ and information on the definitive regime. Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 and an OECD customs implementation analysis dated October 2026 are also cited as research references.
Identifying the declarant and covered imports
Electricity is a covered imported good, and importers must consider the relevant customs declaration, carbon-accounting methodology and certificate obligations. Unlike certain other CBAM goods, electricity is excluded from the 50-tonne de minimis exemption. Importers therefore cannot use that mass-based threshold to exclude smaller electricity transactions from CBAM.
The authorised CBAM declarant is generally the importer or an eligible indirect customs representative that assumes the applicable obligations. Where import capacity is explicitly allocated and the qualifying conditions are met, the entity allocated and nominating that capacity, and declaring the import to customs, is considered an authorised CBAM declarant without a separate application for authorisation.
Determining the declarant requires attention to how capacity is allocated and nominated, as well as who makes the customs declaration. The rules require coordination between commercial contracts, transmission arrangements and customs declarations, because commercial transactions and scheduled deliveries may not match the physical movement of electricity across interconnected networks.
Origin and emissions evidence
Electricity flows through interconnected networks, so commercial transactions, scheduled deliveries and physical power flows do not necessarily correspond to a simple bilateral shipment. That can complicate the application of customs and carbon-compliance rules. Importers must account for the embedded emissions associated with covered imports and surrender the corresponding certificates under the applicable rules.
When electricity is produced in one non-EU country, traded through another and then enters the EU, its CBAM country of origin is the country where it was produced, not automatically the intermediate trading country. Electricity entering and leaving the EU under an applicable customs transit procedure without being released for free circulation is treated differently from electricity imported for EU consumption.
Importers seeking to use actual emissions instead of default values must satisfy prescribed eligibility requirements and support their claims with appropriate evidence. This includes contractual evidence, production and metering records, transmission nominations and independent verification. Documentation must substantiate the quantities and time periods claimed.
A renewable electricity certificate or a contractual statement describing power as green is not sufficient on its own to demonstrate compliance with every condition for using actual emissions. Importers must ensure that emissions information corresponds to the relevant electricity imports and that records can withstand regulatory scrutiny.
Certificate costs and cross-border contracts
Purchases of CBAM certificates for 2026 electricity imports begin in February 2027, before the declaration and surrender deadline. The period between importing the electricity and completing certificate settlement leaves importers with regulatory exposure. Contracts need to address financing future certificate purchases, carbon-related price adjustments and responsibility for obtaining emissions information.
The legal declarant and the party bearing the carbon-related financial cost may differ. An EU trader may be the declarant, while a generator, intermediary or industrial customer assumes the cost under contract. Steelworks, aluminium manufacturers, cement producers and other electricity-intensive EU consumers that buy imported electricity may therefore face CBAM-related costs through power procurement arrangements even if they are not the declarant.
The requirements are relevant to electricity transactions involving Serbia, Montenegro and neighbouring EU markets, where power may be sold through multiple counterparties and cross-border trading arrangements. Western Balkan exporters have a commercial incentive to provide EU counterparties with clear, reliable and independently verifiable electricity documentation.
Competitive advantage in cross-border electricity trading is increasingly linked to documenting what was imported, where it was generated and which entity bears the resulting carbon obligation, as well as the price and origin of the power. EU importers need systems to reconcile customs declarations, electricity-scheduling data, generation information and contractual obligations. As the first annual compliance deadline approaches in 2027, CBAM responsibilities are expected to become more important in electricity procurement, contract pricing and counterparty selection throughout Southeast Europe.