CBAM Pulse
← All guides

From CBAM reporting to the definitive period: what changed in 2026

CBAM's transitional period was reporting-only and ran to the end of 2025. From 1 January 2026 the definitive period applies, and the obligations change in kind: importing CBAM goods is tied to authorised CBAM declarant status, embedded emissions are reported in an annual CBAM declaration, and CBAM certificates are purchased and surrendered against them. Certificate sales open on 1 February 2027, and the first annual declaration — covering 2026 imports — is due by 30 September 2027 (Regulation (EU) 2023/956; Regulation (EU) 2025/2083).

Last updated: 4 July 2026Sources: Regulation (EU) 2023/956Regulation (EU) 2025/2083EC DG TAXUD — Price of CBAM certificatesEuropean Commission — CBAM

The transitional period was reporting-only

From October 2023 to the end of 2025, importers of CBAM goods reported the embedded emissions of their imports without buying or surrendering certificates (Regulation (EU) 2023/956). The purpose was to build data and familiarity before any financial obligation applied.

The definitive period began on 1 January 2026

From 1 January 2026, CBAM's definitive period applies and the emissions embedded in covered imports carry a real cost (Regulation (EU) 2023/956, as amended). This is a change in kind, not just in paperwork: obligations that were informational in the transitional period become financial.

What changes at a high level

Several things move at once in the definitive period:

  • Importing CBAM goods is tied to authorised CBAM declarant status, applied for through the national competent authority.
  • Authorised declarants report embedded emissions in an annual CBAM declaration.
  • CBAM certificates are purchased and surrendered against those emissions.

The 2027 dates that follow

The financial mechanics phase in during 2027. Certificate sales open on 1 February 2027, and the first annual CBAM declaration, covering 2026 imports, is due by 30 September 2027, together with the surrender of certificates (Regulation (EU) 2025/2083).

This guide stays at a high level and does not set out declaration procedure; CBAM Pulse does not prepare or handle CBAM declarations. For the procedure, work from the official sources and your national competent authority.

See the dates and follow changes

The CBAM timeline guide and the 2026–2027 deadlines guide set out the sequence, the deadline planner lists each date with its source, and the updates feed notes when new CBAM milestones are published.