CBAM news and regulatory updates for 2026

What changed

• The Commission's verification page dates the living State-of-play CBAM accreditation PDF 29 September 2026; its total row is 24 / 16 / 7 / 5, compared with 24 / 15 / 7 / 5 on 25 September.
• The second figure counts national accreditation bodies ready to accept applications. The comparison does not identify the body behind the increase or establish that a CBAM verifier was newly accredited.
• France's Comité français d'accréditation (COFRAC) remains 'Yes' in all four columns, including already accepting third-country applications.
• Romania's Romanian Accreditation Association (RENAR) remains 'Yes / No / No / N/A'; the readiness cell reads 'No (Oct 2026)', not a confirmed application-opening date.
• Readiness to accept applications does not itself accredit any verifier or change current CBAM obligations, goods scope, or CBAM Pulse calculator assumptions.

Who may be affected

Importers planning actual-emissions preparation, non-EU installation operators, prospective CBAM verifiers, and advisers may want to check the live Commission document and the relevant national accreditation body before relying on a verifier path. Readiness to accept applications does not mean that a particular verifier has been accredited.

Sources

• European Commission — Verification of CBAM emissionsT1
• European Commission — State-of-play CBAM accreditation PDFT1

What changed

• Article 2 limits the guarantee request to applicants not established during the two preceding financial years and names the Ministry of Finance's CBAM and green taxes directorate as the competent authority.
• Article 3 provides for a case-specific amount based on estimated CBAM goods imports in the application year and following year. The applicant supplies estimated quantities by CN code and country of origin; the Ministry communicates its decision and deadline. This card does not calculate a guarantee amount.
• Articles 5 and 6 prescribe a euro-denominated, first-demand bank guarantee issued by a financial institution operating in the EU and submission of the guarantee letter to the Ministry by post.
• Articles 7 and 8 address release after the second year of certificate surrender and monitoring or adjustment where the guarantee is insufficient; the order does not itself change CBAM Pulse calculators or EU-wide importer obligations.

Who may be affected

Applicants for CBAM authorised-declarant status in Romania who were not established during the two preceding financial years may want to review the official order and seek qualified advice about their own application. This item does not imply that all Romanian or EU importers must provide a guarantee.

Sources

• Romanian Legislative Portal — Ministry of Finance Order 1,188/2026T1

What changed

• Decision 283/2026 incorporates Regulation (EU) 2023/956 and its 2025/2083 amendment into the EEA Agreement with adaptations for Iceland and Norway; the decision expressly excludes Liechtenstein.
• Decision 283/2026 specifies entry into force on 26 September 2026 or the fourteenth day following the last Article 103(1) notification, whichever is later. EFTA still marks entry into force pending constitutional requirements; do not treat 26 September as a confirmed start date.
• Companion Decision 287/2026 covers Iceland/Norway access and financing for the CBAM Registry, common central platform and relevant customs systems. It enters into force the day after the last Article 103(1) notification; its application-from-1-January-2025 clause does not prove it is already in force.
• This card replaces the earlier Commission proposal-stage summary at the same anchor. The earlier EU-position proposal and procedure remain linked for context; neither is a substitute for the adopted EEA decision texts.

Who may be affected

Businesses established in or trading through Iceland or Norway, importers, customs representatives, and advisers may want to monitor EFTA's entry-into-force status and subsequent national implementation before acting on these EEA arrangements. Liechtenstein is excluded from Decision 283/2026.

Sources

• EFTA — EEA Joint Committee Decision 283/2026 (CBAM incorporation)T1
• EFTA — EEA Joint Committee Decision 287/2026 (systems and financing)T1
• EFTA EEA-Lex — CBAM incorporation statusT1
• EUR-Lex — COM(2026) 335 finalT1
• EUR-Lex procedure — COM(2026) 335T1

What changed

• The WTO confirmed establishment of the DS639 panel at Russia's second request. This is a procedural development, not a finding on the merits.
• The EU CBAM package and an alleged export subsidy under the EU emissions-trading scheme are within the dispute as described by the WTO. The alleged subsidy is a claim in the case, not an established fact.
• Current EU importer obligations, goods scope, certificate prices, and CBAM Pulse calculator assumptions remain unchanged by panel establishment.

Who may be affected

Importers and advisers monitoring longer-term trade-policy risk may want to follow the WTO dispute record; no immediate CBAM filing or calculation change follows from the panel's establishment.

Sources

• WTO — Dispute Settlement Body meeting, 25 September 2026T1
• WTO — dispute DS639 case recordT1

What changed

• Parliament supports extending coverage to finished steel and aluminium goods, including fasteners, wire, springs and household articles, and proposes a broader list than the Commission. These are proposed additions, not current Annex I coverage.
• MEPs propose stronger anti-circumvention rules, including use of the true country of origin's default values where a pattern of circumvention is established. They rejected the proposed price-shock scope exemption in favour of temporarily redirecting the relevant CBAM revenues to affected sectors.
• In a separate vote, Parliament adopted its negotiating position on the related temporary decarbonisation fund by 433 votes to 97, with 146 abstentions. MEPs propose support from 2027 to 2029, rather than starting in 2028, and broader eligibility including fertiliser producers and downstream operators.
• The fund vote is also a negotiating position, not an open funding scheme or a final entitlement to support. Further agreement and adoption are required before these proposals become law.
• This refresh follows the Council position announced by the Commission on 12 June 2026 and retains that earlier source. Current scope checks should continue to use the adopted CBAM regulation, not either institution's proposed changes.

Who may be affected

Importers of finished steel and aluminium goods, EU producers, downstream manufacturers, customs representatives and advisers may want to monitor negotiations and assess possible future exposure. Do not treat the proposed expansion or fund eligibility as current rules.

Sources

• European Parliament — CBAM expansion and temporary decarbonisation fund negotiating positionsT1
• European Commission — Council agreement on strengthening CBAMT1
• EUR-Lex — COM(2025) 989 finalT1
• EUR-Lex procedure 2025/0419/CODT1

What changed

• The Commission published its first 141-page guidance dedicated to CBAM verification, verifier requirements, accreditation, surveillance, verification planning, evidence, site visits, and verification reports.
• The Commission's 28 August procedure separates access into two stages: technical-user access through EU Access, handled by the Commission, followed by an O3CI application to become a registered accredited verifier, decided by the National Competent Authority of the verifier's accreditation country.
• The procedure says accredited verifiers can use the O3CI portal from 1 September 2026 and describes the supporting documents for onboarding and registration.
• The Registry workflow lets registered accredited verifiers connect with non-EU installation operators, review emissions data and supporting evidence, and issue verification reports.
• The Commission expects verifiers to issue verification reports through the CBAM Registry from January 2027.
• The guidance and procedures are operational and not legally binding; they do not change adopted CBAM rules or create a new statutory deadline.

Who may be affected

Prospective and accredited CBAM verifiers, National Accreditation Bodies, importers preparing to use actual emissions, non-EU installation operators, and advisers may want to use the guidance and Registry procedures when planning verification evidence, access, and registration.

Sources

• European Commission — CBAM verifier and accreditation guidance announcementT1
• European Commission — Guidance on CBAM verification and accreditationT1
• European Commission — Verification of CBAM emissionsT1
• European Commission — CBAM communication and newsT1
• European Commission — CBAM RegistryT1
• European Commission — accredited-verifier Registry access procedureT1
• European Commission — accredited-verifier technical-user access quick guideT1
• European Commission — O3CI verifier and installation-operator portal manualT1

What changed

• The 13 August 2026 Romanian Customs notice lists 12 indirect customs representatives that hold authorised CBAM declarant status.
• The authority describes the list as relevant to customs declarations prepared for economic operators established in third countries.
• Availability, suitability, and contact details can change; users should check the live official sources rather than rely on a copied list.
• The notice does not change CBAM obligations, the goods scope, calculator assumptions, certificate prices, or declaration rules.

Who may be affected

Businesses established outside the EU that need an indirect customs representative in Romania, along with Romanian import teams and advisers supporting those businesses, may want to review the live authority list and independently assess the available representatives.

Sources

• Romanian Customs — authorised indirect CBAM representativesT1
• Romanian Ministry of Finance — indirect CBAM representatives list (PDF)T1

What changed

• The correcting act replaces Annex I and Annex IV to Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2621 and applies from 1 January 2026.
• EUR-Lex states that missing or incorrect production-route indicators made it impossible to correctly calculate the free allocation adjustment, and that those indicators should be added or corrected.
• The act records corrections for TARIC/CN-code presentation, transcription mistakes, omitted or erroneous default values, country/name issues, and precursor defaults.
• The act deletes the 2026, 2027, and 2028 marked-up default-value columns and states that final marked-up values should be calculated within the CBAM Registry based on the total-emissions default values in Annex I.
• CBAM Pulse has not refreshed runtime default-value snapshots in this feed-only release; that remains a separate data-refresh gate.
• Update 1 October 2026: CBAM Pulse has now refreshed the public default-value comparator to the corrected Annex I source under Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1740. The tool shows the official corrected base value and calculates the selected-year figure from the Annex I mark-up rule; this is a CBAM Pulse calculation, not a separately Commission-published year value or CBAM Registry output. Where a country table has a true no-value marker, the comparator identifies the exact-code Other Countries and Territories fallback. Structural ‘see below’ headings remain non-numeric and do not trigger fallback.

Who may be affected

Importers, authorised CBAM declarants, non-EU installation operators, verifiers, and advisers using Commission default values or free-allocation-adjustment information may want to review the corrected official workbook and act before relying on older downloaded copies. This feed item is not a data refresh or calculator-output change.

Sources

• European Commission — CBAM legislation and guidanceT1
• EUR-Lex — Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1740T1
• European Commission — corrected CBAM default-values workbookT1

What changed

• The 14 August 2026 DG TAXUD article announces four general guidance documents: CBAM concepts, a quick guide for non-EU operators, calculation of embedded emissions, and calculation of the free allocation adjustment.
• The same release announces six sector-specific guidance documents covering cement, hydrogen, fertilisers, iron and steel, aluminium, and electricity, each supplemented with worked examples.
• DG TAXUD says the resources are intended to help businesses prepare for verification of emissions data, actual-values reporting for 2026 imports, monitoring plans, default-value use, and free-allocation-adjustment calculations.
• The guidance is official operational material on the CBAM website; it does not itself alter the adopted legal text or CBAM Pulse assumptions.

Who may be affected

Non-EU installation operators, importers, authorised CBAM declarants, prospective verifiers, and advisers preparing definitive-period monitoring and reporting workflows may want to use the guidance series as official context before choosing between actual values and default values.

Sources

• European Commission — CBAM definitive-period guidance documentsT1
• European Commission — CBAM legislation and guidanceT1

What changed

• The Publications Office published OJ notice C/2026/4231 as a list of Member State competent authorities empowered to carry out CBAM functions and duties under Article 11 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
• The list gives each Member State's designated competent authority name and address for the CBAM authority framework.
• For Romania, the list identifies the Ministry of Finance — General Directorate of Fiscal Legislation, Customs and Accounting Regulations — CBAM and Green Taxation Directorate, at 16, Libertății Blvd, sector 5, Bucharest, 05076.

Who may be affected

Importers, authorised CBAM declarants, customs representatives, advisers, and internal compliance teams may want to use the official list when checking which national competent authority is designated for a Member State. This update is contact and administration information only.

Sources

• EU Publications — OJ C/2026/4231 CBAM competent-authority listT1
• EU Publications — OJ C/2026/4231 signed PDFT1

What changed

• DG TAXUD published follow-up material from its 16 July 2026 webinar, 'Become a CBAM verifier: all about accreditation and verification'.
• The page covers CBAM accreditation and verification processes for EU ETS verifiers and new verifiers who may apply for CBAM accreditation.
• It lists an important action for verifiers starting 1 September 2026: create an EU Login account and join the CBAM Registry to apply for registration to a National Competent Authority.
• The webinar follow-up also summarises methodology topics including the functional unit, multifunctional production processes, embedded emissions of precursors, and new system boundaries for iron, steel, and aluminium products.

Who may be affected

Prospective CBAM verifiers, EU ETS verifiers, non-EU installation operators, importers preparing actual-emissions evidence, and advisers may want to use the follow-up page as readiness context. It is not an importer obligation change.

Sources

• European Commission — CBAM verifier webinar follow-upT1

What changed

• The Commission proposes that 15% of the free allocation phased out due to the CBAM factor be reintroduced, starting in 2028.
• The proposal would reduce and delay the phase-out of free allocation for existing CBAM sectors until 2038.
• The proposed trajectory remains subject to the EU legislative process; current adopted rules remain unchanged.

Who may be affected

EU producers in CBAM sectors, importers, authorised CBAM declarants, customs representatives, and advisers planning future carbon-cost exposure may want to monitor the proposal. Current calculations and scope checks should continue to use adopted rules.

Sources

• European Commission — EU ETS review press releaseT1
• European Commission — EU ETS review questions and answersT1
• European Commission — COM(2026) 616 finalT1

What changed

• The draft sets out proposed conditions for selling and repurchasing CBAM certificates through the common central platform.
• The Commission lists the feedback period as 9 July to 6 August 2026 and plans adoption for Q4 2026.

Who may be affected

Importers, authorised CBAM declarants, customs brokers, and advisers following certificate purchasing and cash-flow planning may want to review the official draft and feedback page. The final arrangements may change before adoption.

Sources

• European Commission — CBAM certificates: sale and repurchaseT1

What changed

• The Commission published the Q2 2026 CBAM certificate price on 6 July 2026.
• The certificate price tracker now shows Q2 2026 as the current published quarterly value.

Who may be affected

Importers and authorised declarants planning for CBAM certificate costs may want to review the Q2 2026 price and the official source page before using the figure in internal planning.

Sources

• EC DG TAXUD — Price of CBAM certificatesT1

What changed

• From 1 January 2026 the CBAM definitive regime replaces the transitional reporting-only phase.
• Obligations from that date can include authorised-declarant status and, later, certificate surrender for the embedded emissions of imported CBAM goods.

Who may be affected

Importers of CBAM goods (cement, iron & steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen) may need to verify whether they are affected and whether they require authorised-declarant status.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (consolidated text)T1

What changed

• The Commission published the first quarterly CBAM certificate price for the 2026 definitive period.
• For 2026, quarterly prices are published on set dates; the price tracker links each figure to its official publication.

Who may be affected

Importers and authorised declarants planning for CBAM certificate costs may want to review the published price on the certificate price tracker rather than relying on estimates.

Sources

• EC DG TAXUD — Price of CBAM certificatesT1

What changed

• The first annual CBAM declaration covering 2026 imports is due by 30 September 2027.
• The corresponding CBAM certificates are surrendered at the same time.

Who may be affected

Authorised CBAM declarants importing goods in 2026 may need to verify the 30 September 2027 declaration and surrender date and plan accordingly; the deadline planner lays out the surrounding 2026-cycle dates.

Sources

• Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (consolidated text)T1

What changed

• DG TAXUD added a dedicated verification page covering verification rules and the accreditation framework for verifiers.
• The Commission uses the qualified timing 'expected' and 'around September 2026'; this is operational information, not a statutory accreditation deadline.

Who may be affected

Importers expecting to use actual emissions, non-EU installation operators preparing emissions information, prospective CBAM verifiers, and advisers may want to follow the page for accreditation and list-availability updates.

Sources

• European Commission — Verification of CBAM emissionsT1
• EC DG TAXUD — CBAM latest developmentsT1

What changed

• A new official factsheet provides a short operational comparison of default-value and actual-emissions routes.
• The factsheet connects the distinction to preparation for the first declaration covering 2026 imports, due by 30 September 2027.

Who may be affected

Importers, authorised CBAM declarants, non-EU producers, suppliers, and advisers comparing default-value and actual-emissions preparation paths may want to review the factsheet and the underlying regulations.

Sources

• European Commission — CBAM communication and factsheetsT1
• EU Publications — Actual vs default values in your declarationT1