The European Commission has published a further update to the CBAM FAQ on its website.
There are some key updates that deserve attention:
- Guidelines on suppliers – manufacturers not providing information (question number 74):
The Commission has finally provided some crucial guidance on the handling of situations where suppliers fail to provide the necessary information before the CBAM reporting deadline.
The EC underlines the importance of collaboration between third country producers and the declarants to ensure accurate reporting of emissions embodied in CBAM goods produced outside the EU.
Declarants are responsible for the completeness and accuracy of CBAM reporting and face penalties for non-compliance or inaccurate reporting.
From 1 July 2024, they will be required to report the actual emissions of each imported CBAM good. If it is not possible to obtain actual data, they must use default values and document their efforts in the Transitional CBAM Registry, including supporting documentation of their attempts to obtain data.
The Competent National Authorities (NCAs) will assess the efforts of the respondents to obtain the necessary data and may take them into account when imposing sanctions, taking into account the resources of the respondents and the scale of their operations.
Note: The Dutch National Competent Authority has recently published its enforcement policy on CBAM, which is currently only available in Dutch.
- Amendments to ex-post reporting (question number 45):
Pursuant to Article 9(3) on the CBAM transitional period, declarants may request amendments to their CBAM reports after the two-month deadline if they can justify the need for such changes.
- Use of multiple indirect customs representatives (question number 99):
The restriction on an importer to engage multiple indirect customs representatives currently appears to be limited to the transitional period.
- Adoption of complementary regulation on accreditation and verification (questions number 121 and 122).
The Commission previously indicated that the complementary legislation concerning the qualification of verifiers and the methodology to be followed would be adopted by the end of 2024. However, this indicative timetable has now been removed, raising doubts about the EC’s timetable on this matter.
