Carbon Border Tax 

Initial Phase of Carbon Border Tax Implementation in the EU

The CBAM is currently in its initial transitional period which began on 1 October 2023 and will end on 31 December 2025. During this period, importers and indirect customs representatives have specific reporting obligations related to the CBAM. 

The permanent CBAM will become effective from 1 January 2026 and will entail fiscal obligations (obligation to purchase CBAM certificates). During its initial phase, CBAM applies to imports of the products from steel, iron, and aluminium, cement, fertiliser, electricity and hydrogen. The range of products to which the CBAM will apply is expected to be extended in the future to include other items, eg plastics. 

Obligations of Importers and Indirect Customs Representatives During the Transitional Period 

During the transitional period, importers and indirect customs representatives must report the quantity of imported goods and embedded direct and indirect emissions on a quarterly basis (after registering in the CBAM Transitional Registry). The first report must be submitted by 31 January 2024 for goods imported during the last quarter of 2023, and the final reporting obligation in the transitional period must be met by 31 January 2026 for goods imported during the last quarter of 2025.

The European Commission has launched an information system to be used during the transitional period – the CBAM Transitional Registry. This information system has been operational since 1 January 2024. It will be used by importers and indirect customs representatives to meet their reporting obligations. 

Given the technical and administrative aspects of reporting, some flexibility is envisaged during the transitional period. Importers have a limited period to ensure compliance with their new reporting obligations. Therefore, a temporary exemption applies to calculation methods for reporting embedded direct and indirect emissions until the end of 2024, and a longer period is permitted for corrections of the first two CBAM reports. Additionally, alternative methods are permitted to be used by those reporting declarants who are unable to obtain all the information necessary to determine the actual embedded emissions of imported goods from operators in third countries in line with the established methodology.

The transitional period will allow important data to be obtained, which will subsequently be used to make additional adjustments to the methodology for the calculation of embedded emissions, and to create a uniform and effective system for the monitoring, reporting and verification of imported goods subject to the CBAM regulation. 

Carbon Border Tax in Slovakia

In Slovakia, the competent CBAM authority is the Ministry of Environment of the Slovak Republic (the “ME SR”). The ME SR closely cooperates with the Financial Directorate of the Slovak Republic, which regularly informs importers and indirect customs representatives of their obligations arising from EU CBAM legislation and sends data on imports of CBAM goods to the European Commission. The ME SR grants importers and indirect customs representatives based in the Slovak Republic access to the CBAM Transitional Registry based on an electronic application completed by importers or indirect customs representatives.