Carbon tax

Who is affected by the Regulation?

Companies (mainly energy, fertiliser and chemical producers and traders, automotive and machinery operators, and traders in iron, steel and aluminium raw materials) that import products covered by the CBAM are subject to reporting and subsequently to payment obligations.

The products covered by the CBAM Regulation are listed in Annex I of the CBAM Regulation. The products have been defined in a well-identifiable way on the basis of the Combined Nomenclature (CN) codes.

This includes imported products such as:

a cement clinker, white cement, bauxite cement
electricity,
fertilisers (e.g. nitric acid, potassium nitrate; mineral or chemical fertilisers containing two or three of the fertilising elements nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium)
iron and steel products (e.g. pipes, screws, tanks, drums, cans, other iron and steel products)
products made of aluminium (e.g. wire, sheet, foil, tubes, rods, tanks, barrels)
chemicals (hydrogen)

The Regulation is not applicable:

if the goods originate in the following third countries or territories: the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, Büsingen, Ceuta, Heligoland, Livigno, Melilla,
consignments of an intrinsic value not exceeding €150 and goods of the same value forming part of travellers' personal luggage,
goods necessary for military activities.

The reports

are filed by the importer on his own behalf and in his own interest, or
or by an indirect customs representative on behalf of the importer.

What needs to be implemented now?

Reporting obligation

Originally, the companies concerned were supposed to report by 31 January 2024, but this proved insufficient. The original deadline of 31 January was initially extended by a further month to the end of February, but this also proved insufficient and the deadline was again extended to the end of March.

For the following quarters, the importer or the indirect customs representative shall submit to the Commission, for each quarter, no later than one month after the end of that quarter, a report (hereinafter referred to as the 'CBAM report') containing information on the goods imported during that quarter.

The CBAM Regulation and the European Commission Implementing Regulation 2023/1773 allows companies to correct or amend their reports at a later stage.

As a rule, the reporting declarant may amend the submitted CBAM report up to two months after the end of the reporting quarter.

Exceptions to this are the CBAM reports submitted for the first two reporting periods, as these may be amended by the reporting declarant until the deadline for the third CBAM report, i.e. 31 July 2024.

It is important to point out that failure to report or incorrect or incomplete compliance with the reporting obligation may result in fines (CBAM infringement fines) even during the transitional period.

The reporting process

Registration:

The importer and the indirect customs representative shall initiate the temporary registration of the CBAM by submitting a request to the CBAM authority via the e-paper.

It is necessary to create an EU Login account before starting the registration in the CBAM transitional register.

As part of the registration application, the reporter must declare that as an importer or indirect customs representative they have imported goods covered by the CBAM Regulation into Hungary after 1 October 2023.

Registration can be done electronically via the client portal at the following link.

You can create an EU Login account on the following page.

Registration aids and sample declarations are available on the following page.

Reporting:

The report to be submitted to the Commission can be uploaded to the register by:

It can be completed in CBAM's temporary register or by filling in an EU form for this purpose.

The CBAM report must contain the following information:

1. Data on imported CBAM goods:

1. Importer EORI number

2. Importer name

3. CN code (Combined Nomenclature)

4. Description of goods