What Is a CBAM Report? Quarterly Reporting Explained
A steel importer gets one line from the customs desk. "CBAM report is due."
The steel landed months ago. The mill that made it, in another country, never sent any emissions figures. And those figures, whatever they are, decide what this shipment will cost once the charge begins.
That is the CBAM report in one picture: a filing about carbon you cannot see, from a supplier who may not answer.
This guide covers what a CBAM report is, who files it, what it must contain, and how the quarterly report became the annual declaration in 2026.
What is a CBAM report?
A CBAM report is a return on the embedded emissions of goods imported into the EU. It exists because of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, the EU's carbon border charge under Regulation (EU) 2023/956.
During the CBAM transitional period, from 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2025, importers of covered goods filed a report every quarter. There was nothing to pay and no certificates to buy. It was a data-gathering phase, with the rules set out in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1773.
The report was filed in the CBAM Transitional Registry, the EU's online system. The first report covered the last quarter of 2023, and the last transitional report was due 31 January 2026.
Who had to file?
The duty fell on the reporting declarant: usually the importer of the goods, or the indirect customs representative acting for them.
Covered goods are the ones in Annex I of the regulation: iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, and hydrogen. If you brought any of these into the EU, you were a reporting declarant.
Origin matters too. Goods from Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland sit out of scope, because their carbon is already priced.
What went in the report?
Each quarterly report set out, for every consignment:
- The quantity of goods and the CN code, so it ties back to the HS code you already assign.
- The embedded emissions, direct and, for some goods, indirect, per tonne.
- Any carbon price already paid in the country of production.
- Details of the installation that made the goods, and the method used.
The hard part was never the form. It was getting real emissions data out of suppliers, because the fallback default values are set high on purpose.
What changed in 2026?
The quarterly report was a transitional tool. It ended with the transitional period.
From 1 January 2026 the definitive regime applies. Quarterly reports are replaced by a single annual CBAM declaration, and the charge begins: importers buy and surrender CBAM certificates to cover their emissions.
So if you are reading this in 2026, the quarterly report is behind you. What matters now is the annual declaration, first due 30 September 2027 for goods imported in 2026.
How Bindu handles CBAM data
Bindu does not calculate emissions and does not connect to the CBAM Registry. What it does is hold the whole CBAM chain on one record: each covered import, the supplier it came from, the emissions evidence, the owner, and the date.
The real CBAM problem is chasing suppliers for verified figures before the deadline. Bindu keeps that request, the reply, and the proof in one place, so the number behind your declaration is one you can defend. See the CBAM breakdown.
FAQ
What is a CBAM report? A CBAM report is a quarterly return on the embedded emissions of goods imported into the EU during the CBAM transitional period (1 October 2023 to 31 December 2025). It carried no payment; it was a data-gathering step before the charge began.
Source: EUR-Lex: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1773 (CBAM transitional reporting)
Do I still file quarterly CBAM reports in 2026? No. The transitional period ended on 31 December 2025 and the last quarterly report was due 31 January 2026. From 1 January 2026 the definitive regime applies, and quarterly reports are replaced by a single annual CBAM declaration.
Source: EUR-Lex: CBAM, Regulation (EU) 2023/956
Who has to file for CBAM? The reporting declarant: usually the importer of the covered goods, or an indirect customs representative acting on their behalf. In the definitive regime the importer must be an authorised CBAM declarant.
Source: European Commission: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
Which goods are covered by CBAM? The goods listed in Annex I of the CBAM regulation: iron and steel, aluminium, cement, fertilisers, electricity, and hydrogen, along with certain downstream products. Goods originating in Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland are excluded.
Source: EUR-Lex: CBAM, Regulation (EU) 2023/956
What went in a CBAM report? For each consignment: the quantity and CN code of the goods, the embedded direct and, where relevant, indirect emissions per tonne, any carbon price already paid in the country of production, and details of the installation and calculation method used.
Source: EUR-Lex: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1773 (CBAM transitional reporting)