Keeping records for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)

You will need to keep the following records in written (including electronic) form for 6 years from the latest of either the: 

end of the accounting period they relate to  

You may be charged a fixed penalty of £500 if you do not keep records for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Separate penalties may apply if you do not provide information or documents when asked to by HMRC. 

Anyone importing CBAM goods into the UK will need to keep records of the CBAM goods they have imported from 1 January 2027.

The records will need to include the following information about each CBAM good, the:

date it passed the tax point (when it first entered the UK or cleared customs) 

Records can be import declarations (if you hold this information). They could also be other documents relating to the imported CBAM goods.

These might be from manufacturers, to show the weight of goods, or from suppliers, to display the value. 

If you submit a CBAM return, you will also need to keep records of: 

the quarter in which the goods passed the tax point (when the goods first entered the UK or they cleared customs) 

If you’re using a customs document as a record for imported CBAM goods, this could include:

discharge of a customs procedure (other than Temporary Admission) 

commercial documents, including record of movement of goods in the UK 

UK Customs Duty documents, including eligibility for relief 

repayment or remission of duty documents 

evidence of UK origin materials, already carbon taxed in reimported goods 

What records you need to keep if you report actual emissions 

If you choose to report actual emissions for the CBAM goods you import, you must keep evidence that the emissions data you are reporting has been verified. 

You’ll get the evidence you need from your supplier in the form of a verification report, or verification summary, that contains the relevant emissions data.