Carbon already paid abroad: the EU's draft rules on reducing your CBAM bill

One of the last significant gaps in the CBAM rulebook has now been filled in draft. On 13 May 2026 the European Commission published its draft implementing act setting out how a carbon price already paid in the country of origin can reduce the number of certificates an importer must surrender. The text is open for a four-week consultation that closes on 10 June, and once finalised it will apply retrospectively to imports from 1 January 2026.

Why it matters

The principle has always been in the primary regulation. Article 9 of Regulation (EU) 2023/956 allows a deduction for a carbon price effectively paid abroad, so that the same tonne of emissions is not charged twice. What was missing, until now, was the detail of how to calculate and evidence that deduction. For importers sourcing from countries that operate their own carbon pricing, this is the piece that turns a stated entitlement into a usable number.

What qualifies

The draft recognises a carbon price that is binding and that falls on the good's embedded emissions. Four types of mechanism are brought into scope: emissions trading systems, point-source carbon taxes, fuel-based carbon taxes and mixed systems. The price must be effectively paid, which means any rebate or other compensation has to be netted off before a claim is made.

Two calculation routes are offered. An importer can use a default annual average carbon price for the relevant jurisdiction, or the actual price paid, the latter supported by documentation and certification. There is also a notable limit. International credits used under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement are capped at 10 per cent of reported emissions, with anything beyond that treated as a zero price. This is a tighter line than the European Parliament's environment committee had argued for.

What to do now

If you import from a jurisdiction with a carbon price, the practical step is to start gathering the evidence of what was paid, structured in a way that will support a claim. Anyone wishing to influence the final text can respond to the consultation before it closes on 10 June. Structuring and evidencing deduction claims is exactly the kind of work our CBAM-compliant stage is built around.

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