Customs Declarations
From 1 January 2021, at the end of the Brexit Transition Period, trade between the UK and EU Member States will no longer be covered under the EU’s Customs Union. This means that formal customs declarations will be required for all imports and exports across electricity interconnectors including Nemo Link.
Great Britain:
In the UK, Nemo Link will make import/export declarations on behalf of market participants for flows on the Nemo Link Interconnector. There are therefore no further actions market participants need to take in the UK.
Belgium:
In Belgium, network operators are not permitted to make customs declarations and therefore all market participants will need to make their own customs declarations to the Belgian authorities. According to the information provided to us, market participants that are non-EU registered can only make customs declarations through an EU customs agent or other EU-based affiliate.
If you require a Belgian-based EU customs agent, we can recommend the following customs agents that could potentially assist you further in this matter.
- ALS Customs Services N.V. Please contact Danny Proost ([email protected]) for further assistance.
- Remant Customs. Please contact Dietwin Rossaert ([email protected]) for further assistance.
We can also recommend a fiscal representative ([email protected]) that works together with Remant Customs and that could act as fiscal/customs expert.
EU CBAM
What is the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)?
The EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) is a climate measure and part of the EU Fit for 55 package initially applying to 6 sectors, including electricity. The aim of CBAM is to address the risk of carbon leakage by ensuring equivalent carbon pricing for imports and domestic (EU) production that is subject to carbon costs under the EU ETS.
From January 2026, importers into the EU will be required to report on the emission content of goods (including electricity) and purchase CBAM certificates for non-EU products.
Transitional Period (1st October 2023 to 31st December 2025)
A transitional period ran from 1 October 2023 to 31st December 2025. During this time, importers of electricity into the EU were required to submit a quarterly report of the embedded emissions in the imports, without certificates becoming due.
Definitive CBAM Period (2026) Onwards
The definitive period begins on 1st January 2026. During the definitive period importers will need to report on the emission content of goods and purchase equivalent CBAM certificates for non-EU imports.
Reporting During the Definitive CBAM Period
One CBAM report should be submitted annually , with the first report to be submitted 30 September 2027 (for 2026 emissions).
CBAM declaration containing the following:
- Total quantity of goods imported during the preceding calendar year
- Total embedded emissions in those goods (default values to be published by EC Commission)
- Emissions to be verified by EU accredited verifier (n.a. when using default values)
- Total number of CBAM certificated to be surrendered
- The carbon price effectively paid in the country of origin for the embedded emissions
CBAM Certificates
Importers are required to surrenders the number of CBAM certificates that corresponds to the amount of emissions embedded in their imported electricity.
CBAM Certificates will first be available to purchase from 1 February 2027 (only for the 1st year of CBAM).
- For 2026 – the CBAM certificate price will be based on the quarterly average of the closing prices of the ETS allowances of the quarter of importation of the CBAM goods. i.e. 1 April 2026 for Q1 2026
- From 2027 – the CBAM certificate price will be provided for each calendar week, based on the weekly average of the closing prices of EU-ETS allowances on the auction platform.
From 2027 there is a requirement to hold CBAM certificates corresponds to at least 50% of the emissions embedded in the goods at the end of each quarter.
Purchase and surrendering of CBAM certificates shall take place on the Central Common Platform.
If a carbon price has already been paid during the production, the corresponding amount can be deducted from their CBAM certificate obligations. A number of Implementing Acts and Delegating Acts are still to be finalised in Q1 2026 relating to how this deduction will be applied.
Resale of Certificates - Any surplus certificates can be resold up until 3 October 2027.
Cancellation of Certificates – Any remaining certificates for 2026 will be cancelled on 1 November 2027.
CBAM obligations for imports into Belgium
When you have been allocated capacity for electricity import into the EU via Nemo Link and you have nominated this, you are required to report CO2 emissions embedded in the imported electricity.
The Belgian competent authority for CBAM (Climat BE) have provided an update regarding Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) obligations for electricity imports into Belgium. More information can be found here: Climat BE
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an authorised CBAM declarant?
An EU CBAM Authorised Declarant is an importer of CBAM goods into the EU who has been officially authorised by a national competent authority. Once granted this status, an authorised CBAM declarant can import carbon intensive goods, including electricity, produced in a third country into the EU.
Under Article 5(4) of the CBAM Regulation, where transmission capacity for the import of electricity is allocated through explicit capacity allocation, the person to whom capacity has been allocated for import and who nominates that capacity for import shall be regarded as an authorised CBAM declarant in the Member State where the person has declared the importation of electricity in the customs declaration.
For customers established in a third country (outside of the EU), you will need to appoint an indirect customs representative to act as an authorised CBAM declarant on your behalf.
Why and when is the authorisation due?
An application to authorised CBAM declarant is required by 31 December 2025 in order for the importer to be able to import goods under the scope of the EU CBAM. In case of no authorisation, there is a risk of losing the possibility to import CBAM goods into the EU.
How to get the authorisation?
Securing this status involves an application process with the national competent authorities in the EU Member State of import. There will be no fee for the application.
Importers and indirect customs representatives will be able to lodge applications for authorisation via the Declarants Portal, while national competent authorities will be responsible for managing such authorisations.
There should be only one application per EORI number, and the authorisation shall be updated in case of any changes. Applying for an authorised CBAM declarant status in one EU Member State is enough: any CBAM declaration in an EU Member State where you import will cover any additional EU Member State that you import to.
The criteria to meet for becoming an authorised CBAM declarants, and how the application is assessed by the competent authority can be found in the Implementing Act (IA) on conditions for authorising CBAM declarants – in force since 28.03.2025 – Criteria for application (as per Article 5(5) of the CBAM Regulation) & Assessment of the application by the competent authority – Art. 4 of IA.
What is my National Competent Authority?
The competent NCA will be the NCA of the EU Member State in which the reporting declarant has received its EORI number.
CBAM reporting declarants must submit their CBAM report using the same EORI number, which was provided to the customs authorities when submitting the customs declaration.
Treatment of Volumes
We are awaiting further clarity on the exact value which should be reported and regarding how netting and losses should be applied.
Our interpretation of the legislation is charges should only apply to quantities actually imported after accounting for technical losses, not the overall quantity. Applying fees to electricity that was never imported is inappropriate. This distinction has been raised with the Commission, and further guidance is expected to ensure uniform application of the rules.
CBAM exemption through ETS Linkage
While no formal agreement is yet in place, both the UK and EU have indicated a strong intent to link their Emissions Trading Systems (ETS) and provide a mutual (EU and UK) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) exemption for each other’s goods.
In mid -November 2025, the EU-UK Emissions Trading System (ETS) the Council approved the linking mandate, authorizing the European Commission to begin formal negotiations with the United Kingdom.
More recently, on 17 December 2025, the UK Government and EC shared that they are aiming to conclude the negotiations on linking the EU and UK ETS by the time of the next EU-UK Summit (probably mid-2026).
You can find the official press release here: UK-EU – Joint Statement (HTML) – GOV.UK
Implementing and Delegating Acts for the Definitive Period
A number of CBAM Implementing Acts were published by the EC on 17 December 2025. The provisional publication versions of these Implementing Acts are now available on the Tax and Customs CBAM including legislation related to:
- The calculation methodology
- Free allocation adjustment
- Customs communication
- Default values
- Price of CBAM certificates
- Verification principles
- Authorisation of declarants
- The CBAM registry
- Accreditation and verification
Additionally, the EU Commission has also shared a Review Report on the application of the CBAM Regulation, including recognising the UK ETS and CPS, and where the UK ETS and CPS price are higher than the EU ETS, there will be no financial liability for the electricity imported from the UK.
Whilst this guidance presents more favourable outcomes for electricity; please note that these are proposed amendments to the CBAM Regulation and would need to be agreed and adopted by the EU Commission and Parliament in the New Year.
Indirect Customs Representative
Importers not established in the EU must appoint an indirect customs representative recognized as an authorized CBAM declarant to file the CBAM reports for their accounts.
Importers established in the EU are permitted to submit the CBAM reports themselves, and get authorization as an authorized CBAM declarant, however, may also chose to appoint another authorized CBAM declarant to file the reports.
Remant Customs, as an indirect customs representative, offers this service to file these reports. You can contact Remant Customs if you are interested in this service:
Email: [email protected]
Tel: +32 3 205 66 00
Useful Resources
More information regarding the EU CBAM can be found on the EU Commissions website.
EU Commissions CBAM Key Elements
EU Commission Webinar: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Electricity sector
