Integrin compliance platform
Integrin UK CBAM
The UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, calculated on every import
Integrin calculates the UK CBAM liability on every covered import, after carbon price relief.
UK CBAM is a tax on the carbon embodied in imported aluminium, cement, fertiliser, hydrogen, and iron and steel, set by the Finance Act 2026. The importer calculates the emissions embodied in the goods, multiplies them by HMRC's rate for the sector, deducts any carbon price already paid abroad and pays the difference to HMRC. Unlike the EU scheme, there are no certificates to buy or surrender.
1 January 2027
The charge applies to covered goods imported from this date
£50,000
Customs value of covered goods, over 12 months or expected in the next 30 days, that requires registration
31 May 2028
Return and payment for 2027; quarterly returns from 2028
The UK CBAM work in Integrin
- Import declarations
- Covered goods
- Embodied emissions
- Sector rate
- Carbon price relief
- UK liability
Covered goods and default values
Coverage is set by commodity code, and HMRC has published a default emissions value for each covered code, in force for 2027 and 2028.
Integrin checks each goods item on a UK import declaration against the coverage list and prices it from HMRC's published default value. A goods item whose code has no published value is refused.
Functional units
Cement is measured per tonne of clinker it contains and fertiliser per kilogram of nitrogen, so the declared weight has to be converted before the default value applies.
The clinker fraction and nitrogen content are held on the product and can be set on a goods item. Where one is missing, Integrin refuses the goods item and names the figure it needs.
Every figure traceable to its calculation
An importer has to be able to show how each figure in its UK CBAM return was arrived at.
Each goods item keeps its full calculation: HMRC's default value, the functional unit, the embodied emissions, the rate and the liability before relief. It opens from the goods item.
Sector rates
HMRC sets a rate for each sector in pounds per tonne of CO2e every quarter, with free allocation already taken into account.
Integrin holds the rates by sector and date, and prices each goods item at the rate in force on its date of import.
Carbon price relief
Carbon price paid outside the UK under a qualifying scheme comes off the liability. It's calculated per installation, scaled to the share of emissions the scheme covers, and can't exceed the liability on the good.
Integrin records the qualifying schemes and each installation's effective carbon price, applies the relief to each goods item, and states the reason on any goods item where none applies.
Liability and the registration threshold
An importer must register once the customs value of covered goods reaches £50,000. Registration opens on 1 January 2028, and anyone who passes the threshold during 2027 registers by 31 January 2028.
The CBAM dashboard shows the year's UK liability in pounds, the relief applied and the value of covered goods imported against the £50,000 threshold.
Reporting for the return
The return reports the liability on the covered goods imported in the period: for 2027 as a whole, then quarterly from 2028.
CBAM Analytics totals the liability, emissions and weight for any year, quarter or month, by sector, commodity code, country of origin, supplier or installation, as a table or a chart, and exports to Excel or PDF. The period's goods items also export to Excel, with the liability in pounds.
UK CBAM is part of the Integrin platform
Integrin also covers EU CBAM, Irish customs, ISO 9001, 14001 and 45001, PPWR, EUDR, and cases and obligations. It's built for companies running their own compliance, and for brokers and consultancies managing it for their clients. How the platform works →