EURANIMI urges EC to delay CBAM declaration deadline over verification bottlenecks

EURANIMI has asked the European Commission (EC) to extend the CBAM declaration deadline for 2026 imports, saying the additional time is needed to secure verified emissions data.

EURANIMI, the European Association of Non-Integrated Metal Importers and Distributors, said it formally reached out to the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD) to request an extension of the deadline from September 30, 2027, to December 31, 2027. “The three-month extension would give EU operators extra time to secure verified emissions data, curb reliance on economically punitive default values, and protect EU metal-industry SMEs while keeping CBAM’s environmental goals intact,” EURANIMI said in a statement seen by SMR.

The association noted that the EC had already moved the first CBAM definitive-period reporting deadline from May to September 2027.

EURANIMI stated that the CBAM cost depends on two factors outside the importer’s control: verification of emissions data from the supplier’s production site and verification of emissions embedded in the input material used in that production. Embedded emissions at non-EU installations can only be verified from January 2027 onwards. Moreover, verification requires a complete on-site audit.

EURANIMI expects it would be impossible to verify all relevant installations across all six CBAM sectors globally within eight months. This makes the application of “economically punitive default values” a “very real prospect” for large parts of the industry. According to EURANIMI, default values applied in the absence of verified data can be up to ten times higher than actual emissions.

The association stresses this is already creating “market distortion”. Mill-independent SMEs are caught between two pricing strategies. Companies can price based on manufacturer-reported emissions and internal assessments, risking that late EU verification leads to the use of higher default values. Alternatively, they can price using current default values and risk losing business. This dynamic is already creating market distortion, penalising more cautious operators while allowing risk-takers to build hidden liabilities.

“By extending the end-September deadline to end-December 2027, the EC gives verification bodies more time to conduct the necessary audits. It reduces reliance on much more costly default values, mitigates severe financial risks for EU SMEs, and preserves the environmental integrity and market fairness that CBAM was designed to achieve,” said Christophe Lagrange, executive board member of EURANIMI.

“Our members fully support the objective of CBAM… However, the concrete modalities of implementation risk, at this stage, are producing unintended and counter-productive effects on importers and downstream European industries,” said Rob Greve, executive board member of EURANIMI.

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SMR Stainless Club
English
21 February 2026