Imported Carbon Border Adjustment (CBAM) goods that may not contribute towards the registration threshold
Find out which imported CBAM goods may not contribute towards the registration threshold of £50,000.
There may be cases where the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) goods you’re importing do not contribute towards the registration threshold.
This could be because the CBAM goods:
- are for private use
- are of UK origin
- are eligible for returned goods relief
- are under temporary admission with full relief from customs duties
- have been processed under a special customs procedure
Importing CBAM goods for private or commercial use
If you import CBAM goods for:
- private use, they’re exempt from CBAM and will not contribute towards the registration threshold
- commercial use they may be liable for CBAM and will contribute towards the registration threshold
Importing CBAM goods for private use
You may import CBAM goods for private use, if you want to build:
- your own house (using cement)
- a roof on your house (using aluminium)
- a sculpture for decorative purposes, such as an accessory in your garden (using iron and steel)
This list is not exhaustive.
Importing CBAM goods for commercial use
You may import CBAM goods for commercial use, if you want to:
- sell them
- use them to provide a service
- use them in your business to make a profit, for example using fertiliser on your crops to sell to wholesalers, distributors or directly to the public (such as farmers’ markets or delivering the products to customers’ homes) and so on
- use them temporarily for private use before you sell them, use them to provide a service or to make a profit
This list is not exhaustive.
Importing CBAM goods of UK origin
If you import CBAM goods of UK origin, they’re exempt from CBAM even when released into free circulation.
They will not contribute towards the registration threshold.
The following is an example of imported goods that would be in scope of the CBAM.
You import aluminium wire (which is in scope of the CBAM) from China.
The aluminium wire was originally made in the UK.
None of the components or parts have changed before or after you imported them.
You release them into free circulation in the UK.
The aluminium wire will not contribute towards the registration threshold.
CBAM will be charged on goods which originate from outside of the UK according to the UK’s non-preferential rules of origin.
Importing CBAM goods with returned goods relief
Returned goods relief let’s you claim a relief to pay less Customs Duty if you re-import goods to the UK in an ‘unaltered state’.
Returned goods relief may be available where goods are re-imported:
- back into the UK within 3 years of their export
- in the same state in which they were exported (none of the components or parts have changed)
If CBAM goods are re-imported into the UK and returned goods relief is claimed, their value will not contribute towards the registration threshold.
Union goods exported from Northern Ireland into the EU and reimported into the UK will not contribute towards the registration threshold if they’re re-imported:
- within 3 years of export from Northern Ireland
- in the same state in which they were exported (none of the components or parts have changed)
This relief applies whether you or someone else originally imported the CBAM goods.
Importing CBAM goods under temporary admission
Temporary admission lets you import goods for a short period without paying customs duty.
If you import CBAM goods into the UK under temporary admission, the value of these goods will not count towards the registration threshold if they have received full relief from customs duties.
If the same CBAM goods are then discharged (released) from temporary admission into free circulation in the UK market and customs duties are due, their value contributes to the registration threshold.
If you import CBAM goods into the UK with only partial relief or no relief from customs duties, they will count towards the registration threshold.
Find out more about temporary admission with partial relief on goods imported to the UK temporarily.
Importing CBAM goods that enter the UK under a special customs procedure
Special customs procedures allow you to store, temporarily use, process or repair your goods. They also allow you to get partial or full relief from customs duties, or in some cases suspension.
If you bring CBAM goods into the UK under a special customs procedure, they are not in scope of CBAM unless they are then discharged (released) into free circulation in the UK market and customs duties are due. Where that happens, their value contributes to the registration threshold.
Special customs procedures could include:
- inward processing
- outward processing
- a UK freeport customs site
- authorised use
- customs warehousing
Using inward processing for imported goods
Inward processing lets you delay or reduce customs duties on goods that you process or repair.
If you’re using inward processing to process or repair goods, these goods may contribute towards the registration threshold if they’re released into free circulation in the UK, depending on the type of goods that leave the processing procedure.
If goods (CBAM or non-CBAM) enter an inward processing procedure and are processed into other CBAM goods that are imported into the UK (you pay any customs duties due, and they’re released into free circulation), the whole value of the imported CBAM goods will count towards the registration threshold.
If CBAM goods enter an inward processing procedure and are processed into non-CBAM goods that are imported to the UK (you pay any customs duties due, and they’re released into free circulation), only the value of the portion of the ‘original’ CBAM good which makes up the ‘processed’ non-CBAM goods will count towards the registration threshold.
Read about using inward processing to process or repair your goods.
Using outward processing for imported CBAM goods
Outward processing lets you export goods outside the UK for processing (including repair) and re-import them with reduced customs duty.
If you’re using outward processing to process CBAM goods outside of the UK, these goods may contribute towards the registration threshold if they’re reimported and released into free circulation in the UK, depending on the value of CBAM goods that re-enter the UK.
CBAM goods can be exported for processing outside of the UK either:
- under the outward processing procedure (in Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales))
- when they leave Northern Ireland for processing in the EU before returning to Northern Ireland
If you re-import the processed CBAM goods into the UK, they’ll contribute towards the registration threshold if they’re released into free circulation in the UK.
The difference in value between the original CBAM goods before you exported them outside of the UK, and the processed CBAM goods re-imported into the UK, will count towards the registration threshold.
Example
The CBAM goods original value was £70,000 when they were exported from the UK.
The value of the processed CBAM goods re-imported into the UK is £130,000.
The difference in value of £60,000 will count towards the registration threshold.
After you’ve checked when imported CBAM goods do not contribute towards the registration threshold
Once you’ve checked when imported CBAM goods do not contribute towards the registration threshold, you can work out the date you’ll need to register.