EU importers of electricity, including those buying power across Serbia and neighbouring markets, must account for embedded emissions and surrender Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificates under the definitive regime introduced on 1 January 2026. The first annual declaration and certificate surrender for electricity imported in 2026 are due by 30 September 2027, according to the European Commission’s electricity-specific CBAM FAQ and information on the definitive regime; Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 and an OECD customs implementation analysis dated October 2026 are also cited as references.
Electricity is a covered imported good, and importers cannot use the general 50-tonne de minimis exemption available for certain other CBAM goods. That mass-based threshold does not allow smaller electricity transactions to be excluded from CBAM, so importers must consider the relevant customs declaration, carbon-accounting methodology and certificate obligations for covered imports.
Identifying the authorised CBAM declarant depends on how the import capacity is allocated and declared. The importer is generally the declarant, or an eligible indirect customs representative may assume the applicable obligations. Where electricity import capacity is explicitly allocated and qualifying conditions are met, the entity allocated and nominating that capacity, and declaring the import to customs, is considered an authorised CBAM declarant without a separate application for authorisation.
Origin and emissions evidence
Electricity flows across interconnected networks, where commercial transactions, scheduled deliveries and physical power flows do not necessarily match a simple bilateral shipment. The customs and carbon rules therefore require coordination between commercial contracts, transmission arrangements and customs declarations, while importers must account for embedded emissions and surrender the corresponding certificates under the applicable rules.
For power produced in one non-EU country, traded through another and then brought into the EU, the CBAM country of origin is the country of production, not automatically the intermediate trading country. Electricity entering and leaving the EU under an applicable customs transit procedure without being released for free circulation is not treated in the same way as electricity imported for EU consumption.
Importers seeking to report actual emissions instead of default values must meet prescribed eligibility requirements. Their claims need appropriate contractual evidence, production and metering records, transmission nominations and independent verification, with documentation substantiating the quantities and time periods claimed. A renewable electricity certificate or a contract describing power as green is not, on its own, sufficient to demonstrate compliance with every condition for using actual emissions.
Importers also need to ensure their CBAM emissions information corresponds to the relevant electricity imports and that records can withstand regulatory scrutiny. This requires reconciling customs declarations with electricity-scheduling data, generation information and contractual obligations, the reference materials say. The OECD customs implementation analysis dated October 2026 is among the cited references for the customs dimension.
Contracts and certificate costs
Purchases of certificates for 2026 electricity imports begin in February 2027, before the annual declaration and surrender deadline. The interval between the imports and certificate settlement leaves importers with regulatory exposure before settlement is completed, making it necessary for electricity contracts to address financing future purchases, carbon-related price adjustments and responsibility for obtaining emissions information.
The legal declarant and the party bearing the cost do not have to be the same. An EU trader may be responsible for the CBAM declaration while a generator, intermediary or industrial customer assumes the carbon-related financial cost under contract. Steelworks, aluminium manufacturers, cement producers and other electricity-intensive EU consumers buying imported power may therefore face CBAM-related costs through their procurement arrangements even if they are not the declarant.
These requirements are relevant to electricity transactions involving Serbia, Montenegro and neighbouring EU markets, where power may be sold through multiple counterparties and cross-border trading arrangements. Western Balkan exporters have a commercial incentive to provide EU counterparties with clear, reliable and independently verifiable electricity documentation. Competitive position in cross-border trading is increasingly linked to documenting what was imported, where it was generated, which entity bears the carbon obligation, and the price and origin of the power.
As the first annual compliance deadline approaches in 2027, CBAM responsibilities are expected to feature more prominently in electricity procurement, contract pricing and counterparty selection throughout Southeast Europe. Importers’ arrangements must account for both the identity of the declarant and the evidence supporting the emissions reported for each relevant import.
