India is seeking European recognition for domestic emissions verification capabilities as steel, aluminium and other industrial exporters face growing requirements to provide independently verified carbon data under the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).
The government has established a Committee on Export Preparedness for EU CBAM, bringing together public authorities, regulators and industry representatives to coordinate preparations for the mechanism.
Accreditation efforts target verification capacity
India’s National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies has engaged with prospective verification organisations. According to a September report by the Financial Express, two validation and verification bodies had applied for EU- and UK-related CBAM accreditation arrangements.
Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has sought recognition from European authorities for India’s accreditation capabilities. Discussions with the European Commission’s taxation and customs authorities are examining possible arrangements.
The initiative addresses a compliance challenge for exporters whose emissions records may be technically sound but cannot be used by EU customers to establish actual embedded emissions without verification by appropriately accredited bodies.
National accreditation and industrial certification obtained outside the EU do not automatically confer the recognition required under the European framework.
Verified emissions data affects exporters’ carbon costs
For Indian manufacturers with emissions below the applicable country or product default values, access to recognised verification can affect their position in the European market.
Accepted actual-emissions data allows importers to establish carbon liabilities using verified production information. Where the necessary documentation is unavailable or not accepted, buyers may have to rely on default emissions values, which can be less favourable to the supplier.
India’s steel industry presents additional verification challenges because emissions intensities differ across large integrated mills, electric arc furnace operators and smaller processing facilities.
Upstream data remains a challenge for steel supply chains
Manufacturers exporting downstream steel products also need reliable emissions information for precursor materials, including billets and slabs.
The Indian government is working with the Ministry of Steel to improve access to upstream emissions data, which is necessary for manufacturers to document the emissions associated with their production inputs.
For industrial companies, installing cleaner production equipment is only one part of CBAM preparation. They must also establish emissions monitoring systems, maintain traceable production records and obtain independent assessments that meet the applicable requirements.
Insufficient verification capacity could leave facilities commercially exposed even after investments in lower-emission technologies.
The accreditation initiative is contributing to the development of an international emissions assurance market, in which exporters need to secure recognised verification and provide European customers with carbon data suitable for regulatory compliance.
