Small businesses exempt from EU’s tax at the border

Published on 11/09/2025 - 14:51 GMT+2

MEPs voted this week to exempt much than 90% of small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) from the EU’s c borderline accommodation mechanics (CBAM) — a taxation imposed connected imports — amid European Parliament plans to simplify existing sustainability laws.

The CBAM is an import work based connected the estimated c footprint of definite goods similar alloy and cement, which has been successful unit successful a transitional signifier since October 2023. As of 2026, importers volition beryllium liable to study connected the c footprint of their goods, and wherever applicable wage duty. 

With the simplification, tiny concern volition beryllium excused from reporting the c emissions produced by imported goods into the EU similar steel, cement, aluminium, fertilizers, electricity or hydrogen.

A legislative reappraisal to chopped reddish portion successful the CBAM was unveiled by the EU enforcement successful February, nether the “Omnibus Package”, to enactment tiny EU importers and forestall companies from moving accumulation to countries with laxer clime policies, alleged c leakage. 

MEPs voted overwhelmingly - 617 for/18 against – connected a trilogue agreement, an authoritative woody betwixt the Commission and the EU co-legislators, for an exemption connected importers bringing successful nether 50 tonnes a twelvemonth of CBAM goods, a measurement that benefits astir 90% of importers — 182,000 businesses — chiefly SMEs. 

“We person answered calls from companies to simplify and streamline the process and exempted 90% of importers of CBAM goods to facilitate competitiveness and maturation for our businesses,” said Italian MEP Antonio Decario (S&D), starring the record successful the Parliament.

Green Austrian lawmaker Lena Schilling praised the ballot arsenic a notation for however cutting reddish portion doesn’t needfully mean stepping backmost from clime protection.

“The bulk of companies payment from little bureaucracy, portion astir each emissions are inactive being tracked. This should service arsenic a exemplary for the EU Commission’s upcoming waves of deregulation,” Schilling told Euronews.

Upcoming review

Following today’s ballot by lawmakers successful plenary, the simplification instrumentality is pending approval by EU countries, a specified formality. However, the EU enforcement is preparing further reviews to the EU taxation astatine the border by the extremity of the yar, an enactment causing speculation connected whether the EU volition extremity up caving successful to unit from the US to h2o down cardinal parts of the CBAM, arsenic the laws was criticised by Energy Secretary Chris Wright for carrying “huge ineligible risks” for US companies.

"This instrumentality has passed with a bulk due to the fact that it didn’t alteration its scope, lone the economical operators affected. The upcoming CBAM reappraisal whitethorn beryllium much contested since it volition alteration the law’s scope,” a parliamentary root told Euronews.

A Commission spokesperson told Euronews that by the extremity of 2025, the EU enforcement volition merchandise a connection to “extend CBAM scope to downstream products and code circumvention”.

"The Commission needs to springiness clarity soon, and manufacture should support preparing. That’s not easy, but CBAM’s occurrence volition trust connected calm enactment and dependable progress, not panic," David Cruz, Climate Change & Sustainability astatine the Oslo-based consultancy CEMAsys told Euronews.