CBAM File › CBAM data request
Your EU customer asked for CBAM data. What now?
You received an email asking for "embedded emissions per tonne", probably with a deadline and a warning about extra costs. Nothing is on fire. Here is the short version.
1. Check that your goods are even covered
CBAM applies to specific CN codes, not to whole industries. Take the code from your export invoice. Iron and steel sit in chapters 72 and 73, aluminium in 76. If your code is not on the list, say so to your customer and stop here. There is also a small-volume exemption: an importer bringing in under 50 tonnes a year across all CBAM goods owes nothing.
2. Understand what happens if you do nothing
You are not legally obliged to send anything — the obligation sits with the EU importer. If you send nothing, they use a default value: a figure published per country and product, plus a mark-up of 10% in 2026, rising to 30% from 2028. That value is deliberately pessimistic. The importer pays it, and then asks you to share the cost or finds a supplier who answers.
See the default value for your country →
3. Work out what you actually emit
For one calendar year you need: how many tonnes of each product you made, how much fuel you burned making them, any carbonates or electrodes consumed, and how much steel or aluminium you bought in. That last item usually dominates the result for a fabricator.
The formula the EU uses is plain arithmetic: your own direct emissions plus the emissions embedded in the material you bought, divided by the tonnes you produced.
4. Send it in the format they expect
Use the Commission's Communication Template. It is the file their reporting system is built around, and sending a PDF of your own design creates work for them and delay for you.
5. Know the limit of what you just sent
From 2026, actual values can only be used once they have been checked by an accredited verifier. Your first file is a verification-ready draft, not a verified figure — say so plainly to your customer. It is normal, and it is better than a default value with a penalty mark-up on top.
A shortcut for steel and aluminium
This site calculates the number and fills the official template for you, free, with no account. Your production figures stay in your browser. It also produces a one-page report showing your customer how much your real data saves them — which tends to change the tone of the conversation.
CBAM File is a free browser-based calculator for non-EU steel and aluminium producers. Your production data never leaves your browser. Open the calculator →
Default values by country · Communication Template · Got a data request? · Steel · Aluminium