The European Commission has taken action regarding the technical issues affecting the submission of data for the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the Import Control System 2 (ICS2). These problems have arisen from a technical fault impacting several EU customs systems, including the CBAM Transitional Registry.
In response, systems updates have been made in the past days, but starting 1 February, a new feature in the CBAM Transitional Registry will be made available to reporting declarants who have not been able to submit their first quarterly CBAM report by January 31. This feature allows users to “request delayed submission”, providing an additional 30-day window for the submission of their CBAM reports.
Further to this, the Commission has released a formal communication informing that National Competent Authorities (NCAs) are instructed to not to impose penalties on those who have faced submission difficulties.
At the same time, the EC takes the opportunity to highlight that, regardless of the reason for non-compliance, the NCAs will not levy penalties before the declarant opens a correction procedure, where they will be allowed to provide justifications and correct any potential inaccuracies in their CBAM report.
Nonetheless, reporting declarants who have not encountered significant technical issues are still encouraged to meet the original deadlines, keeping in mind that the first three CBAM reports can be amended until 31 July 2024.
In light of these developments, our team of PwC Belgium CBAM experts remains committed to supporting our clients in navigating these changes and ensuring compliance with CBAM requirements. Our Global Trade and Customs Advisory and CBAM and decarbonisation experts are available to provide guidance and support to EU importers of CBAM goods, helping them to meet their reporting obligations and avoid any potential penalties.
