How is European Union (EU) origin shown for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) on a customs declaration, and which code do Büsingen, Heligoland and Livigno use?
Code Y237 is used for goods of EU origin, and non-preferential EU origin is proved with free evidence, like any other non-preferential origin. Büsingen, Heligoland and Livigno, also excluded from CBAM, use code Y134. Countries and territories in Annex III need no document code.
EU origin: Y237
The Commission's Questions and Answers (Q&A) 7.15 say code Y237 shall be used for goods of EU origin. The EU non-preferential origin shall be proven in the same way as for any other non-preferential origin, that is, based on free evidence. The Q&A points to its question on using a Pan-Euro-Mediterranean (PEM) preferential proof of origin (7.17 in the current numbering).
Excluded countries and territories
- Countries and territories listed in Annex III to the Regulation: CBAM will not apply. They are excluded from the scope of integrated measures in the customs tariff (TARIC), so no document code is required on import and none will be created.
- Büsingen, Heligoland and Livigno, which are also excluded from CBAM: code Y134 applies.
- The Q&A answer 7.16 says the standard rules for providing data in the declaration and for documenting country of origin still apply.
How the codes differ
- Y237: the goods are of EU origin, so they are not imported third-country goods.
- Y134: the goods come from Büsingen, Heligoland or Livigno.
- No code for Annex III countries: the exclusion comes from TARIC itself.
Why an exporter should care
Q&A 7.20 says the country of origin of a CBAM good is determined under the EU non-preferential rules of origin in the Union Customs Code (UCC). Our reading: origin follows those rules, not the place of shipment, so an Indian-origin product is not of EU origin and Y237 is not available to it. If a buyer tells you a lot of your steel can go under an exclusion, ask which code and which origin evidence the declaration will carry.
What Senseible does here
Senseible does not file customs or CBAM declarations and does not decide origin or who the declarant is. It reads an Indian plant's fuel invoices and electricity bills into dated, fingerprinted installation records, the plant-side data an EU buyer asks for.
- Goods from Norway, Iceland and Switzerland
- Customs codes Y128 to Y137
- Country of origin against country of production
- Senseible for CBAM
Last reviewed 2026-11-05. Document codes are set in TARIC and can change. Re-read Q&A 7.15, 7.16 and 7.17 before relying on a code. The last section is partly our own reading.