What happens to Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) goods that enter free circulation through a customs non-compliance, such as a breach of temporary admission?
The release for free circulation requires that CBAM requirements have been met, so the checks should come before release. If they were not met, Article 198(1)(b) of the Union Customs Code applies, which allows confiscation, sale or destruction, and Article 198(2) treats abandoned, seized or confiscated goods as under customs warehousing.
The question asked
The Commission's Questions and Answers (Q&A) 7.6 deal with CBAM goods that entered free circulation within the European Union (EU) because of non-compliance with a customs procedure other than import, for example temporary admission, where all duties and taxes were already paid through that non-compliance procedure.
The answer
- The release of the goods for free circulation requires that the CBAM requirements have been fulfilled. The controls on whether they have been fulfilled should precede the release.
- In case of non-compliance, Article 198(1)(b) of the Union Customs Code applies: the customs authorities shall take any necessary measures, including confiscation and sale, or destruction, to dispose of goods that cannot be released because they are subject to prohibitions or restrictions. The goods are subject to CBAM requirements that have not been fulfilled.
- Article 198(2) applies as well: non-Union goods abandoned to the State, seized or confiscated are deemed to be placed under the customs warehousing procedure.
Does paying the duties fix it?
Our reading, not stated in the Q&A: paying duties under the other procedure does not show that CBAM requirements were met. Q&A 7.6 says release requires those requirements to be fulfilled, and that Article 198 applies if they were not. If goods were meant for testing, our page on samples shows the route that keeps them outside CBAM, which is temporary admission without release.
Our advice: what to do before the goods move
- Decide the customs procedure first, and write down who the declarant is if goods could be released.
- Keep temporary admission goods under that procedure until they are re-exported.
- If a breach happens, speak to the customs authority before the goods are moved on.
What Senseible does here
Senseible does not file customs or CBAM declarations and does not decide origin or who the declarant is.
- Samples for testing under temporary admission
- Does CBAM apply to inward processing?
- Penalty for not surrendering certificates
- Senseible for CBAM
Sources: European Commission, CBAM Questions and Answers, last updated 15 October 2026, questions 7.5 and 7.6
Last reviewed 2026-11-05. This is a customs enforcement answer. The reading that paid duties do not fix the position, and the advice list, are ours. Ask the customs authority of the Member State where the goods sit.