The list from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for the United Kingdom (UK) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) does not show my exact commodity code. Am I still in scope?

Probably yes, if the start of your code is listed. HMRC says goods in scope include the listed heading and the sub-headings under it. Its cement example: 2523 2900 00 is not listed but is in scope, as it falls under 2523 29.

The rule, in HMRC's words

Each sector page says that goods in scope of the tax in the list include "the heading" and "sub-headings that are under the heading".

A commodity code reads like an address. The first digits name the area, the next the street, the last the house. If your street is listed, every house on it is in.

HMRC's own examples

• Cement: 2523 2900 00 is not listed but is in scope, as it falls under 2523 29.
• Aluminium: 7601 1090 00 is not listed but is in scope, as it falls under 7601.
• Hydrogen: 2804 1000 00 is not listed but is in scope, as it falls under 2804 10.
• Iron and steel: 7201 1011 10 is not listed but is in scope, as it falls under 72.

Where the rule stops: the Except lines

HMRC says that where products in CBAM sectors are not in scope, "they're listed starting with the word 'Except'". For example, the iron and steel page lists "Except 7204", and several 7202 ferro-alloys as "Except ... within 72". The fertiliser page lists "Except 3105 60 within 3105". So a code can sit under a listed heading and still be out.

Two cautions

• HMRC's fertiliser example says 3101 0000 00 falls under 3102, which does not match its own list. See our fertiliser page before relying on it.
• HMRC's scope pages explain codes up to 10 digits, while its records and returns use 8 digits. See our page on the two lengths.

What to do

• Take your code and test it from the left: chapter, heading, sub-heading. Stop at the first listed match, then check the Except lines.
• Ask your buyer for the code it will declare. If it differs from yours, settle which is right before the first order.
• HMRC says it will update the codes if the UK Tariff changes, so re-test each year.

What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into dated, fingerprinted records. It does not set commodity codes or tell you whether a product is in the UK CBAM. Your buyer's customs broker, or HMRC, settles that.

• Fertiliser headings not named
• 8-digit or 10-digit code
• Scrap steel is excluded
• UK CBAM for Indian exporters

Sources: HMRC, Goods within the iron and steel sector (updated 16 July 2026), HMRC, Goods within the aluminium sector (updated 16 July 2026), HMRC, Check which goods are in scope of CBAM (sector pages, updated 16 July 2026), HMRC, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Policy summary (updated 2 November 2026), HMRC, Goods within the hydrogen sector (updated 16 July 2026)

Last reviewed 2026-11-07. Rule and examples from HMRC's sector scope pages (updated 16 July 2026) and the policy summary (updated 2 November 2026). Re-read the sector pages when HMRC updates the lists. The hydrogen example is from HMRC's hydrogen sector page.