Which exchange rate converts a carbon price paid in India for UK CBAM relief?
HMRC's published exchange rate for the calendar quarter before the import. Goods imported in June 2030 use HMRC's rate for January to March 2030. Where goods bore more than one qualifying carbon price, relief is calculated for each separately and converted to pounds before it goes on the return.
The order of work
- Work out the effective carbon price in the scheme's own currency, from the carbon pricing verification form your plant supplies.
- Multiply it by the embodied emissions of the good, using the same emissions figure as on the return, actual or default.
- Convert the result to pounds at HMRC's rate for the quarter before import.
- Enter it on the return. Relief can never exceed the CBAM liability.
Prices that move within a quarter
If the scheme's headline price changes, the importer uses the mean average for the quarter before the quarter of import, and keeps evidence of how the average was worked out.
Records the importer keeps
- How relief was calculated in the overseas currency.
- How it was converted to pounds under HMRC's rules.
- The carbon pricing verification form.
Which quarter's rate applies
- Goods imported in May 2028: HMRC's rate for January to March 2028.
- Goods imported in July 2028: HMRC's rate for April to June 2028.
- Relief of 500,000 in the scheme's currency, at an example rate of 110 to the pound: 500,000 / 110 = £4,545.45 on the return.
Example relief amount and exchange rate, not published figures.
What Senseible does here
Senseible's part is on your plant's side: a per-product figure built from your fuel and input invoices. Senseible does not calculate carbon price relief. We build the figure from your records and check every figure in-house; for the UK it must then be verified by a verifier accredited for UK CBAM. Have your own verifier? Send it to them.
Sources: HMRC, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Policy summary (updated 2 November 2026)
Last reviewed 2026-11-03.