# Do goods that return to the UK carry the UK Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM)?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-returned-goods-relief-three-years

Not if returned goods relief is available. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says goods reimported unaltered within 3 years of export carry no CBAM liability, need not go on the return, and do not count towards the £50,000 threshold. The importer does not have to be the person who exported them.

## What HMRC says

- Where returned goods relief is available for a CBAM good imported into the UK, "there will be no CBAM liability".
- The same applies to Union goods exported from Northern Ireland into the European Union and reimported into the UK, if reimported within 3 years of export and returned in the same state.
- Where all conditions are met, the returning good "will not need to be declared on a CBAM return or be factored into the calculation for the £50,000 minimum registration threshold".
- "The person importing the CBAM good does not need to be the same person that exported the good to claim this relief for CBAM."

## Evidence the importer keeps

- Proof of the earlier UK export.
- Proof of reimport into the UK within 3 years.
- Evidence the goods are in the same state.
- Import declarations for the reimport.
- Serial or batch numbers or packing lists.

## A limit to keep in mind

HMRC's wording is about reimport of unaltered goods. Goods processed abroad and returned fall under different rules, covered in the linked page. Our reading: a reshipment from India of goods that were first made in India is not a UK export coming back, so this relief would not apply to it.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into dated records, which feed a plant's emissions figure. It does not claim customs reliefs or hold export proofs.

- [Goods processed abroad](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-outward-processing-threshold-value)
- [How the threshold is valued](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-threshold-customs-value)
- [The UK CBAM tax point](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-tax-point)
- [Trade fair samples](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-trade-fair-samples)

Sources: [HM Revenue and Customs, Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM): Policy summary (updated 2 November 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam-policy-summary/carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam-policy-summary), [HM Revenue and Customs, Keeping records for Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) (updated 3 November 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-records-for-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam)

Last reviewed 2026-11-05. HM Revenue and Customs says the details in its policy summary may be subject to change. Re-check the policy summary and the keeping-records page before relying on a date or condition.