# Which customs documents can a UK importer use as its United Kingdom (UK) Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) goods records?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-which-customs-documents-count-as-records

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) says import declarations can serve as records if they hold the details. Its records page says a record could include other documents too: import entry acceptance advice, bills of lading, commercial documents and duty relief papers. Weight can come from the manufacturer and value from the supplier.

## What the record has to show

For each CBAM good, HMRC says the record includes the 8-digit commodity code and description, the date it passed the tax point, the value, the weight, and evidence for any exemption from CBAM.

## Customs documents HMRC says a record could be

- Import declarations.
- Import entry acceptance advice.
- Bill of lading documents.
- Discharge of a customs procedure (other than Temporary Admission).
- Commercial documents, including record of movement of goods in the UK.
- UK Customs Duty documents, including eligibility for relief.
- Repayment or remission of duty documents.
- Evidence of UK origin materials, already carbon taxed in reimported goods.

## Where your own paperwork fits

HMRC says records "can be import declarations (if you hold this information)" and could be "other documents relating to the imported CBAM goods". It adds that these "might be from manufacturers, to show the weight of goods, or from suppliers, to display the value".

A bill of lading is the shipping line's receipt for the cargo. Our plain reading of the other names: an entry acceptance advice is the notice that the import entry was accepted, and a commercial document is your invoice or packing list. HMRC's page says examples of weight records include commercial invoices, carrier weight records, bills of lading and packing lists.

## How long, and what happens without them

- Records are kept for 6 years. The fixed penalty and the 6 year clock are covered on our penalty page.

## A simple habit for a supplier (our reading)

- Send each shipment's invoice, packing list and bill of lading as one set.
- Show net weight and the commodity code on the invoice. Net weight excludes packaging.
- Ask the buyer which of its own documents it will file beside yours.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads fuel invoices and electricity bills into dated, fingerprinted records. It does not file UK CBAM returns, work out your buyer's registration date or check commodity codes. Those stay with the importer and HMRC.

- [What records a UK buyer asks you for](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-importer-records-from-supplier)
- [Net weight on the return](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-net-weight-on-return)
- [Penalty and the 6 year clock for records](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-records-penalty-and-six-year-clock)
- [What each shipment line needs](https://senseible.earth/answers/uk-cbam-each-consignment-details)
- [UK CBAM for Indian exporters](https://senseible.earth/uk-cbam)

Sources: [HMRC, Keeping records for CBAM (updated 3 November 2026)](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/keeping-records-for-carbon-border-adjustment-mechanism-cbam), [HMRC, 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)

Last reviewed 2026-11-07. The document list matches HMRC's records page (updated 3 November 2026) and policy summary (updated 2 November 2026). The plain readings of document names are ours.