# Is Your Import Exempt From CBAM? The 50-Tonne Rule Explained

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-50-tonne-exemption

Published 2026-10-13.

When CBAM was first designed, it exempted only consignments worth less than €150, which caught almost every small importer of a few pallets of bolts or aluminium profiles. The EU's 2025 simplification replaced that with a much larger exemption based on weight. It is the first thing any small importer, or any exporter selling to one, should check.

## The rule

An importer is exempt from CBAM obligations if the goods it imports do not exceed **50 tonnes of net mass in a calendar year**, counted together across:

- iron and steel,
- aluminium,
- cement,
- fertilisers.

An exempt importer does not need CBAM authorisation, does not file a declaration and does not buy certificates. The change was made by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083, which amended the CBAM Regulation, and it applies from the definitive period starting 1 January 2026.

Law firms summarising the change estimate that it takes about 90 percent of importers out of scope while keeping about 99 percent of embedded emissions covered.

## The limits that catch people out

- **It is per importer, not per supplier or per shipment.** Fifty tonnes is the importer's total across all its CBAM goods from every origin.
- **It is all or nothing.** If an importer goes over 50 tonnes, the whole year's imports become subject to CBAM, not just the tonnes above the line.
- **Electricity and hydrogen are excluded.** Any import of those is covered.
- **You still have to say so.** Exempt importers identify themselves as occasional CBAM importers in their customs declarations and must watch that they stay under the threshold during the year.
- **Customs representatives.** An indirect customs representative acting as CBAM declarant may need authorisation even when volumes stay below 50 tonnes.
- **The number can change.** The Commission reviews the threshold each year and can adjust it.

## What it means for exporters

If your EU customer imports more than 50 tonnes of CBAM goods a year from all its suppliers, it is in scope, and it will want your emissions data however small your share. If it imports less, it is exempt and may not need your data at all, but it may grow past the line during the year, so it is wise to be ready.

A quick way to check: ask your customer how many tonnes of steel, aluminium, cement and fertiliser it imports into the EU each year in total, not just from you.

## If your customer is in scope

The cost per tonne depends on the embedded emissions and the certificate price. Work it out with the [CBAM calculator](https://senseible.earth/cbam-calculator), and see [the CBAM certificate price](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-certificate-price) and [how to get CBAM emissions verified](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-verification-non-eu-producer) for the next steps.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Check the current threshold and customs rules for your case.

## Related guides

- [lowering CBAM costs for importers in Germany](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/lower-cbam-costs-importer-germany)
- [CBAM on fertiliser imports in Germany and Poland](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/cbam-fertiliser-imports-germany-poland)
- [becoming a CBAM authorised declarant](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/become-cbam-authorised-declarant)
- [rerouting supply chains to cut CBAM cost](https://senseible.earth/climate-intelligence/reroute-supply-chains-reduce-cbam-exposure)