18 September, 2025
MACF: European Parliament adopts simplifications proposed by the Commission in February
CUSTOMS
Last Wednesday, the European Parliament adopted measures to simplify and strengthen Regulation 2023/956 on the Carbon Adjustment Mechanism at the Border (MACF/CBAM). Pending its publication in the Official Journal, we propose a summary of the important points of the legislative resolution.
The MACF, which enters its final phase on January 1, 2026, must be simplified to ensure its respect and success. Publication in the Official Journal of the EU is expected very soon and will include the confirmations expected by importers since February 2025, namely:
- The single mass threshold : the threshold must be based on the accumulated net mass of goods imported in a given calendar year per importer and will be initially set at 50 tonnes; any importer who does not exceed 50 tonnes per year will be exempted from MACF
- Importers requesting MACF registrant status authorized before 31 March 2026 may continue to import, even if they exceed the threshold of 50 tonnes, pending the decision on their authorisation. This measure avoids import blockages in early 2026 for companies that have not yet applied to the authorities.
- Calculation of intrinsic emissions from finishing processes for certain steel or aluminium products will no longer be taken into account since the emissions to be retained must correspond to those of the production of input materials as in the Emissions Quota Trading System (ETS): for example, the painting of a work will not be counted in emissions.
- MACF registrants are required to submit an annual report that can be based on either default values provided by the Commission, either on real values; Only the latter must then be verified by an accredited auditor. Default values will be calculated based on the average emission intensity of the ten exporting countries with the highest emission intensities for which reliable data are available. The values will be published in the Official Journal of the EU.
- Sale of MACF certificates will only start in 2027 and will have to match the emissions reported for 2026, with a sales price based on quota prices in the ETS of 2026.
- The number of MACF certificates to be held for each quarter will have to cover 50% of the emissions at least (compared to 80% in the initial version)
You will find all the details of the text adopted in the legislative resolution.
Source:
Editor: L.SPRIET