DG TAXUD methodology webinar: what non-EU producers should do

DG TAXUD's follow-up to its CBAM methodology webinar gives non-EU producers a practical structure for actual emissions data. The webinar took place on 7 May 2026, and DG TAXUD published the follow-up article on 11 June 2026. Its purpose is training: it helps operators understand the definitive-period methodology and show documented decarbonisation in CBAM data.

Producers who plan to supply actual emissions data rarely struggle with a single formula. The data must describe the right production process, cover the right boundaries and include the right precursors. It must also be documented well enough for verification.

Start with the production model

Define the production model before you fill in any template. The training covers the functional unit, multifunctional production processes and the embedded emissionsEmbedded emissionsThe greenhouse-gas emissions released producing a good — direct emissions plus, where applicable, indirect (electricity) emissions — expressed per tonne of good; electricity uses kWh legally and may be converted to MWh operationally. This i of precursors. These concepts decide three things: which output you measure, how you treat a process with more than one product, and which upstream inputs enter the calculation.

A reporting template is a poor starting point when the production model is unclear. An operator needs a consistent description of the installation, the production routes and the relevant inputs. The operator also needs the relationship between production data and emissions data.

Importers should check a matching point: whether the supplier's data relates to the imported goods and to the relevant production process. A polished summary cannot make up for an unclear calculation boundary.

Make system boundaries explicit

State the system boundary clearly. The webinar materials cover system boundariesSystem BoundariesThe incorporated UK document defining which production processes and emissions belong in the UK CBAM calculation boundary. for iron, steel and aluminium. Boundary decisions determine which processes and emissions are included. They also determine how precursorPrecursorUpstream CBAM good consumed as input to a complex-good process; listed per route; quantities always monitored per Annex II pt E. information connects to the final good.

Operators should be able to show the process map behind the calculation. The map shows where production starts and ends for the relevant product. It shows which monitoring points feed the result, and how data moves from source records into the operator's emissions report.

The training does not replace Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2547, which sets the legal methodology. Its value is that it turns that methodology into questions. A production team, an environmental team and a data team can work through these questions together.

Treat the Monitoring Plan as an operating document

Use the Monitoring Plan in daily operations. The follow-up highlights three items: the minimum Monitoring PlanMonitoring planOperator's written description of source-stream monitoring, tiers, methods and data-gap procedures; baseline document of the verification. elements, the minimum operator-emissions-report elements used for verification, and a producer checklist. The checklist covers the monitoring plan, the production and monitoring processes, and verification.

This sequence suggests a practical control cycle. Define the method, operate the monitoring process, preserve the evidence and prepare the operator report. Then test whether a verifierVerifierAccredited independent third party confirming the SEE is free of material misstatement; any EU or third-country legal person; only values in a verification report count for actuals. Importers receiving "verification reports" from third part can follow the chain. If the plan and the actual practice at the plant diverge, the report is harder to support.

The Commission article also points operators to EU Login and the CBAM RegistryCBAM RegistryEU IT system holding declarant accounts, declarations, verified emissions reports, certificate transactions and (from 2027) the published default carbon prices.. Operators use them to share information and verified emissions with EU importers. Arrange access and responsibility early, and do not wait until the data package is ready.

Use the training as a readiness check

The Commission's resource map includes three items: a one-page takeaway document, a recording on the Customs & Tax EU Learning Portal and presentation slides. These are training aids, and they are not separate legal authorities.

Teams can use the webinar topics as a gap assessment. Work through them in two passes:

First, confirm the functional unit, the process treatment, the precursor chain and the system boundary. Then confirm the Monitoring Plan, the operator report, the verification route and the Registry access. Record any unresolved point against the controlling legal text, and do not fill it with an assumption.

What it means for producers and importers

For a non-EU producer, the webinar gives a structure for checking actual emissions data before it goes to verification. For an importer, it gives the questions to put to a supplier whose data you will retrieve from the Registry. In both cases the training structures the work, and the legal text decides the answer.

What to do

• Bring the producer's operations, environmental, finance and data owners into one review.
• Walk one product route from source evidence to the report that an importer will retrieve.
• Use the webinar to structure the conversation.
• Verify every legal conclusion against the current implementing and verification rules.

Stuck on this in your own import data? Write to us and we will look at it with you.

This article explains a training resource. It is not legal, tax or customs advice.