Updated October 12, 2026: this post has been corrected. The UK CBAM framework has five statutory instruments, not four: SI 2026/994, an interest appointed day order made on September 8, 2026 under the Finance Act 2009, was missing. SI 2026/809 still needed House of Commons approval on October 12, 2026 (approval period ends October 20, 2026). HMRC guidance says registration opens by January 1, 2028, not in the final quarter of 2026. Regulation 17 adds a return item on UK-origin inputs under section 147(3) and a record under section 147(2).
The last major piece of UK CBAM secondary legislation is now law. The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Emissions and Verification) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/995) were made on September 8, 2026, laid before the House of Commons on September 9, and come into force on January 1, 2027, the same day the UK CBAM itself takes effect.
The instrument runs to 17 regulations across five parts and sets how embodied emissions in imported aluminium, cement, fertilizers, hydrogen, and iron and steel are calculated, monitored, verified, and recorded.
This closes the gap our earlier coverage flagged: as recently as the first week of September, the Emissions and Verification Regulations were still a consultation draft, the only major instrument not yet made.
That status is now superseded. Importers know how their rate will be set, and as of September 9 they also know the legal rules for measuring the tonnes.
What SI 2026/995 contains
SI 2026/995 sets the emissions determination and verification framework for the UK CBAM: how embodied emissions are calculated under default values or actual data, who may verify actual emissions data, what a verification report must contain, and how long records must be kept.
The Treasury made regulations 1 to 5 and 7 under sections 148(2) and 157(1) and (2) of the Finance Act 2026; HMRC Commissioners made regulations 1, 2 and 6 to 17 under sections 154(4) and 157(1) and (2) of, and paragraphs 7(3), 10, 13 and 14 of Schedule 17 to, the same Act, with regulations 1, 2 and 7 made by both. The five parts divide as follows.
- Part 1: preliminary matters, including citation, commencement, and definitions
- Part 2: calculating embodied emissions, covering both default values and actual emissions
- Part 3: monitoring and verification of emissions data, including verifier and accreditation requirements
- Part 4: record keeping
- Part 5: amendments to the Administrative Provisions Regulations (SI 2026/802)
Regulation 2 anchors the technical scope in the "Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: System Boundaries Document", version 1.00 dated 10th July 2026, the HMRC document that defines which production processes and emissions count. What HMRC published as a supporting reference document in July 2026 now carries a statutory reference.
Default values or verified actual emissions: the choice every importer faces
Part 2 gives every registered importer two routes to an emissions figure: multiply the weight of the good by a Treasury default value, or calculate verified actual emissions under an eight-step methodology.
Regulation 4 sets the default route: embodied emissions equal the weight of the good multiplied by the default value, with the default values themselves to be specified in Treasury notices under paragraph 11(1) of Schedule 17 to the Finance Act 2026.
Those notices have not been published yet, which makes them the single most important number still missing from the UK regime.
Regulation 5 sets the actual emissions route. The methodology takes verified emissions data from the monitoring period, converts non-CO2 greenhouse gases into CO2 equivalents, adds emissions embodied in precursor goods, and divides by the production weight to derive an emissions intensity per tonne.
That intensity, multiplied by import weight and by the quarterly UK CBAM rate, determines the bill for importers who go beyond defaults. Producers with cleaner-than-average processes gain from the actual route only if their data survives verification.
Who can verify emissions data under the UK regime
Only an independent, accredited verifier can sign off actual emissions data, and regulation 15(1) requires the accrediting body to be a full member of the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated.
Regulation 12(1) sets three conditions: the verifier must be independent of the importer, the production installation and its operator, and any precursor good installation and operator; accredited by a qualifying accreditation body; and compliant with any additional standards the Commissioners specify in published notices.
Regulation 14(2) prescribes the verification report contents, including installation and operator details, the verifier's accreditation number, the monitoring period, and "a verification opinion statement" on whether the operator's emissions data are sufficiently accurate to count as verified.
Two housekeeping parts complete the instrument. Regulation 16(3) requires the verification report or good-specific verification summary to be "kept for a period of 6 years, beginning with the day after the accounting period to which the records relate".
Regulation 17 amends the Administrative Provisions Regulations (SI 2026/802) by adding three items to the content of CBAM returns: the level of any default value used; where actual emissions data are used, the emissions intensity, which must be verified by a verifier; and whether the good was produced using another CBAM good that meets the conditions in section 147(3)(a) and (b) of the Finance Act 2026.
It also adds one record to regulation 5: evidence, where applicable, that section 147(2) applies to the good.
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The UK CBAM legislative stack, September 2026
With SI 2026/995 made, the UK CBAM legislative framework comprises five statutory instruments, four sets of regulations under the Finance Act 2026 and an interest order under the Finance Act 2009, and is substantially complete. The table below shows the full stack and how our July assessment has changed.
| Instrument | Covers | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Finance Act 2026 (primary legislation) | Establishes the CBAM charge and framework | Enacted; Royal Assent March 18, 2026 |
| CBAM (Administrative Provisions) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/802) | Registration, returns, record keeping, weight assessment | Made July 13, laid July 14, 2026 |
| CBAM (Calculation of CBAM Rate and Determination of Carbon Price Relief) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/809) | Rate calculation, carbon price relief, currency conversion | Made July 13, laid July 14, 2026; made affirmative, Commons approval pending as of October 12, 2026 |
| CBAM (Transitory Provision) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/830) | Modified first-year dates and related penalties | Made July 14, 2026 |
| Finance Act 2009, Sections 101 and 102 (CBAM) (Interest) (Appointed Day) Order 2026 (SI 2026/994) | Late payment interest and repayment interest on CBAM and CBAM penalties | Made September 8, 2026; appointed day January 1, 2027 |
| CBAM (Emissions and Verification) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/995) | Emissions calculation, monitoring, verification, records | Made September 8, laid September 9, 2026 |
When the July package landed, we reported that SI 2026/809 set the rate calculation and carbon price relief rules while the Emissions and Verification Regulations remained the one major outstanding piece.
That piece landed roughly eight weeks later, comfortably inside the "later in 2026" window the government had indicated. All four sets of regulations come into force on January 1, 2027, the day SI 2026/994 appoints for interest.
One of them is not yet secure. SI 2026/809 is subject to the made affirmative procedure, so under section 157(10) of the Finance Act 2026 it ceases to have effect unless the House of Commons approves it by resolution.
Parliament's statutory instruments record showed no approval on October 12, 2026 and an approval period ending on October 20, 2026. The enabling power, procedure and status of every instrument in the stack are set out in the guide to UK CBAM legislation.
What remains outstanding before January 1, 2027
Substantially complete is not complete: five items still stand between the made regulations and a functioning regime. The remaining milestones are listed below.
- Treasury default value notices under Schedule 17, paragraph 11(1), the actual numbers behind regulation 4
- House of Commons approval of SI 2026/809, with the approval period ending on October 20, 2026
- An illustrative example rate, which the government has said will be set out in autumn 2026
- The first published quarterly sector rates, due at the beginning of the first quarter of 2027 and built on fourth-quarter 2026 UK ETS auction prices
- The opening of UK CBAM registration through a Government Gateway account, which HMRC guidance places by January 1, 2028, after the launch, with a January 31, 2028 deadline for importers who reach the £50,000 threshold during 2027
For importers, the practical consequence of SI 2026/995 is a supplier data decision that can no longer wait.
The first accounting period covers calendar year 2027 with the return due May 31, 2028, and an importer who wants to use actual emissions for 2027 needs monitoring and verification arrangements in place at its suppliers' installations from day one; verification cannot be reconstructed after the fact.
Importers who will rely on defaults instead should watch for the Treasury notices, since those values determine whether the default route is a convenience or a surcharge.
The preparation sequence from threshold monitoring to first return is set out in the UK CBAM compliance guide, and the structural contrast with the EU's certificate-based system in the UK CBAM vs EU CBAM comparison.