WorkflowESG & Sustainability Reporting

CBAM Reporting

CBAM reporting software where agents collect verified supplier data and the declarant approves every number

Real supplier data, not punitive defaults: a lower certificate bill, every number cited.

See one case, screen by screen ↓
demo€223,910saved on one line of hot-rolled steel by approving the mill's verified 1.71 instead of the 2.39 default — 2,856 certificates
demo€475,418still in reach on five lines whose supplier data is in checks or waiting for the declarant
target214of 214customs entries traced to a declaration line and its source
target6monthsearly: the declaration drafted by 31 March for a 30 September deadline
In short

What is CBAM Reporting?

Software that helps an EU importer of steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser or hydrogen meet the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: collect the embedded emissions from each non-EU supplier, reconcile customs entries, project the certificates and their cost, and prepare the annual CBAM declaration. CBAM Reporting adds seven agents that do that work and cite every number, while the CBAM declarant approves each value and signs with Trade Compliance.

How to choose AI solutions for back-office and enterprise work →

Updated

The problem

Why the CBAM bill ends up on default values

Since 1 January 2026 an EU company importing more than 50 tonnes a year of iron and steel, aluminium, cement or fertiliser must be an authorised CBAM declarant and pay for the carbon embedded in those goods with certificates at the EU carbon price. The first annual declaration and surrender are due by 30 September 2027. The bill depends on supplier data: verified actual emissions from the non-EU installation, or EU default values that are set high on purpose and rise with a mark-up.

Today the work runs on email and spreadsheets. Customs entries are pulled from the brokers and mapped to CN codes by hand, the EU communication template goes out in English, replies come back late, in another format or not at all, and the verifier's statement sits as a PDF in someone's inbox. Numbers that do come back are rarely tested against how the plant makes the product. Whatever is missing on the day is declared at the default, and paid for.

typical80%of companies that filed a transitional CBAM report used default values
typical50t a yearper importer, aggregated across CN codes: import more and you need authorisation and certificates
demo21,523certificatesthe sample importer would owe if every line stayed on EU defaults — about €1.69M
Where an importer's CBAM days go in a yearestimated
By hand49 days
With the solution9.5 days
  • Pulling broker entries and matching them to receipts and CN codes12 → 1 d
  • Sending the EU template and chasing suppliers for data15 → 3 d
  • Checking supplier values and verifier statements10 → 3 d
  • Pricing certificates by quarter and the accrual for finance4 → 0.5 d
  • Assembling the declaration and its evidence8 → 2 d

Estimated split of working days a year for an importer with about a dozen supplier installations and two customs brokers, by hand and with the solution.

How it works

How a tonne of imported steel gets its number

Seven agents reconcile customs, ask suppliers in their language, check every number twice and price the bill; the CBAM declarant decides and signs.

What comes in
Data inCustoms, ERP, supplier templates · verifier statements, published prices
Agents at work
Import reconcilerentry = receipt = line
Then
Supplier requesterEU template, their language
Then
Plausibility checkerfits the route?
Verification trackerverified, right period?
Then
Certificate calculatordefault vs actual, by quarter
Declaration assemblercomplete and cited
A person decides
CBAM declarantapproves each value, signs with Trade Compliance
What comes out
Lower certificate bill
Signed declaration
Evidence pack
One case, step by step

One line of steel, from default to verified actual

Kestrel & Vane Europe B.V. in Rotterdam is the group's authorised CBAM declarant. In 2026 it has imported 19,910 tonnes of CBAM goods in 214 customs entries, from 11 supplier installations in 6 countries. Here is how its declarant works with the agents, screen by screen, in the working solution.

  1. 01Morning

    The agents worked overnight; four things need him

    Henrik Olsen · CBAM Declarant

    Henrik's home shows 19,910 t in scope, 18,574 certificates projected (≈ €1.46M at €78.40) and €475K of saving waiting on checks or on him. The declaration is due 30 Sep 2027, 351 days away. Overnight the import reconciler read 6 new customs entries, and the declaration assembler greets him in the conversation panel with what is ready.

    “Karadeniz Çelik's verification came in on 9 Oct, so the CN 7208 line is ready for you — €224K.”

  2. 02Default vs actual

    Every line priced twice, ranked by money at stake

    Henrik Olsen · CBAM Declarant

    Each import line shows two bars: the certificate cost at the EU default and with the supplier's actual embedded emissions. All on defaults the year would cost €1,687,403; with approved actuals it is €1,456,202, €231,202 saved so far and €475,418 still in reach. At the top: hot-rolled flat steel from Karadeniz Çelik, €347,155 at the default of 2.39, €123,245 at the actual 1.71.

  3. 03The line

    The mill was asked in Turkish, and the reply was tested

    Supplier requester · Plausibility checker

    The line opens as a conversation. On 4 Aug the supplier requester sent the EU template in Turkish, pre-filled from 44 customs entries, 5,350 t of CN 7208 and 7209. Emre Aydın replied on 2 Sep: 1.71 tCO2e/t, direct 0.59 and precursors 1.12, for 1 Jul 2025 to 30 Jun 2026. The plausibility checker found it inside the range for an EAF mill charging 38% pig iron and DRI, and within 4% of the mill's 2025 reports.

    Every statement in the thread carries a numbered citation to the record it came from.

  4. 04He asks

    “Why 1.71 and not the default?”

    Henrik Olsen · CBAM Declarant

    Henrik types the question under the thread. The plausibility checker answers in place: 1.71 is the mill's own verified figure; the EU default for CN 7208 from Türkiye is 2.39 and includes the 2026 mark-up; 1.71 fits the expected range of 0.9 to 2.1 for the route and matches the 2025 reports of 1.76 and 1.73. Each point is cited.

    The declaration assembler: “This saving is above the 1,000-certificate rule, so it needs your approval.”

  5. 05One click

    The verifier's own words, highlighted

    Verification tracker

    A citation opens Northgate Verification's statement NV-26-0918 for installation TR-ISK-0042: the site visit on 24 September 2026, the reasonable-assurance opinion and CN 7208 at 1.71 tCO2e/t, with the passage the agents read highlighted. The tracker has checked that the statement names the installation, covers the full 12-month period and that the verifier's accreditation is current.

    “The highlighted passage is what the agents read. Opened from the record — the source file is kept with the declaration evidence.”

  6. 06Approved

    He approves with a reason code and signs

    Henrik Olsen · CBAM Declarant

    Henrik approves the actual value with the reason code “Verified actual — accredited verifier statement”. The line saves 2,856 certificates, €223,910, and the projected certificates for 2026 fall from 18,574 to 15,718 — about €1.46M to €1.23M. The certificate calculator confirms the new projection in the thread, and the line goes on the declaration with his reason and the verifier's statement.

    “Your approval needs a reason code. It is signed with your name and goes on the declaration's evidence.”

  7. 07A number too good

    Aluminium at 1.12 is queried, not used

    Plausibility checker

    Anhui Tiancheng Aluminium reports 1.12 tCO2e/t for bars and profiles, claiming 62% post-consumer scrap. For extrusion from mainly primary billet the expected range is 1.6 to 2.4, and a high scrap share needs purchase records or a mass balance. None were sent, so the checker queried the plant in Chinese; the €172,637 saving waits until both checks pass.

    “I will not use it until the plausibility and verification checks both pass.”

  8. 08A statement short

    Six months of verification is not twelve

    Verification tracker

    Kaveri Steel Tubes sent 2.71 for seamless tubes, and Meridian Assurance Services issued a reasonable-assurance statement — but it covers 1 January to 30 June 2026 only. The tracker will not pass a partial period, so the line stays on the default and it has asked Meridian for the full-period statement, due 31 Oct.

    “The statement covers six months. A full 12-month reporting period is needed before I can pass it.”

  9. 09Customs

    A wrong CN code, caught with three records

    Amara Diallo · Trade Compliance Manager

    Of 214 entries from Harbourline and Danube Gate, 209 match entry, receipt and line; 5 are exceptions. One Harbourline entry declared 86.4 t as CN 7211, but the goods receipt shows 1,250 mm hot-rolled coil, which belongs in 7208. The import reconciler shows the entry, the receipt and what it should be, and drafts the amendment from Amara's mailbox for her to approve.

    “Nothing changes without a person.”

  10. 10Signed by two

    The quarter's draft, signed and countersigned

    Henrik Olsen and Amara Diallo

    The declaration assembler builds the 2026 declaration in seven steps and says which are still open. Henrik signs the Q3 draft with the reason “Quarterly review — draft correct as at today”, confirming his identity; Amara countersigns as Trade Compliance. Submission to the CBAM registry opens only when every step is complete, and the evidence pack is built from the record.

    “The declaration is signed by the declarant and countersigned by Trade Compliance.”

Who it’s for

Built for everyone who answers for the declaration.

The same 2026 imports, seen by four of the people who carry them — what the year looked like, and what it looks like now.

HO
Henrik OlsenCBAM Declarant · Kestrel & Vane Europe B.V., Rotterdam
CBAM Declarant
Before
Owns the authorisation, the declaration and the certificate account, and has to answer for every tonne from spreadsheets and email.
Now
Opens a line with the agents' work already done, asks why, opens the source, and approves each value with a reason before he signs.
AD
Amara DialloTrade Compliance Manager · second signature on the declaration
Trade Compliance Manager
Before
Finds a wrong CN code or a missing CBAM reference when the declaration is due, long after the entry cleared.
Now
Gets each customs exception as it arrives, with the entry, the receipt and a drafted amendment for the broker, and countersigns the declaration.
TF
Tomás FerreiraProcurement Lead, metals · owns the supplier relationships
Procurement Lead, metals
Before
Hears from compliance that a mill has not answered, with no sense of what the silence costs.
Now
Sees each installation's request, language, next step and money at stake; steps in when the requester escalates after three reminders.
SB
Sofia BrandtSustainability Analyst · owns the emissions method
Sustainability Analyst
Before
Gets supplier numbers too late to test them against how the plant actually makes the product.
Now
Sees every reported intensity against its route range and history, and returns an impossible value to the supplier with a reason.
Built on the engine

7 agents. Each with one job, and hard limits.

Seven agents reconcile customs, ask suppliers in their language, check every number twice and price the bill; the CBAM declarant decides and signs.

Import reconciler

Matches every broker entry to the goods receipt and a declaration line as it arrives, and checks the CN code, CBAM authorisation reference, net mass, origin and importer. Opens an exception with the records and a drafted correction for the broker.

  • Never amends an entry — drafts only
  • Counts the 50 t threshold per legal entity
  • Cites the records for every exception
Supplier requester

Pre-fills the EU communication template from the year's customs entries, writes to each installation in its own language with an English copy, reminds at 7, 14 and 21 days, escalates to procurement and reads the returned template.

  • Nothing sent outside the reminder rule without a person
  • Never accepts or changes a value
Plausibility checker

Checks each reported intensity against the production route, the precursor chain, the supplier's own history and benchmark ranges, and explains every flag.

  • Never approves
  • A value below the route minimum needs evidence
  • Explains every flag with a source
Verification tracker

Follows each installation's verifier, site visit and statement, and checks the statement names the right installation, covers a full 12-month period and comes from an accredited verifier.

  • Cannot verify — it checks the statement only
  • A partial-period statement never passes
Certificate calculator

Projects certificates and cost by quarter of import at each quarter's published price, applies the free-allocation adjustment, runs price scenarios and plans purchases and quarter-end holdings.

  • Uses an actual only when both checks pass and a person approved
  • Shows the working
Declaration assembler

Builds the annual declaration step by step, says what is still open, and prepares the registry file and the evidence pack.

  • Never submits
  • Two signatures required
Supplier scorer

Scores each installation from 0 to 100 on timeliness, data quality, verification and intensity, for sourcing decisions.

  • Advice only — procurement decides
CBAM declarant

Approves with a reason, signs. The agents propose; a named person decides.

Ask in plain words

Ask about any line, supplier or entry

Every screen has the conversation at hand: ask in plain words, or tell the agents what to do. Answers cite the template, statement, entry or article they come from.

Why 1.71 and not the default?

1.71 is the mill's own verified figure. The EU default for CN 7208 from Türkiye is 2.39 and includes the 2026 mark-up. 1.71 fits an EAF mill that charges 38% pig iron and DRI — the expected range is 0.9 to 2.1 — and it matches their 2025 reports of 1.76 and 1.73.

What needs me before the Q3 close?

Three things, largest first: Karadeniz Çelik, CN 7208 — verified actual ready to approve, saving 2,856 certificates, about €224K. Viet Phuc Steel — no reply after three reminders; decide default or keep chasing. The Q3 accrual — €436,955 for Q3 imports at the published €82.32; finance needs it by 20 Oct.

Why can we not use Kaveri's 2.71 yet?

The statement covers 1 January to 30 June 2026 only. An actual value must be verified for the reporting period it is used for, and our method note requires a full 12-month period. Until the full statement arrives the line stays on the default.

Is the Malaysia origin a problem?

Possibly. The entry says origin Malaysia, but the invoice says the tubes were made in Foshan and only transhipped via Port Klang. Origin drives the default value, and a wrong origin can look like circumvention. I recommend Amara asks the broker to correct the origin; I have drafted that.

Every screen

The working solution, as it ships.

13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.

HomeTonnes in scope, projected certificates, the saving waiting on checks, what needs the declarant, what the agents did overnight and the conversation.
Default vs actualEvery import line with its cost at the EU default and with the supplier's actual, the saving and where the request stands, ranked by money at stake.
A line and its agentsThe two bars, the agents' work in order — request in Turkish, reply, plausibility range — the decision panel and the numbers with their sources.
Ask whyThe declarant asks why 1.71 and not the default; the plausibility checker answers in the thread, each point cited.
The source passageThe verifier's statement opened from a citation, with the passage the agents read highlighted.
Approve with a reasonThe saving, the new projection, the reason code and the signature that goes on the declaration's evidence.
A value queriedA reported intensity below the range for the production route, the query sent in the supplier's language, and the saving held until both checks pass.
A supplier, in its own languageMessages to and from the mill in Turkish with the English below, its lines, verification status and files.
VerificationEvery installation's verifier, assurance, visit and statement, and what the tracker checked — here a statement that covers six months only.
Customs reconciliation214 entries matched to receipts and lines; an exception with the three records and a drafted amendment for the broker.
Certificates and costCertificates and cost by quarter of import at each published price, a price scenario for the controller and the purchase and holding plan.
The annual declarationSeven steps with their status, and the quarter's draft signed by the declarant and countersigned by Trade Compliance.
Rules and thresholdsPlausibility tolerance, the two-check rule, approval limits, reminder cadence, the data cut-off and sign-off — all settings.
Governance

Built for the declaration: checked twice, cited, signed by two.

Two checks before an actual countsA supplier's actual value is used only when the plausibility check and the verification check both pass. Until then the line is projected at the EU default, and a disagreement goes to a person with both reasons.
A named person approves each valueThe declarant approves, edits or rejects every actual value, or falls back to the default, with a reason code. Savings above 1,000 certificates always need the declarant.
Every number opens its sourceEach value and each agent statement cites its passage — the customs entry, the supplier's template, the verifier's statement, the regulation article or the quarterly price notice — highlighted where the agents read it.
Two signatures before the registryThe declaration is signed by the declarant and countersigned by Trade Compliance, each with a reason and identity confirmed. The declaration assembler never submits.
Agents draft; people sendAgents act under their own identities and can never approve, sign or submit. Customs corrections go to the broker as drafts for Trade Compliance, and supplier messages follow the reminder rule a person set.
Every step on the audit trailEvery agent step and human decision is recorded with who, what and when. Rule changes are versioned, permission changes need a reason, and the evidence pack is built from the record.
Configuration

Your method and your approvals, as settings

The agents work to rules your team sets. Changes are versioned and on the audit trail.

SettingDefaultChoose from
Plausibility tolerance± 15%± 10% · ± 15% · ± 20%
“Too good” flag — below the route minimum needs evidenceOnOn · Off
Two-check rule — plausibility and verification both passOnOn · Off
Savings that need the declarantAbove 1,000 certificates1,000 certificates · 500 certificates · Always the declarant
Reminder cadence, then escalate to procurement7 / 14 / 21 days7 / 14 / 21 days · 5 / 10 / 15 days
Supplier data cut-off31 Jan 2027A date; after it, lines without verified data are declared at the default
Who approves a customs correctionTrade ComplianceTrade Compliance · Declarant
Declaration sign-offTwo people: declarant, then Trade ComplianceOn · Off
Connections

Works with the systems CBAM already runs on

Customs broker feedsevery entry from each broker, read every 4 hours
ERP purchasingpurchase orders and goods receipts
Supplier email and translationthe EU communication template, in the installation's own language
Verifier mailboxverification statements, read as they arrive
CBAM registrythe declarant account, price notices and the declaration file
Regulation and published valuesthe regulation and implementing acts, default values, benchmarks and quarterly prices
What it changes

The difference, in numbers.

Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.

estimated
≈ €0.5M
lower 2026 certificate bill in reach, by replacing defaults with verified supplier data
Projected today€1.46M
If every supplier sends data€0.98M
target
214of 214
customs entries traced to a declaration line and its source
Every entry reconciled
as it arrives, not in September
target
6months
early: the declaration drafted by 31 March for a 30 September deadline

“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (BusinessEurope CBAM survey, May 2024 — 80% of companies that filed a transitional report used default values; Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as amended by Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 — the 50 t threshold, Art. 2a, and declaration and surrender by 30 September, Art. 6 and 22). Certificate prices are the Commission's published quarterly prices for 2026 (Q1 €75.36, Q2 €75.28, Q3 €82.32); Q4 is projected. Default values and benchmarks in the working solution are illustrative, not the official tables. People, companies, installations and verifiers named on this page are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.

Questions

What CBAM declarants and trade compliance teams ask us.

What is CBAM reporting software?

Software that helps an EU importer of steel, aluminium, cement, fertiliser or hydrogen meet the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism: collect the embedded emissions from each non-EU supplier, reconcile customs entries, project the certificates and their cost, and prepare the annual CBAM declaration. CBAM Reporting adds seven agents that do that work and cite every number, while the CBAM declarant approves each value and signs with Trade Compliance.

How does it lower the cost of CBAM certificates?

By replacing EU default values with verified actual emissions from suppliers wherever it can. Every line shows the cost at the default and with the supplier's actual, ranked by money at stake, so the biggest saving is chased first. In the working solution one steel line saves 2,856 certificates, €223,910, once the mill's verified value is approved.

How does it get embedded emissions data from suppliers?

The supplier requester pre-fills the EU communication template from your customs entries — CN codes, tonnes and period — and writes to each installation in its own language, with an English copy. It reminds on your schedule, escalates to procurement after the third reminder and reads the returned template. The supplier replies by email; there is no portal to log in to.

How are supplier values checked before they are used?

Twice. The plausibility checker tests each value against the production route, the precursors, the supplier's history and benchmark ranges, and the verification tracker checks the accredited verifier's statement covers the installation and a full 12-month period. Only when both pass, and a person approves, does the certificate calculator use the actual value.

Does it reconcile customs entries with the CBAM declaration?

Yes. The import reconciler matches every broker entry to the goods receipt and a declaration line as it arrives, and catches wrong CN codes, missing CBAM authorisation references, mass gaps, origin changes and a group company over the 50 t threshold on its own. It drafts the correction for the broker; Trade Compliance approves it.

How does it calculate the certificates and when we pay?

Each quarter of 2026 imports is priced at its own published price — €75.36, €75.28 and €82.32 so far — with Q4 projected until it is published. The calculator applies the free-allocation adjustment, shows the working, gives the controller a price scenario and plans purchases from 1 February 2027, the quarter-end holdings and surrender by 30 September 2027.

Do people stay in control of the declaration?

Yes. Agents never approve, sign or submit. The declarant approves, edits or rejects each actual value with a reason code, Trade Compliance approves customs corrections, and the declaration is signed by two people before it can go to the registry. Every step and decision is on the audit trail.

How long does it take to go live?

The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your authorisation details, broker feeds, ERP receipts, supplier list and method note — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. We will walk you through it on your own imports first.

See it on
your imports.

We'll run CBAM Reporting on a sample of your own customs entries and supplier replies.