Croatian importers face gaps in obtaining and verifying overseas suppliers’ production and emissions data ahead of the first Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) certificates becoming available for purchase on 1 February 2027. Customs officials and industry specialists at the Green Energy Fair in Zagreb raised concerns about supply-chain readiness. The discussions did not announce a new Croatian CBAM tax or a change to European rules.
Karlo Novosel, a department head at Croatia’s Customs Administration, warned that some companies were submitting CBAM authorisation applications at the last moment. The requirement applies to importers within the regulatory scope, subject to relevant exemptions and transitional provisions. Novosel pointed to 1 February 2027, when the first certificates become available for purchase, as a milestone for companies preparing documentation.
Importers often underestimate how much production and emissions information they need from overseas manufacturers, said Marko Groš, who is associated with TÜV Nord Adriatic. Knowing a shipment’s quantity and customs classification may not provide the information required to calculate its verified embedded emissions. The documentation burden remains even when an importer knows which products fall within CBAM.
Closing the emissions-data gap requires cooperation with the factory producing the material, as well as access to installation records, production processes, precursor data and relevant monitoring information. Importers cannot independently produce production evidence that their foreign suppliers have not collected. Delays in securing that information could affect the documentation accompanying shipments.
Communication between importers and manufacturers is a major obstacle, particularly for smaller businesses with limited compliance resources, said Ana Jurjević, chief executive of Kariqa Solutions. Smaller exporters may face disproportionate administrative costs because they lack dedicated emissions-accounting and compliance teams. European buyers may respond by centralising supplier data collection, setting standard reporting formats or placing some documentation obligations in contracts.
The issue concerns Croatian industrial buyers sourcing steel, aluminium, cement and other materials from neighbouring non-EU markets, including Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. Delays in obtaining emissions data could affect contract negotiations and the eventual choice between verified actual emissions and applicable defaults. Uncertainty over the documentation can also leave uncertainty over the final price paid for imported materials.