An online platform would be set up within a week to assist small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) adapt to the EU’s carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM), the Ministry of Environment (MOENV) said yesterday.
The EU is requiring foreign manufacturers to pay the same carbon emissions price as local EU manufacturers, thereby balancing the costs between domestic and overseas manufacturers, and promoting carbon reduction across the globe.
Taiwan ranked 13th among the top 20 countries exporting CBAM goods to the EU during the transitional period from Oct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31 last year, the ministry said, citing data from the European Commission.
Photo courtesy of China Steel Corp
Taiwanese CBAM goods imported by the EU totaled 3.74 million tonnes within that period, most of which were steel products such as screws, fasteners, stainless steel or carbon steel, it said, adding that there are about 2,600 Taiwanese SMEs producing such goods.
Climate Change Administration Director-General Tsai Ling-yi (蔡玲儀) yesterday said the EU’s CBAM was enforced on Jan. 1 and the payments for CBAM certificates are expected to be made in September next year.
The EU allows importers whose annual total CBAM imports are less than 50 tonnes to be exempted from payments, but the weight of CBAM goods must collectively be declared by EU-based importers, she said.
Information from the Taxation and Customs Union showed that only EU importers or their customs representatives could apply to become CBAM declarants for emissions embedded in their imports, as well as purchase and submit CBAM certificates.
That means Taiwanese manufacturers might have to bear the cost of CBAM payments, even though the annual volume of their CBAM goods exported to the EU totals less than 50 tonnes, as their EU-based importers could import goods from other manufacturers and bring the total annual import weight above the threshold, Tsai said.
While specific details on the mechanism’s carbon price deduction and carbon footprint verification have yet to be announced, the carbon price calculation and CBAM declaration procedures are complex enough to burden SMEs, she said.
To help businesses understand and adapt to the mechanism, the ministry would launch a platform on the administration’s Web site within a week to facilitate two-way communication between the ministry and the industry, Tsai said.
The platform aims to make CBAM information accessible to all SMEs affected by the mechanism and to encourage them to consult the ministry for further information or assistance, she added.
The Ministry of Finance this afternoon announced the winning numbers for the March-April uniform invoice lottery. The winning number for the NT$10 million (US$318,060) special prize is 19531471, and the winning number for the NT$2 million grand prize is 85941329. Three numbers were drawn for the NT$200,000 first prize: 07225810, 20231230 and 83518781. Those with receipts matching the last seven digits of any of the first-prize numbers will win the NT$40,000 second prize, while those matching the last six digits will win the NT$10,000 third prize. Those whose receipts match the last five digits of the first-prize numbers can claim the NT$4,000 fourth prize,
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