TARIC code Y238 extended to 31 December 2026

You may have applied for authorised CBAM declarantAuthorised CBAM declarantThe only person permitted to import CBAM goods from 1 Jan 2026: the EU-established importer or the indirect customs representative holding the CBAM account number in the customs declaration. An importer whose relevant annual mass does not e status by 31 March 2026 and received no decision yet. In that case, TARIC code Y238, the code that keeps your goods moving, was due to expire on 27 September 2026. According to a Hungarian administration channel, it has been extended to 31 December 2026.

That is the whole story. For a few thousand importers, it is the only CBAM news this month that changes what happens at the border.

What Y238 does

TARIC certificate code Y238 is the customs-level form of Article 17(7a) of the CBAM Regulation, which Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 inserted. It covers a specific, temporary position. You applied for authorised CBAM declarant status by 31 March 2026. You have crossed the 50-tonne threshold, or you expect to cross it, and no decision has come back.

In that position you may continue to import CBAM goods provisionally, without authorised status, until the authority decides your application. You declare Y238 and enter your application reference number in the corresponding data field.

The code is not a waiver and not an exemption. It is a temporary bridge, and it exists only because you filed the application on time.

What changed

According to the report we received, the Commission has extended the validity of Y238 from 27 September 2026 to 31 December 2026.

The stated reason is capacity. National authorities are still working through a volume of applications that they have not fully evaluated. The extension concerns their processing time, not anyone's compliance.

Why we are publishing this with a caveat

A Hungarian administration relay told us about the extension. We treat that channel as reliable, and the report is consistent with the pressure that national authorities have faced since March. We have not seen the extension in a Commission publication, and we have not confirmed the dates in TARIC ourselves.

We are publishing it because the expiry on 27 September is eleven days away. An importer who does not know about the extension may make a worse decision than one who does. The rule we apply to ourselves also applies to you: if this date decides whether you clear a consignment, verify the code in TARIC before you act on it. We will update this article when we have the primary source.

What it means for importers

If your application is still pending, Y238 keeps your CBAM goods moving for another three months. If your authorisation came through, Y238 no longer concerns you. If you did not apply by 31 March 2026, the extension does not reach you.

What to do

• If your authorisation is still pending: make sure your broker knows, and do nothing else, because the bridge holds for another three months. Check that your entries declare Y238 and that the application reference goes in the right field. An extension does not help if the code is missing from the declaration.
• If your authorisation came through: stop using Y238 from the date of your decision. This extension does not concern you.
• If you did not apply by 31 March 2026: treat this as a question about your authorisation, not about your customs entries. Article 17(7a) is written around that date, and a later application does not open the bridge retroactively. Your broker cannot solve it with Y238.

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

This article explains a customs code and a reported change to its validity. It is not legal, tax or customs advice.