Scope 3 emissions reporting — the requirement to account for greenhouse gas emissions across the entire supply chain — is creating an unexpected category of customs liability for importers who have not connected their sustainability reporting obligations to their trade compliance documentation.
The Scope 3 Emissions Trap: How Supply Chain Reporting Requirements Create Unexpected Customs Liability
By Anthony James Peacock — Founder, Trade Compliance Records | May 26, 2026
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Scope 3 emissions reporting — the requirement to account for greenhouse gas emissions across the entire supply chain — is creating an unexpected category of customs liability for importers who have not connected their sustainability reporting obligations to their trade compliance documentation.
This is not a future risk. The EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requires large companies to report Scope 3 emissions from 2025. The US Securities and Exchange Commission's climate disclosure rules require Scope 3 reporting from large accelerated filers from 2026. The UK's Sustainability Disclosure Standards require Scope 3 reporting from 2025.
The connection to customs liability is not obvious — until you understand how customs authorities are beginning to use Scope 3 emissions data.
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The Customs Valuation Connection
Customs valuation is based on the transaction value of the goods — the price actually paid or payable for the goods when sold for export to the country of importation. Under the WTO Customs Valuation Agreement, the transaction value must include all payments made or to be made as a condition of the sale.
Carbon pricing creates a new category of payments that may need to be included in the customs value. If an exporter pays a carbon price in the country of origin — whether through an emissions trading scheme, a carbon tax, or a voluntary carbon offset — that payment may be a condition of the sale and therefore includable in the customs value.
Under CBAM, the EU explicitly adjusts the CBAM certificate price for carbon prices paid in the country of origin. But CBAM only covers six product categories. For all other products, the treatment of carbon pricing payments in customs valuation is unsettled — and customs authorities are beginning to ask questions.
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The Transfer Pricing Connection
For multinational companies that source goods from related-party suppliers, Scope 3 emissions reporting creates a transfer pricing risk. Transfer pricing rules require that transactions between related parties be conducted at arm's length — at prices that unrelated parties would agree to in similar circumstances.
When a multinational company's Scope 3 emissions report reveals that its related-party suppliers have significantly lower carbon intensity than comparable unrelated suppliers, customs authorities may question whether the transfer prices reflect the carbon cost differential. If the transfer prices do not reflect the carbon cost differential, customs authorities may argue that the transaction value understates the true value of the goods — and assess additional duties.
This is not a hypothetical scenario. The OECD's Pillar Two rules — the global minimum tax framework — explicitly require that transfer prices reflect the economic sub...