ESG Insights for Tax & Legal | April 2025
Welcome to our ESG Insights for Tax & Legal, keeping you informed of the latest developments in the fast-moving world of ESG!
This ESG Tax & Legal round-up features:
1. Dutch CBAM authority: no need to submit a report (below the 50 tons)?
2. How do Omnibus proposals impact your business?
3. CSRD Live event: Leveraging opportunities towards a Green Europe
4. Webcast: Public CbCR - A new era for tax transparency
5. Podcast: The challenge of greenwashing
Enjoy the ESG Insights and please contact our ESG team for Tax and Legal, if you have any questions or feedback - we are happy to help you!
Merijn Betjes
1. Dutch CBAM authority: no need to submit a report (below the 50 tons)?
As part of the Omnibus package, the European Commission recently proposed simplifying CBAM for small importers by introducing a new CBAM cumulative annual threshold of 50 tonnes net mass per importer, replacing the current €150 value-based exemption. Following the proposal, importers below the 50-tonne threshold will be exempted from the CBAM authorization, reporting requirements, and the obligation to purchase CBAM certificates. Since the new CBAM de minimis threshold exemption of 50 tonnes is still a proposal and needs to be approved by the European Parliament and the Council, we advise to still follow the current legislative scope of CBAM and submit the CBAM reports on time.
Please be informed that the Dutch CBAM authority (the Nea) - with regard to Dutch CBAM importers - has announced that importers who annually import less than 50 tons (net weight) of CBAM goods are no longer required to submit a report, including the Q1 2025 CBAM report due on 30 April 2025. With this announcement, the NEa is acting now already in line with the still pending Omnibus proposal to simplify CBAM per 2026. For importers who annually import more than 50 tons of CBAM goods, the current legislative framework remains applicable. The Dutch CBAM authority has also announced that the obligation (to make an effort) to report actual emissions data will no longer apply. Importers of CBAM goods can use standard values or indicate that actual emission data are not available, without further justification.
The new enforcement policy (in Dutch only) can be found on the NEa’s website. The publication of this enforcement policy is an interesting move by the Dutch authority since this practice deviates from the currently legally binding text of the EU CBAM Regulation (and the Omnibus proposal still needs to be discussed and approved by the European Parliament and the Council).
Finally, the CBAM enforcement policy is delegated by the European Commission to individual Member States where the CBAM importing entity or indirect customs representative is established. This means that not every EU country could have the same more relaxed enforcement rules as the Netherlands. At this moment, it is unclear whether other national CBAM authorities will have/share the same view or require importers of CBAM goods to comply with the requirements under the currently applicable CBAM regulation until the end of the transitional period on 31 December 2025.
Please feel free to connect with us if you have any questions.
2. How do Omnibus proposals impact your business?
The European Commission recently introduced an Omnibus package of proposals aimed at simplifying sustainability reporting and due diligence obligations. By harnessing these regulations, companies can position themselves for long-term success in a rapidly evolving business landscape that increasingly prioritizes sustainability. Learn more.
3. CSRD Live event: Leveraging opportunities towards a Green Europe
The first quarter of FY25 has ended and we have seen an unprecedented pace of impactful events. Sustainability reporting and performance regulation included in the Omnibus package have seen significant scope and content reductions. Nonetheless, climate risks, societal inequality and resource scarcity and price volatility are here, and many companies are already mitigating their impact and/or preparing to map ESG-related risks and opportunities. Despite the Omnibus proposals scaling large parts of current ESG relations down, the EU still maintains its net zero ambition and brings forward many instruments to help steer towards that goal.
On 20 May 2025, KPMG will host the event ‘Leveraging opportunities towards a Green Europe: The Clean Industrial Deal’.
During this live event, we will:
- provide an overview of what the Clean Deal is, the regulatory context of this Deal, what the timelines are and what to look out for;
- discuss market trends and compelling arguments around sustainability management, performance improvements and investments in various sectors;
- share thoughts on how to leverage opportunities put forward by the Clean Industrial Deal.
4. Webcast: Public CbCR - A new era for tax transparency
The EU has made tax transparency mandatory for multinational groups with a qualifying European presence. Australia has gone a step further, requiring multinationals to disclose not only their CbCR reports to the public but also a description of the group’s approach to tax. This is a game changer in the tax transparency landscape.
To explore these findings further, please watch the replay of this webcast where our KPMG tax specialists delve into the details of the new regulations. We zoom in on the EU disclosure rules, including differences between EU-headquartered companies and non-EU headquartered companies, as well as the particularities of the Australian regime.
This webcast aims to provide:
- An overview of the existing EU public CbcR regulations
- Practical examples of implementation strategies and steps towards meeting the various
local requirements. - Insights on lessons learnt from early adopter Romania: what did corporates do?
- An update on Australian public CbCR and the overlap and differences with EU public
CbCR. - Insights into the state of play of tax transparency beyond the rules in force and future
perspectives - A solution to data challenges – KPMG’s Tax Footprint Analyzer
5. Podcast: The challenge of greenwashing
‘Sustainable’, ‘carbon neutral’, or ‘net zero waste’, are green claims that have been added to many products and services around the world; however, are their claims really substantiated?
In podcast episode 34 of ESG voices we explore the risks, challenges and regional differences in regulations associated with greenwashing.
