The CBAM transitional period ended on 31 December 2025. For eight quarters, EU importers of Indian steel, aluminium, and fertilisers submitted quarterly reports using embedded emission data — or the EU’s default values where actual data was unavailable. Analysis of the reporting patterns shows that the majority of EU importers of Indian material used default values, which in most cases significantly overstated the actual emission intensity of Indian production and therefore overstated the CBAM liability. In the definitive period from January 2026, default values are not available for most categories, making the switch to actual verified data not optional.