EU Import Duty and HS Codes for Green Coffee

Green coffee is one of the more straightforward agricultural imports into the EU. Here is what actually applies.

The classification

Coffee sits under HS heading 0901, subdivided:

For ordinary green arabica or robusta — code 0901.11 — the third-country duty is zero. There is no preference to claim and no origin certificate needed to get it, because there is nothing to reduce.

This applies regardless of origin country. Green coffee from India, Brazil or Ethiopia all enter at the same zero rate.

Decaffeinated green coffee is the exception and is dutiable. If you import decaf green, budget for it and classify correctly.

Confirm the current TARIC code and rate for your specific product before relying on any of this. Tariff schedules change, and this is a summary rather than a ruling.

VAT

Duty is zero. VAT is not.

Import VAT applies at the rate in your member state, and food rates vary considerably across the EU. This is usually recoverable if you are VAT registered, but it is a cash-flow item at the point of import — on a container of green coffee it is a substantial sum to front.

Many member states offer deferment or postponed accounting schemes. If you are importing regularly and paying import VAT in cash each time, ask your accountant whether you should be.

The certificate you do not need

A persistent myth worth killing: coffee beans do not require a phytosanitary certificate for import into the EU.

The plant health requirement applies to whole, fresh coffee berries — cherry, plant material — not to processed green beans. Beans are exempt from the certificate and from the associated inspection.

If a supplier or forwarder insists a phyto is required for green beans, ask which requirement they are relying on. Occasionally a specific member state or transit route raises something; usually it is habit.

What you do need

• Commercial invoice and packing list
• Bill of lading
• Certificate of origin
• ICO certificate of origin — the International Coffee Organization's marks-and-origin document
• Certificate of Inspection if the lot is being sold as organic — see importing organic coffee
• A Due Diligence Statement reference under EUDR, from 30 December 2026 for medium and large operators

That last is the one that will stop a container. Duty is zero; a missing DDS reference is not a cost, it is a wall. See what a Due Diligence Statement contains.

Where the money actually goes

Since duty is zero, landed cost is made of:

1. The coffee
2. Ocean freight and origin charges
3. Destination terminal handling, clearance and inland delivery
4. Import VAT (recoverable, but cash)
5. Storage if not moving straight to your warehouse
6. Insurance

On a first Indian container, items 2 and 3 are the ones most often underestimated, and they are the reason an FOB price and a DAP price differ so much. See Incoterms for green coffee.

Small consignments

Sample quantities move by courier and are usually handled as commercial samples. Declare them honestly, mark them as samples of no commercial value where that applies, and expect the courier to handle clearance.

For LCL shipments the duty position is identical; the per-kilo cost of everything else is higher. See minimum orders.

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Rates and classifications are summarised for orientation and change. Verify against the current TARIC before contracting.