OIL SEEDS AND OLEAGINOUS FRUITS; MISCELLANEOUS GRAINS, SEEDS AND FRUIT; INDUSTRIAL OR MEDICINAL PLANTS; STRAW AND FODDER

Chapter 12 of the EU Customs Tariff covers a wide range of seeds, oleaginous fruits, industrial and medicinal plants. It primarily classifies soya beans, groundnuts, rape seeds, sunflower seeds, cotton seeds, linseed, sesame seeds, mustard seeds and other oleaginous seeds, which serve as raw materials for the production of vegetable oils. The chapter also covers hop cones (used in brewing), plants used in perfumery, pharmacy, or for insecticidal or fungicidal purposes - including lavender, chamomile, mint, ginseng and many others. Locust beans (carob), seaweed, sugar beet and sugar cane, fruit stones and kernels, as well as cereal straw and husks are also classified under this chapter. Soya beans are of particular commercial significance - the EU is one of the world's largest importers of soya, mainly from Brazil, the USA and Argentina. The import of oleaginous seeds is strategically important for the European feed and food industries. These products are subject to phytosanitary controls, testing for GMO presence (due to labelling regulations), mycotoxins and pesticides. Medicinal plants must meet food safety or dietary supplement requirements. Vegetable oils obtained from these seeds are classified in Chapter 15.

Customs duty rates on oleaginous seeds and industrial plants in Chapter 12 are mostly very low or zero. Soya beans are exempt from duty (0%), as are rape seeds, sunflower seeds and linseed. Groundnuts are subject to duties from 0% to 6.4%. Hop cones carry a rate of 5.8%. Plants used in pharmacy and perfumery range from 0% to 3%. Sugar beet and sugar cane are subject to rates from 0% to EUR 44 per tonne. Seaweed ranges from 0% to 2%. Straw and husks - 0%. The low duty rates on oleaginous seeds reflect the fact that the EU has a production deficit in these raw materials and is dependent on imports. Tariff rate quotas are applied mainly to groundnuts.

Classification in Chapter 12 requires the identification of the plant species and the intended use of the product. Oleaginous seeds may only be classified in this chapter if they have not undergone oil extraction - oilcake and other residues belong to Chapter 23. Medicinal and aromatic plants are classified here in raw, dried or ground state - plant extracts belong to Chapter 13. Groundnuts (peanuts) are exceptionally classified in Chapter 12, not in Chapter 08 with nuts. Seeds for sowing and seeds for industrial use may have different CN codes. Hop cones are in Chapter 12, but hop extract belongs to Chapter 13.