Tools › Guides › Coffee (HS 0901)
Exporting Indian coffee (HS 0901) — grades, OTA and EUDR
Indian coffee is a niche, quality-led export. The tariff is usually modest; the two constraints that matter are contaminant limits and, since the EU deforestation regulation, plot-level provenance.
What HS 0901 covers
- 0901 11 / 0901 12 — coffee, not roasted: not decaffeinated and decaffeinated respectively. This is 'green coffee', the bulk of the trade.
- 0901 21 / 0901 22 — coffee, roasted: not decaffeinated and decaffeinated. Roasting moves the goods to a different line, and husks and skins sit elsewhere again.
- Species and grade (Arabica vs Robusta, screen size, defects, cup quality) are commercial attributes, not tariff ones — the same 8-digit line covers coffee that trades at very different prices.
Contaminants: the limits that end consignments
- Ochratoxin A (OTA) — a mycotoxin produced in poor drying and storage conditions. The EU sets limits for roasted and soluble coffee and a stricter one for green coffee. It is a storage-and-processing problem, so the control is at the curing works.
- Pesticide residues against destination maximum residue limits.
- Moisture and defect tolerances are contractual, but they drive OTA risk — buyers link them for a reason.
EUDR: geolocation reaches back to the farm
Coffee is in scope of the EU deforestation regulation. For EU-bound shipments, importers must carry out due diligence and submit a due diligence statement that includes geolocation of the production plots, with evidence that the land was not deforested after the regulation's cut-off date.
This changes what you must collect from your growers: not just a certificate of origin, but plot coordinates and land-use history. Smallholder supply chains can do this, but only if the collection starts at the sourcing stage — it cannot be reconstructed at the port. Scope, definitions and application dates have been adjusted more than once: verify the current position.
Grades, GI and documents
- Monsooned Malabar and other regional names are protected geographical indications — using them is a provenance claim.
- Invoice, packing list, transport document, certificate of origin, phytosanitary certificate, laboratory reports for OTA and residues where the buyer requires them, and the EUDR data set for EU-bound coffee.
- Unit value is a weak pricing guide here for the same reason as tea: national averages blend very different grades.
Use the tools
- HSN 0901 — coffee
- Market research — coffee import markets
- Exporting to the EU — EUDR, VAT and CBAM
- How to read trade data honestly
Sources & further reading
Coffee Board of India EU — deforestation regulation (EUDR) EU pesticides database (MRLs)
These guides summarise public material from the bodies named above. They are general information, not advice on a specific shipment, and they are not a substitute for a ruling from your customs authority or a qualified customs broker / consultant.
More guides
- How to find the right HS / HSN code for your export
- How to read trade data without fooling yourself
- How to estimate landed cost — FOB, CIF, duty and delivered
- The export document set: what is statutory and what is not
- Exporting to the UAE — classification, duty and documentation
- Exporting to the USA — HTS classification, entry and product gatekeepers
- Exporting to the EU — import VAT, CE marking, EUDR and CBAM
- Exporting to the UK — the UK Global Tariff, VAT and UKCA marking
- Exporting to Saudi Arabia — SABER, SFDA and GCC duty
- Exporting to Japan — CEPA preference, MHLW rules and residue limits
- Exporting to Australia — biosecurity, ECTA preference and FSANZ
- Exporting to the Netherlands — the EU gateway and how goods really enter
- Exporting to China — GACC registration, CCC marking and food rules
- Exporting to Germany — packaging law (LUCID), VAT and EU rules
- Exporting to Canada — bilingual labelling, CFIA and CBSA
- Exporting to Kenya — PVoC certification and KEBS standards
- Exporting to Nigeria — SONCAP, NAFDAC and Form M
- Exporting to Vietnam — AIFTA preference, Form AI and labelling
- Exporting to Indonesia — halal certification, SNI and import licensing
- Exporting to Turkey — the EU customs union, TAREKS and surveillance
- Exporting to South Africa — NRCS letters of authority and SACU duty
- Exporting to Brazil — RADAR, ANVISA, INMETRO and stacked taxes
- Exporting to Malaysia — AIFTA preference, JAKIM halal and SIRIM
- Exporting to the Philippines — AIFTA, FDA registration and ICC clearance
- Exporting to Sri Lanka — the ISFTA preference and its value-addition rule
- Exporting to Egypt — GOEIC factory registration and Arabic labelling
- Exporting to Chile — the PTA, SEC certification and warning labels
- Exporting to Tanzania — EAC duty, TBS conformity and TFDA
- Exporting to Mexico — NOM standards, the importers' registry and warning labels
- Exporting to Israel — the standard mark, Hebrew labelling and kosher
- Exporting to Bangladesh — SAFTA, BSTI and the letter-of-credit requirement
- Exporting to South Korea — CEPA, MFDS facility registration and the KC mark
- Exporting to Kuwait — KUCAS conformity and PAFN food rules
- Exporting to Thailand — AIFTA, TISI standards and Thai FDA registration
- Exporting to Switzerland — not the EU: customs, VAT and the EFTA agreement
- Exporting to Nepal — the India–Nepal treaty, not just SAFTA
- Exporting to Oman — conformity, food controls and logistics
- Exporting to Qatar — conformity, food controls and a high-income market
- Exporting to New Zealand — biosecurity, shared food standards and no agreement
- Exporting to Colombia — VUCE, INVIMA and ICA approvals
- Exporting to Kazakhstan — the EAEU customs union and EAC certification
- Exporting to Cambodia — AIFTA, import licensing and CamControl
- Exporting Indian tea (HS 0902) — grades, residues and market data
- Exporting basmati rice (HS 1006) — policy, residues and documents
- Exporting Indian spices (HS 0910) — curcumin, ETO and residues
- Exporting cotton yarn and textiles (HS 5205) — counts and traceability
- Exporting iron and steel articles — CBAM and embedded emissions
- Exporting frozen shrimp and seafood (HS 0306) — listing and residues
- Exporting leather and leather goods — REACH, EUDR and buyer audits
- Exporting fresh fruit (HS 08) — quarantine treatments and residues
- Exporting pharmaceuticals (HS 3004) — registration, GMP and the CPC
- Exporting gems and jewellery — Kimberley, hallmarking and provenance
- Exporting cashew (HS 0801) — origin, out-turn and residues
- Exporting ayurveda and herbal products (HS 1211) — novel food and heavy metals
- Exporting auto components (HS 8708) — IATF, homologation and origin
- Exporting jute and coir — anti-dumping, LDC competition and biosecurity
- Exporting groundnut (HS 1202) — aflatoxin and the EU health certificate
- Exporting buffalo meat (HS 0202) — plant approval and market access
- Exporting unmanufactured tobacco (HS 2401) — auctions, grades and TPD
- Exporting organic food — NPOP equivalence, and where it stops
- Exporting dairy products (HS 0402) — residue monitoring and market access
- Exporting onion (HS 0703) — the most policy-volatile export India has
- Exporting honey (HS 0409) — residues, the national plan and origin labelling
- Exporting cut flowers (HS 0603) — cold chain, auctions and plant health