Chapter 12
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
Section II — Vegetable products · 14 headings · 50 subheadings
Duty in chapter 12 at a glance
Counted across the 200 US national lines beneath this chapter's subheadings. It says what kind of chapter this is before you read ninety headings to find out.
- Duty-free lines
- 93 of 200 stating a rate
- Ad valorem range
- 1.4% – 163.8%
- Dutiable per unit, not on value
- 82 lines are charged per kilogram, litre or item rather than as a percentage of the customs value. A landed-cost estimate built from value alone will understate the duty on those.
Preference programmes appearing in this chapter
Named from General Note 3(c)(i). A programme appearing here does not mean it applies to your goods — that depends on the line, the origin and the agreement's rules of origin.
What this chapter excludes
These notes push goods out of chapter 12 even when a subheading's wording seems to fit. They are the fastest way to find out you are in the wrong chapter.
1. Heading 1207 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 0801 or 0802 or to olives (chapter 7 or chapter 20).
5. For the purposes of heading 1212, the term "seaweeds and other algae" does not include:
- (a) Dead single-cell microorganisms of heading 2102;
- (b) Cultures of microorganisms of heading 3002; or
- (c) Fertilizers of heading 3101 or 3105.
Legal notes
Reproduced from the published tariff schedule. Section and chapter notes are binding and part of the nomenclature; statistical notes are US reporting rules and are not classification law.
Section II notes VEGETABLE PRODUCTS
1. In this section the term "pellets" means products which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by the addition of a binder in a proportion not exceeding 3 percent by weight.
Chapter 12 — Notes
Legal Notes of the Harmonized System. Binding, and part of the international nomenclature.
1. Heading 1207 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 0801 or 0802 or to olives (chapter 7 or chapter 20).
2. Heading 1208 applies not only to non-defatted flours and meals but also to flours and meals which have been partially defatted or defatted and wholly or partially refatted with their original oils. It does not, however, apply to residues of headings 2304 to 2306.
3. For the purposes of heading 1209, beet seeds, grass and other herbage seeds, seeds of ornamental flowers, vegetable seeds, seeds of forest trees, seeds of fruit trees, seeds of vetches (other than those of the species Vicia faba ) or of lupines are to be regarded as "seeds of a kind used for sowing".
Heading 1209 does not, however, apply to the following even if for sowing:
(a) Leguminous vegetables or sweet corn (chapter 7);
(b) Spices or other products of chapter 9;
(c) Cereals (chapter 10); or
(d) Products of headings 1201 to 1207 or of heading 1211.
4. Heading 1211 applies, inter alia , to the following plants or parts thereof: basil, borage, ginseng, hyssop, licorice, all species of mint, rosemary, rue, sage and wormwood.
Heading 1211 does not, however, apply to:
(a) Medicaments of chapter 30;
(b) Perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations of chapter 33; or
(c) Insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, disinfectants or similar products of heading 3808.
5. For the purposes of heading 1212, the term "seaweeds and other algae" does not include:
(a) Dead single-cell microorganisms of heading 2102;
(b) Cultures of microorganisms of heading 3002; or
(c) Fertilizers of heading 3101 or 3105.
Chapter 12 — Subheading Notes
Subheading Notes. Binding, scoped to subheadings.
1. For the purposes of subheading 1205.10, the expression "low erucic acid rape or colza seeds" means rape or colza seeds yielding a fixed oil which has an erucic acid content of less than 2 percent by weight and yielding a solid component which contains less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates per gram.
Chapter 12 — Additional U.S. Notes
Additional U.S. Notes. Binding in the United States; not part of the international HS.
1. No allowance in weight shall be made for dirt or other impurities in seed of any kind provided for in this chapter.
2. The aggregate quantity of peanuts entered under subheadings 1202.30.40, 1202.41.40, 1202.42.15, 1202.42.60, and 2008.11.46 during the 12-month period from April 1 in any year through the following March 31, inclusive, shall not exceed the quantities specified herein (articles the product of Mexico shall not be permitted or included under this quantitative limitation and no such articles shall be classifiable therein).
Quantity (metric tons) Entered in the 12-month period from April 1 in any year through the following March 31, inclusive Argentina 43,901 Other countries or areas 9,005
For the purposes of this note, imports of peanuts in the shell shall be charged against the quantities in this note on the basis of 75 kilograms for each 100 kilograms of peanuts in the shell.
Imports of peanuts under this note are subject to such regulations as may be issued by the United States Trade Representative or other designated agency.
Chapter 12 — Statistical Notes
US statistical reporting only. NOT classification law.
1. For a list of approved standards for "Certified organic", see General Statistical Note 6.
Notes are reproduced from the published tariff schedule. They govern classification, but reading them is not the same as applying them to your goods — that is what a broker or a binding ruling is for.
Headings in chapter 12
1201 Soybeans, whether or not broken
1202 Peanuts (ground-nuts), not roasted or otherwise cooked, whether or not shelled or broken
1203
1205 Rape or colza seeds, whether or not broken
1207 Other oil seeds and oleaginous fruits, whether or not broken
1208 Flours and meals of oil seeds or oleaginous fruits, other than those of mustard
1209 Seeds, fruits and spores of a kind used for sowing
1210 Hop cones, fresh or dried, whether or not ground, powdered or in the form of pellets; lupulin
1211 Plants and parts of plants (including seeds and fruits), of a kind used primarily in perfumery, in pharmacy or for insecticidal, fungicidal or similar purposes, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not cut, crushed or powdered
1212 Locust beans, seaweeds and other algae, sugar beet and sugar cane, fresh, chilled, frozen or dried, whether or not ground; fruit stones and kernels and other vegetable products (including unroasted chicory roots of the variety Cichorium intybus sativum) of a kind used primarily for human consumption, not elsewhere specified or included
1214 Rutabagas (swedes), mangolds, fodder roots, hay, alfalfa (lucerne), clover, sainfoin, forage kale, lupines, vetches and similar forage products, whether or not in the form of pellets
Other chapters
Common questions
What does HS chapter 12 cover?
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder. It contains 14 headings and 50 six-digit subheadings, and sits in Section II (vegetable products).
What is excluded from chapter 12?
1. Heading 1207 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesame seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 0801 or 0802 or to olives (chapter 7 or chapter 20).
Are chapter 12's notes legally binding?
This chapter carries 23 binding note paragraph(s) — legal notes of the Harmonized System, plus any US-specific Additional U.S. Notes. They decide classification, and they outrank the wording of an individual subheading. A further 1 statistical note paragraph(s) govern US reporting only and are not classification law.