CustomsLookup
HS Codes / Chapter 09: Coffee, tea, maté and spices / 090240
090240 Chapter 09 · Coffee & Tea

Black tea in bulk packings over 3 kg

Six-digit subheading in Coffee & Tea, chapter 09 of the Harmonized System, priced here for 6 destination markets.

Anatomy of 090240

Chapter
09
Coffee, tea, maté and spices
Heading
09.02
Product group
Subheading
09.02.40
Specific product

You will declare against a longer local code that begins 090240: ten digits in the United States and the United Kingdom, eight in the European Union, and the first six the same everywhere. Which trailing digits apply is what a rate can differ on, though on this subheading all 6 destinations below charge the same, 0%.

What this code covers

HS code 090240 covers black tea in bulk packings over 3 kg under Chapter 09 (coffee, tea, maté and spices). None of the 6 destinations priced here charges any duty on this code, so the landed cost is carriage and destination tax rather than tariff. Destination tax is charged on top, on the customs value plus any duty, and runs from 0% to 10% across these markets, highest in Australia, with none at the border in United Kingdom and United States. All 6 rates below have been read from the tariff schedule of the market that charges them.

Import duty by country

MFN duty rate · 6 countries
Country Duty VAT Notes
🇦🇺Australia 0% 10% Zero duty. GST-free as a basic food.
🇨🇦Canada 0% 5% Zero duty. Basic groceries are zero-rated for GST.
🇩🇪Germany 0% 7% EU zero duty. Reduced 7% VAT on food.
🇵🇹Portugal 0% 6% EU zero duty. Reduced 6% IVA on food.
🇬🇧United Kingdom 0% 0% Zero duty. Tea is zero-rated food for UK VAT.
🇺🇸United States 0% 0% Zero duty on tea. No federal VAT.

Rates shown are MFN (Most Favoured Nation), the default for WTO members. Preferential FTA rates may be lower with valid proof of origin. Section 301 / anti-dumping surcharges on Chinese-origin goods are not included.

What that costs: 090240 into Portugal

An illustrative consignment of 090240 invoiced at EUR 2,000.00, priced in EUR because a threshold is set in the destination's currency and nothing here is converted.

Goods value on the invoice EUR 2,000.00
International freight EUR 120.00
Cargo insurance EUR 30.00
Value the duty is charged on, CIF basis EUR 2,150.00
Duty at 0% EUR 0.00
Portugal tax at 6%, charged on the value plus the duty EUR 129.00
Total, before commercial charges EUR 2,279.00

And if the consignment were small

Portugal relieves nothing: the relief was abolished, so the duty above is charged whatever the consignment is worth. A smaller shipment pays less because the value is lower, not because a threshold spared it.

Selling rather than buying? EUR 2,279.00 is what your buyer in Portugal pays to take delivery of this consignment, yours to pay if you quote DDP and theirs if you quote DAP: Exporting to Portugal sets out who collects it and what your invoice has to say.

An illustration, not a quotation: broker fees, handling and any trade remedy on the origin sit outside it. Price 090240 on your own numbers in the duty calculator.

How these rates were verified

Rates last verified 31 August 2026

Every figure in the table above was read from the official tariff database of the market that charges it, on the date shown. Nothing here is copied from another aggregator.

🇦🇺AU
MFN for 090240 AU, read on 2026-09-01 from https://www.abf.gov.au/importing-exporting-and-manufacturing/tariff-classification/current-tariff/schedule-3/section-ii/chapter-9 and again on 2026-09-01 from https://www.legislation.gov.au/C2004A04997/latest/text. Both returned 0%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 0902.40.00 Free
🇨🇦CA
MFN for 090240 CA, read on 2026-08-31 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/html/00/ch09-eng.html and again on 2026-09-01 from https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/trade-commerce/tariff-tarif/2026/menu-eng.html. Both returned 0%. The Canada Border Services Agency is the only body that publishes this schedule. The Department of Justice publishes the Act and refers readers to the Agency for the schedule itself, so both readings are the Agency's, taken from two different products. Retrieved text: 0902.40.00 Free
🇩🇪DE 🇵🇹PT
One reading covers DE and PT, which are priced from the same schedule: Third country duty (EU, via NI Online Tariff) for 090240 DE, read on 2026-08-31 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/xi/commodities/0902400000 and again on 2026-09-01 from https://trade.ec.europa.eu/access-to-markets/en/results?product=090240&origin=CN&destination=DE. Both returned 0%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 0902400000 0.00 %
🇬🇧GB
Third country duty for 090240 GB, read on 2026-08-31 from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/commodities/0902400000 and again on 2026-09-01 from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reference-document-for-the-customs-tariff-establishment-eu-exit-regulations-2020. Both returned 0%. The two publications are independent of each other and they agree. Retrieved text: 0902400000 0.00 %
🇺🇸US
HTS General for 090240 US, read on 2026-08-31 from https://hts.usitc.gov/search?query=0902.40 and again on 2026-09-01 from https://hts.usitc.gov/reststop/exportList?from=09&to=10&format=CSV&styles=false. Both returned 0%. The United States International Trade Commission is the only body that publishes this schedule. The second reading was taken in a different format to check the reading, not to corroborate the schedule, because there is no second schedule to corroborate it against. Retrieved text: 0902.40.00.00 Free

Re-check first: Bulk black tea is free in every market here, so the number that decides the landed cost is the destination tax rather than the duty. Packings of 3 kg or less are a different subheading with its own rates.

What falls under 090240

  • Black (fermented) tea and partly fermented tea in packings holding more than 3 kg
  • Bulk chests, sacks and cartons destined for blending or repacking

What's specifically excluded

These look similar but belong under a different code:

  • 220600: Ready-to-drink fermented tea beverages such as kombucha
  • 210690: Tea-based dietary and herbal supplement preparations

Commonly confused with

090230: Retail-pack black tea
Heading 0902 splits on pack size before anything else. Black tea in immediate packings of 3 kg or less is 0902.30; over 3 kg it is 0902.40. A pallet of 500 g retail cartons is 0902.30 no matter how many cartons are on it, because the test is the immediate packing, not the shipment.

210690: Herbal and fruit infusions
Chapter 9 covers tea from Camellia sinensis. Rooibos, chamomile, peppermint and fruit infusions are not tea in tariff terms and generally fall in 1211 or 2106, which can carry a different rate.

Classification & cost note

The 3 kg line is the single most common error on tea entries, and it is decided by the immediate packing rather than by the consignment or the carton. Importers shipping retail-sized packs consolidated onto a pallet frequently file 0902.40 because the pallet weighs far more than 3 kg, which is wrong and gets picked up on audit. Duty is zero in the EU, UK, US, Canada and Australia in any case, so the exposure is a corrected entry rather than a bill, but repeated misdeclaration is what triggers a broader review.

Typical products: Assam and Ceylon in 20 kg to 50 kg bulk chests · Blending-grade CTC tea in paper sacks · Bulk decaffeinated black tea for repacking

What the notes to section II say

Chapter 09 sits in section II, vegetable products, where a section note governs every chapter in the section and applies before the heading notes below; the one reaching chapter 09 names no heading this site holds a code under, and it is quoted whole on the chapter 09 page, read from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/sections/2 on 2026-09-08.

What the nomenclature says about heading 0902

090240 is a subheading of 0902, tea, whether or not flavoured , and it is the only code this site holds under that heading.

No numbered note to chapter 09 takes heading 0902 as its subject, which is what the published notes say rather than a gap on this page: the heading is defined by its own wording above and by the note to the chapter, quoted in full on the chapter 09 page.

Read from the notes to chapter 09 published in the UK Trade Tariff by HM Revenue and Customs, at https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/chapters/09, with the heading title from https://www.trade-tariff.service.gov.uk/api/v2/headings/0902, on 2026-09-07, with the whole layer and the reason a heading note is a chapter note set out on the chapter 09 page. These notes are part of the international text of the Harmonized System, so the rule is the same whichever destination a shipment is going to, and it decides classification and never a rate.

Questions about 090240

What is the difference between 0902.30 and 0902.40?

Pack size only. Both are black tea. Packings of 3 kg or less are 0902.30, packings over 3 kg are 0902.40, and the test applies to the immediate packing rather than to the pallet or shipment.

Is imported tea subject to duty?

The MFN rate is zero in the EU, UK, US, Canada and Australia. Tea is also usually zero-rated or reduced-rate for VAT and GST as a basic food, so the landed cost is close to the invoice value plus freight.

Does herbal tea use the same code?

No. Only tea from the Camellia sinensis plant belongs in heading 0902. Rooibos, chamomile, peppermint and fruit infusions are classified elsewhere, usually under 1211 or 2106, and can attract duty where real tea does not.

Codes in nearby chapters

Chapter 09 holds 4 subheadings on this site, so these are the closest chapters by number rather than codes for similar goods.

Related codes in Chapter 09

Calculate duty for HS 090240

Pre-fills the calculator with this code. Add your destination and shipment value for an instant landed-cost estimate.

In this chapter

Chapter 09: Coffee, tea, maté and spices

View all chapter 09 codes →