0306 12 10: Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled: frozen, lobsters (Homarus spp.), whole
Not declarable on its own: use one of its 2 subdivisionsData: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
0306 Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked crustaceans, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine:
all countries except Andorra, Switzerland, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino
Legal act
Regulation 0632/21
Documents
N853 Common Health Entry Document for Products (CHED-P) (as set out in Part 2, Section B of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715 (OJ L 261))
Y058 Exemption by virtue of Article 7 of Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/2122 (Goods which form part of passengers' personal luggage and are intended for personal consumption or use) or Article 10 (small consignments of goods sent to natural persons which are not intended to be placed on the market) of Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/2122
Y170 Goods with third country origin coming from Andorra, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y171 Goods with third country origin coming from Switzerland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y172 Goods with third country origin coming from Faroe Islands, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y173 Goods with third country origin coming from Greenland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y174 Goods with third country origin coming from Iceland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y175 Goods with third country origin coming from Liechtenstein, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y176 Goods with third country origin coming from Norway, according to the relevant EU legislation.
Y177 Goods with third country origin coming from San Marino, according to the relevant EU legislation.
C084 Exemption by virtue of Articles 3 and 4 of regulation 2019/2122 (animals intended for scientific purposes, research and diagnostic samples, and samples for product analysis and quality testing).
Import controlControl on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Applies to goods from
all countries except Cameroon, Cambodia, Comoros, Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & the Grenadines
Legal act
Regulation 1005/08
Documents
C673 Importer Declaration or Re-export Certificate, as foreseen in Annex II of Regulation (EC) 1005/2008 or Annex IV of Regulation (EC) 1010/2009
Y927 The declared goods are not concerned by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2008
Import controlControl on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Applies to goods from
Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago
In force
until 9 January 2027
Legal act
Regulation 1005/08
Documents
Y927 The declared goods are not concerned by Council Regulation (EC) No. 1005/2008
Import controlImport control of organic products
Applies to goods from
all countries except Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
Legal act
Regulation 2306/21
Documents
C644 Certificate of inspection for organic products
Y929 Goods not concerned by Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (organic products)
Import control
Applies to goods from
Belarus, Ukraine
Legal act
Regulation 0765/06, Regulation 0692/14
Documents
Y727 The prohibitions defined in article 1ra paragraph 1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 765/2006 do not apply (see exemptions in article 1ra paragraph 3)
Y728 The prohibitions defined in article 1ra paragraph 1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 765/2006 do not apply (see exemptions in article 1ra paragraph 4)
L152 Import authorisation by virtue of article 1ra paragraph 10 of Council Regulation (EU) 765/2006
Y870 Goods entered the territory of the customs union of the EU and presented to customs authorities prior to the entry into force or to applicability date of the present sanction, whichever is latest (see Article 8f of Regulation (EU) No 765/2006)
Y997 Goods not originating from or destined to Crimea or Sevastopol (Articles 2 and 2b.1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 692/2014)
N864 Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
L142 Import authorisation by virtue of article 3i paragraph 3c of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014
Y874 The prohibitions defined in article 3i.1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 833/2014 do not apply (see exemptions in article 3i.3aa)
L143 Import authorisation by virtue of article 12b.2 of Council Regulation (EU) 833/2014
Y859 Goods entered the territory of the customs union of the EU and presented to customs authorities prior to the entry into force or to applicability date of the present sanction, whichever is latest (see Article 12e of Regulation (EU) No 833/2014)
Import control
Applies to goods from
Ukraine
Legal act
Regulation 0263/22
Documents
Y984 Goods not originating from or not destined for the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine in the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia
N864 Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
TARIC subdivisions
Declare the 10-digit TARIC code that fits the goods: measures can differ between subdivisions.
0306 12 10 10
Lobster (Homarus americanus), cooked
0306 12 10 91
Cooked
0306 12 10 99
Other
Tariff quotas
Order number
Origin
In-quota duty
Period
Volume
Balance
Validity
09.8305
Canada
Free
1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026
2,000,000 kg
2,000,000 kg
Open
Balances from the Commission’s weekly quota report of 23 October 2026.
Export measures 2
Prohibitions, licences, controls and sanctions that apply when these goods leave the EU.
Export measures
Destination
Legal act
Validity
Control on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
ERGA OMNES (except Cameroon, Cambodia, Comoros, Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & the Grenadines)
Regulation 1005/08
10 January 2026
Control on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing
Cameroon, Cambodia, Comoros, Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & the Grenadines
Regulation 1005/08
11 December 2013 – 9 January 2027
TARIC data as of 26 October 2026
Import VAT in the EU member states
The rate each member state applies to goods of this code, from the Commission’s Taxes in Europe Database. A reduced rate can cover only part of the goods under a code: check the national VAT law.
Austria10% reduced rate
Belgium6% reduced rate
Bulgaria20%
Croatia25%
Cyprus5% reduced rate
Czechia12% reduced rate
Denmark25%
Estonia24%
Finland13.5% reduced rate
France5.5% reduced rate
Germany7% reduced rate
Greece13% reduced rate
Hungary27%
Ireland23%
Italy22%
Latvia21%
Lithuania21%
Luxembourg3% reduced rate
Malta0% reduced rate
Netherlands9% reduced rate
Poland23%
Portugal23%
Romania11% reduced rate
Slovakia19% reduced rate
Slovenia9.5% reduced rate
Spain10% reduced rate
Sweden6% reduced rate
TEDB · 26 October 2026
EU: imports by month · HS 0306.12
last 12 months€87.8m+1.3% · previous 12 months
Average import price€15.53 per kg
Preferential rate40%
Data up to August 2026 (provisional) · Monthly data: Eurostat Comext (CC BY 4.0), HMRC (OGL v3.0)
Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.
The tariff classification, country of origin, marking and status under the United States Mexico Canada Trade Agreement (USMCA), of U.S.-origin lobsters that have been processed in Canada.
The tariff classification, country of origin, marking, and status under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), of U.S.-origin lobster that have been processed in Canada; Article 509
600012549HMRC26 March 2025 – 25 March 2028 · 0306 12 10 10
The product is a whole lobster in it's shell, which is cooked in brine and frozen. The species of lobster is the Homarus americanus. Defrost the lobster in the bag for 12-14 hours in the refrigerator. To cook place the defrosted lobster in boiling water for 2 minutes. The lobster in brine is…
The European Commission's explanatory notes on how to classify goods in these CN codes. They are not legally binding but customs authorities follow them; they complement the HS Explanatory Notes of the World Customs Organization.
0306 · Crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; smoked crustaceans, whether in shell or not, whether or not cooked before or during the smoking process; crustaceans, in shell, cooked by steaming or by boiling in water, whether or not chilled, frozen, dried, salted or in brine; flours, meals and pellets of crustaceans, fit for human consumption
Crustaceans which have been shelled and cooked (for example, cooked and peeled tails of shrimps, usually frozen), are classified in heading 1605.
Partially shelled parts of crabs (for example, claws) which have been cooked by steaming or by boiling in water and are ready to eat without further shelling are also classified in heading 1605.
Lobsters are crustaceans with large claws. Uncooked lobsters are dark blue in colour with white or yellowish marbling; they become red only on cooking.
Lobsters are put up in virtually the same way as rock lobsters and other sea crawfish.
General notes to the chapter
FISH AND CRUSTACEANS, MOLLUSCS AND OTHER AQUATIC INVERTEBRATES
General
1. Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates which have been deep-frozen are classified in the same way as fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates which have been frozen.
2. Simple scalding (blanching), consisting of a light heat treatment which does not entail cooking as such does not affect the classification. It is often used before freezing, particularly for tunny fish and the flesh of crustaceans or molluscs.
3. The following are excluded from Chapter 3:
(a) fish maws (air bladders), raw, dried or salted, unfit for human consumption (heading 0511);
(b) lightly salted fish, dried or smoked and steeped in a vegetable oil in order to ensure provisional preservation — products known as ‘semi-preserved’ — (heading 1604);
(c) fish, simply pickled in oil or vinegar, whether or not further prepared (heading 1604);
(d) molluscs which have undergone heat treatment that is sufficient to bring about the coagulation of their proteins (heading 1605).
The Combined Nomenclature of each year, as published in the Official Journal: description, third-country duty and supplementary unit.
Year
Description
Third-country duty
Supplementary unit
2026
Whole
6%
—
2025
unchanged
6%
—
2024
unchanged
6%
—
2023
unchanged
6%
—
2022
unchanged
6%
—
2021
unchanged
6%
—
2020
unchanged
6%
—
2019
Whole
6%
—
Code history
Since 2017; before, these goods were classified under 0306 12 05.
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, 0306 12 10 is one of 2 lines under subheading 0306.12, crustaceans, whether in shell or not, live, fresh, chilled: frozen, lobsters….
The third-country duty is 6%, and quantities are declared in —.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the EU imported goods of subheading 0306.12 worth €87.8m (up 1% on the year before), at an average of €15.53 per kg; Canada supplied 95%, followed by United States.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is 6%–16%, the Türkiye duty is 37.5%, the US duty is free, the Canada duty is 0%–4%, the Mexico duty is 15%, the Brazil duty is 9%, the Argentina duty is 9%, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is 1%, the Taiwan duty is 20%, the GCC duty is free, the Switzerland duty is free, the Norway duty is free, the North Macedonia duty is free and the Nigeria duty is 20%.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 0306.12 worth US$132m in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was Canada.
Questions and answers
What is the EU import duty for CN code 0306 12 10?
The third-country duty in the EU Combined Nomenclature is 6%; the supplementary unit is —. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Where does the EU import these goods from?
For subheading 0306.12 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was Canada (US$72m), followed by the United States.
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EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · 
Canada
United States
United Kingdom
Indonesia
Cuba
Norway
Faroe Islands
Japan
Türkiye
Mexico
Brazil
Argentina
Peru
New Zealand
Taiwan
GCC
Switzerland
North Macedonia
Nigeria