0405 20 10 to 0405 20 90 · Dairy spreads
The expression ‘dairy spreads’ is defined in note 2(b) to this chapter.
See also the HS Explanatory Note to heading 0405, (B).
EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · HS 0405.20
Not declarable on its own: use one of its 2 subdivisions Data: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
Importing into EU
EA = agricultural component, AD S/Z = additional duty on sugar, AD F/M = additional duty on flour. Their amounts depend on the Meursing additional code of the goods (milk fat, milk protein, starch and sugar content).
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Declare the 10-digit TARIC code that fits the goods: measures can differ between subdivisions.
| 0405 20 10 10 | In immediate packings of a net capacity of 1 kg or less |
| 0405 20 10 80 | Other |
| Order number | Origin | In-quota duty | Period | Volume | Balance | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09.4519 | New Zealand | 1.19 % + EA · 25.27 EUR / 100 kg · 30.83 EUR / 100 kg | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | — | — | Managed by import licences |
| 09.6717 | Ukraine | Free | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | 375,000 kg | 361,982 kg | Open |
Balances from the Commission’s weekly quota report of 23 October 2026. Licence-managed quotas are allocated through import licences; their balance is not published in the weekly report.
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.
TEDB · 25 October 2026
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | 9 + EA |
| GSP-EBA (Special arrangement for the least-developed countries - Everything But Arms) | Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 42 moreAfghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo - Kinshasa, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Kiribati, Laos, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé & Príncipe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tuvalu, Uganda, Yemen, Zambia | Free |
| CARIFORUM | Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize and 10 moreAntigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago | Free |
| OCTs (Overseas Countries and Territories) | Antarctica, Aruba, Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao and 8 moreAntarctica, Aruba, Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao, French Polynesia, French Southern Territories, Greenland, New Caledonia, Sint Maarten, St Barthélemy, St Pierre & Miquelon, Wallis & Futuna | Free |
| Central America | Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama | Free |
| SADC EPA | Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia | Free |
| Eastern and Southern Africa States | Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe | Free |
| EU–Andorra agreement | Andorra | Free |
| EU–Albania agreement | Albania | Free |
| EU–Bosnia & Herzegovina agreement | Bosnia & Herzegovina | Free |
| EU–Canada agreement | Canada | Free |
| EU–Switzerland agreement | Switzerland | Free |
| EU–Côte d’Ivoire agreement | Côte d’Ivoire | Free |
| EU–Chile agreement | Chile | Free |
| EU–Cameroon agreement | Cameroon | Free |
| EU–Ecuador agreement | Ecuador | Free |
| EU–Egypt agreement | Egypt | Free |
| Preferential origin in accordance with the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part. | Western Sahara | Free |
| EU–Fiji agreement | Fiji | Free |
| EU–United Kingdom agreement | United Kingdom | Free |
| EU–Georgia agreement | Georgia | Free |
| EU–Ghana agreement | Ghana | Free |
| EU–Israel agreement | Israel | Free |
| EU–Jordan agreement | Jordan | Free |
| EU–Japan agreement | Japan | Free |
| EU–Kenya agreement | Kenya | Free |
| EU–South Korea agreement | South Korea | Free |
| EU–Lebanon agreement | Lebanon | Free |
| EU–Liechtenstein agreement | Liechtenstein | Free |
| EU–Morocco agreement | Morocco | Free |
| EU–Moldova agreement | Moldova | Free |
| EU–Montenegro agreement | Montenegro | Free |
| EU–North Macedonia agreement | North Macedonia | Free |
| EU–Peru agreement | Peru | Free |
| EU–Papua New Guinea agreement | Papua New Guinea | Free |
| EU–Palestinian Territories agreement | Palestinian Territories | Free |
| EU–Serbia agreement | Serbia | Free |
| EU–Singapore agreement | Singapore | Free |
| EU–San Marino customs union | San Marino | Free |
| EU–Ukraine agreementQuota | Ukraine | Free |
| EU–United States agreementQuota | United States | Free |
| EU–Vietnam agreement | Vietnam | Free |
| EU–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
| EU–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| GSP+ (incentive arrangement for sustainable development and good governance) | Bolivia, Cape Verde, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia and 4 moreBolivia, Cape Verde, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan | 0 % + EA |
| GSP - General arrangements | Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, India, Micronesia and 4 moreCongo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, India, Micronesia, Nigeria, Niue, Tajikistan, Vanuatu | 5.5 % + EA |
| Mercosur | Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay | 8.1 % + EAR |
| EU–Algeria agreement | Algeria | 0 % + EA |
| EU–New Zealand agreementQuota | New Zealand | 1.19 % + EA |
| EU–Syria agreement | Syria | 0 % + EA |
| EU–Tunisia agreement | Tunisia | 0 % + EA |
| EU–Türkiye customs union | Türkiye | 0 % + EA |
| EU–South Africa agreement | South Africa | 0 % + EA |
See Annex 1.
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1.3m | 67.5% | -33.1% | |
| €342k | 17.1% | +29.3% | |
| €204k | 10.2% | +6.8% | |
| €94k | 4.7% | -76.3% | |
| €7k | 0.3% | +893.3% | |
| €133 | 0% | — | |
| €96 | 0% | +9,500% | |
| €81 | 0% | — |
0405.20 Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk: dairy spreads
1. The expression ‘milk’ means full-cream milk or partially or completely skimmed milk.
2. For the purposes of heading 0403, yogurt may be concentrated or flavoured and may contain added sugar or other sweetening matter, fruit, nuts, cocoa, chocolate, spices, coffee or coffee extracts, plants, parts of plants, cereals or bakers’ wares, provided that any added substance is not used for the purpose of replacing, in whole or in part, any milk constituent, and the product retains the essential character of yogurt.
3. For the purposes of heading 0405:
(a) the term ‘butter’ means natural butter, whey butter or recombined butter (fresh, salted or rancid, including canned butter) derived exclusively from milk, with a milkfat content of 80 % or more but not more than 95 % by weight, a maximum milk solids-not-fat content of 2 % by weight and a maximum water content of 16 % by weight. Butter does not contain added emulsifiers, but may contain sodium chloride, food colours, neutralising salts and cultures of harmless lactic-acid-producing bacteria;
(b) the expression ‘dairy spreads’ means a spreadable emulsion of the water-in-oil type, containing milkfat as the only fat in the product, with a milkfat content of 39 % or more but less than 80 % by weight.
4. Products obtained by the concentration of whey and with the addition of milk or milkfat are to be classified as cheese in heading 0406 provided that they have the three following characteristics:
(a) a milkfat content, by weight of the dry matter, of 5 % or more;
(b) a dry matter content, by weight, of at least 70 % but not exceeding 85 %; and
(c) they are moulded or capable of being moulded.
5. This chapter does not cover:
(a) non-living insects, unfit for human consumption (heading 0511);
(b) products obtained from whey, containing by weight more than 95 % lactose, expressed as anhydrous lactose calculated on the dry matter (heading 1702);
(c) products obtained from milk by replacing one or more of its natural constituents (for example, butyric fats) by another substance (for example, oleic fats) (heading 1901 or 2106); or
(d) albumins (including concentrates of two or more whey proteins, containing by weight more than 80 % whey proteins, calculated on the dry matter) (heading 3502) or globulins (heading 3504).
6. For the purposes of heading 0410, the term ‘insects’ means edible non-living insects, whole or in parts, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, smoked, salted or in brine, as well as flours and meals of insects, fit for human consumption. However, it does not cover edible non-living insects otherwise prepared or preserved (generally Section IV).
1. For the purposes of subheading 040410, the expression ‘modified whey’ means products consisting of whey constituents, that is, whey from which all or part of the lactose, proteins or minerals have been removed, whey to which natural whey constituents have been added, and products obtained by mixing natural whey constituents.
2. For the purposes of subheading 040510, the term ‘butter’ does not include dehydrated butter or ghee (subheading 040590).
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.
The expression ‘dairy spreads’ is defined in note 2(b) to this chapter.
See also the HS Explanatory Note to heading 0405, (B).
General
Caseinates obtained from milk casein are used, for example, as emulsifiers (sodium caseinate) or as a source of protein (calcium caseinate). Products containing caseinates in excess of 3 % by weight of the dry matter are excluded from headings 0401 to 0404, since those caseinates do not occur naturally in milk at this level (in particular, see heading 1901).
Explanatory Notes to the Combined Nomenclature of the European Union, Official Journal C (consolidated text and later amendments) · © European Union
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 | Of a fat content, by weight, of 39 % or more but less than 60 % | 9 + EA | — |
| 2025 | unchanged | 9 + EA | — |
| 2024 | unchanged | 9 + EA | — |
| 2023 | unchanged | 9 + EA | — |
| 2022 | unchanged | 9 + EA | — |
| 2021 | unchanged | 9 + EA | — |
| 2020 | unchanged | 9 + EA | — |
| 2019 | Of a fat content, by weight, of 39 % or more but less than 60 % | 9 + EA | — |
CN code 0405 20 10 is a line of the EU Combined Nomenclature under HS subheading 0405.20 (butter and other fats and oils derived from milk: dairy spreads).
The third-country duty is a specific or compound duty: 9 + EA.
121 countries pay no duty in the EU thanks to trade agreements and preference schemes such as GSP-EBA and CARIFORUM, against a standard rate of 9 + EA.
In the EU, additional duty of 50% applies on top of the customs duty to goods from Belarus and Russia.
Imports of goods of subheading 0405.20 into the EU came to €2m between September 2025 and August 2026 (down 51% on the year before); United Kingdom supplied 68%, followed by Bosnia & Herzegovina.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is 8%, the Türkiye duty is 9%–140%, the US duty is 6.4%–10%, the Canada duty is 7%, the Brazil duty is 14.4%, the Argentina duty is 16%, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is 35%, the Taiwan duty is 15%, the GCC duty is 5%, the North Macedonia duty is 15% and the Nigeria duty is 20%.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 0405.20 worth US$113m in 2024.
The third-country duty in the EU Combined Nomenclature is 9 + EA; the supplementary unit is —. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
147 countries have a preferential rate on this line, 121 of them at 0%, under GSP-EBA, CARIFORUM and OCTs and other arrangements. The rate applies only to goods that meet the rules of origin of the agreement, with proof of origin. Choose the country of origin on this page to see its rate.
Additional duty of 50% on goods from Belarus and Russia. These are charged on top of the customs duty.
Everyday names, not part of the legal text.