EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · HS 1206.00
1206 00 10: Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken: for sowing
Sunflower seeds
✓ Can be used in a customs declaration Data: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
- 1206 00 Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken:
- 1206 00 10 For sowing
What you pay
Importing into EU
Additional duties and import rules
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
Additional duties and charges 3
- Duty on low-value parcelsLow-value consignment customs duty 3 EUR
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- In force
- until 31 October 2026
- Legal act
- Regulation 0382/26
- Duty on low-value parcelsLow-value consignment customs duty 3 EUR
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- In force
- from 1 November 2026
- Legal act
- Regulation 0382/26
- Handling feeUnion handling fee 2 EUR
- Applies to goods from
- all countries
- In force
- from 1 November 2026
- Legal act
- Regulation 2108/26
- Documents
- Y126 Goods sold in distance sales
Import requirements 5
- Prohibition or restrictionImport prohibition
- Applies to goods from
- North Korea
- Legal act
- Regulation 0285/18
- Import controlOfficial control - plants
- Applies to goods from
- all countries except Switzerland
- Legal act
- Regulation 2072/19
- Documents
- C085 Common Health Entry Document for Plants and Plant Products (CHED-PP) (as set out in Part 2, Section C of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715 (OJ L 261))
- Y146 Exemption for products intended for scientific purposes in accordance with Article 48(1) of Regulation (EU) 2016/2031
- Y171 Goods with third country origin coming from Switzerland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Import controlImport control of organic products
- Applies to goods from
- all countries except Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
- Legal act
- Regulation 2306/21
- Import control
- Applies to goods from
- Ukraine
- Legal act
- Regulation 0692/14
- 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
- N954 Movement certificate EUR.1
- N864 Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
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.
-
Austria 10% reduced rate -
Belgium 6% reduced rate -
Bulgaria 20% -
Croatia 5% reduced rate -
Cyprus 5% reduced rate -
Czechia 12% reduced rate -
Denmark 25% -
Estonia 24% -
Finland 13.5% reduced rate -
France 5.5% reduced rate -
Germany 7% reduced rate -
Greece 13% reduced rate -
Hungary 27% -
Ireland 23% -
Italy 10% reduced rate -
Latvia 12% reduced rate -
Lithuania 21% -
Luxembourg 3% reduced rate -
Malta 0% reduced rate -
Netherlands 21% -
Poland 5% / 8% reduced rate -
Portugal 23% -
Romania 11% reduced rate -
Slovakia 19% reduced rate -
Slovenia 9.5% reduced rate -
Spain 10% reduced rate -
Sweden 25%
TEDB · 24 October 2026
Preferential rates by country
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | 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 |
| SADC EPA | Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia | Free |
| Eastern and Southern Africa States | Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zimbabwe | Free |
| EU–Andorra agreement | Andorra | Free |
| EU–Côte d’Ivoire agreement | Côte d’Ivoire | Free |
| EU–Cameroon agreement | Cameroon | 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–Ghana agreement | Ghana | Free |
| EU–Israel agreement | Israel | Free |
| EU–Iceland agreement | Iceland | Free |
| EU–Jordan agreement | Jordan | Free |
| EU–Kenya agreement | Kenya | Free |
| EU–South Korea agreement | South Korea | Free |
| EU–Lebanon agreement | Lebanon | Free |
| EU–Morocco agreement | Morocco | Free |
| EU–Moldova agreement | Moldova | Free |
| EU–Mexico agreement | Mexico | Free |
| EU–Papua New Guinea agreement | Papua New Guinea | Free |
| EU–Solomon Islands agreement | Solomon Islands | Free |
| EU–San Marino customs union | San Marino | Free |
| EU–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
Footnotes
Entry under this subheading is subject to the conditions laid down in section II, paragraph F, of the preliminary provisions.
Duty applicable, except for products originating in or exported directly or indirectly from the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus, where an ad valorem duty of 50 % applies.
EU: imports by month · HS 1206.00
Main suppliers, last 12 months
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | €467.9m | 45.3% | +1,056.1% |
 Moldova | €189.1m | 18.3% | +2.9% |
 Türkiye | €148.1m | 14.3% | +0.1% |
 China | €145.1m | 14% | +22.9% |
 Serbia | €30.3m | 2.9% | -19.7% |
 United States | €20.3m | 2% | -21% |
 Ukraine | €18.6m | 1.8% | -58.6% |
 Chile | €5.6m | 0.5% | -63.3% |
Same subheading in other tariffs
1206.00 Sunflower seeds, whether or not broken
UK Free Third-country duty 3 tariff lines Türkiye Free – 20% Third-country duty 5 tariff lines · average 9.2% USA Free General (MFN) 1 tariff line 
Canada Free Third-country duty 5 tariff lines 
Mexico Free Third-country duty 2 tariff lines 
Brazil Free – 7.2% Third-country duty 2 tariff lines · average 3.6% Argentina Free – 7.2% Third-country duty 8 tariff lines · average 6.3% 
Peru Free Third-country duty 2 tariff lines 
New Zealand Free Third-country duty 1 tariff line 
Japan Free Third-country duty 1 tariff line 
Taiwan Free Third-country duty 2 tariff lines 
GCC 5% Third-country duty 1 tariff line 
Switzerland Free Third-country duty 16 tariff lines · 14× specific or compound duty 
Norway Free Third-country duty 2 tariff lines · 1× specific or compound duty 
North Macedonia Free Third-country duty 3 tariff lines 
Nigeria 5% Third-country duty 1 tariff line EU lines: 1206.00
Binding rulings for similar goods
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.
- 600013260 HMRC
Dried sunflower seeds Dried sunflower seeds for human consumption. The sunflower seeds are harvested from mature sunflower plants, cleaned thoroughly, and dehulled to remove the outer shell. Afterward, the seeds are gently dried, with no added ingredients and then packaged in a 100g pouch.
- 600010114 HMRC
Bird food 100% Black Sunflower seeds. The seeds are for feeding wild garden birds. Comprises of the whole seeds mainly black but some have white stripes, they are not shelled. The end consumer places the sunflowers in a bird seed feeder, or bird feeding table, or on the ground to attract a variety…
- 600010062 HMRC
Sunflower seed hearts. 100% Sunflower seed hearts, the seeds are for feeding of wild garden birds. Comprises of de-hulled (shelled) sunflower seeds which are broken and unbroken in the hulling process. The end consumer places the sunflower hearts in a bird seed feeder, or bird feeding table, or on…
- 600009215 HMRC
The product is a grow your own sunflower set. It consists of a polypropylene plastic flowerpot. This contains a soil disc which is made of bamboo powder, coconut Fibre, corn starch and water and contain sunflower seeds (Helianthus annuus). They are then packaged in a paper Bag package.
Legal notes
This line in earlier years
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 | For sowing | Free | — |
| 2025 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2024 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2023 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2022 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2021 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2020 | unchanged | Free | — |
| 2019 | For sowing | Free | — |
CN code 1206 00 10 is a line of the EU Combined Nomenclature under HS subheading 1206.00 (sunflower seeds, whether or not broken).
The third-country duty is free, and quantities are declared in —.
57 countries pay no duty in the EU thanks to trade agreements and preference schemes such as CARIFORUM and OCTs, against a standard rate of Free.
Imports of sunflower seeds (HS 1206.00) into the EU came to €1bn between September 2025 and August 2026 (up 59% on the year before); Argentina supplied 45%, followed by Moldova.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is free, the Türkiye duty is 0%–20%, the US duty is free, the Canada duty is free, the Mexico duty is free, the Brazil duty is 0%–7.2%, the Argentina duty is 0%–7.2%, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is free, the Taiwan duty is free, the GCC duty is 5%, the Switzerland duty is free, the Norway duty is free, the North Macedonia duty is free and the Nigeria duty is 5%.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 1206.00 worth US$3bn in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was Moldova.
Questions and answers
What is the EU import duty for CN code 1206 00 10?
The third-country duty in the EU Combined Nomenclature is free; the supplementary unit is —. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which countries get a lower rate on 1206 00 10?
57 countries have a preferential rate on this line, 57 of them at 0%, under CARIFORUM, OCTs and SADC EPA 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.
Where does the EU import these goods from?
For subheading 1206.00 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was Moldova (US$239m), followed by Türkiye.