1604 · Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar substitutes prepared from fish eggs
See subheading note 2 to this chapter.
EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · HS 1604.14
Prepared or preserved tuna
✓ Can be used in a customs declaration Data: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
Importing into EU
Charges on top of the customs duty, and rules the goods must meet at the border.
| Order number | Origin | In-quota duty | Period | Volume | Balance | Validity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09.1602 | Cabo Verde | Free | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | 5,000,000 kg | 2,939,328 kg | Open |
| 09.1618 | Eastern and Southern Africa States | Free | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | 8,000,000 kg | 4,771,936 kg | Open |
| 09.1853 | Mexico | 6.8% · 7.1% | 1 July 2026 – 30 June 2027 | 15,000,000 kg | 15,000,000 kg | Open |
| 09.1936 | Chile | Free | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | 250,000 kg | 250,000 kg | Open |
| 09.8204 | Viet Nam | Free | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | 11,500,000 kg | 0 kg | Exhausted |
Balances from the Commission’s weekly quota report of 23 October 2026.
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 | Cameroon, Cambodia, Comoros, Trinidad & Tobago, St Vincent & the Grenadines | Regulation 1005/08 | 11 December 2013 – 9 January 2027 |
| 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 |
TARIC data as of 26 October 2026
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 · 26 October 2026
| Agreement or scheme | Countries | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| standard rate (no agreement) | — | 24% |
| 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 |
| 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 | 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–Canada agreement | Canada | Free |
| EU–Côte d’Ivoire agreement | Côte d’Ivoire | Free |
| EU–Cameroon agreement | Cameroon | Free |
| EU–Colombia agreement | Colombia | Free |
| EU–Algeria agreement | Algeria | Free |
| EU–Ecuador agreement | Ecuador | 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–Japan agreement | Japan | 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–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–San Marino customs union | San Marino | Free |
| EU–Tunisia agreement | Tunisia | Free |
| EU–Türkiye agreement | Türkiye | Free |
| EU–Ukraine agreement | Ukraine | Free |
| EU–Vietnam agreementQuota | Vietnam | Free |
| EU–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
| EU–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| EU–South Africa agreement | South Africa | Free |
| EU–Mexico agreementQuota | Mexico | 6.8% |
| EEA - European Economic Area | Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway | 7.2% |
| EU–Albania agreement | Albania | 12% |
| EU–New Zealand agreement | New Zealand | 15% |
| EU–Bosnia & Herzegovina agreement | Bosnia & Herzegovina | 16.8% |
| EU–Montenegro agreement | Montenegro | 16.8% |
| EU–Serbia agreement | Serbia | 16.8% |
| GSP - General arrangements | Congo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia and 6 moreCongo - Brazzaville, Cook Islands, India, Indonesia, Micronesia, Nigeria, Niue, Syria, Tajikistan, Vanuatu | 20.5% |
| EU–Chile agreement | Chile | 20.5% |
| Country | Value | Share | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| €865.1m | 38% | -7.9% | |
| €197.1m | 8.7% | -14% | |
| €166.3m | 7.3% | -17.5% | |
| €163.1m | 7.2% | +6.6% | |
| €141.6m | 6.2% | -9.9% | |
| €128.2m | 5.6% | -21.9% | |
| €82.1m | 3.6% | -24.7% | |
| €74.7m | 3.3% | +1.5% |
1604.14 Tunas, skipjack tuna and bonito (Sarda spp.)
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 of Frozen Raw Yellowfin Tuna from Mexico
The tariff classification of Yellowfin Tuna Fillets from Italy
The Tariff Classification of Frozen Seared Tuna from Indonesia
Cooked strips of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) loins in a tomato and basil sauce. For human consumption and ready to eat. Packaged in a 300g pouch.
Cooked strips of skipjack tuna (Katsuwonus pelamis) loins in a curry sauce. For human consumption and ready to eat. Packaged in a 300g pouch.
Tuna Salad Contains Tuna with soybeans, chickpeas, lentils, quinoa, grilled aubergines, with an extra virgin olive oil dressing The product is packed in a aluminium cup and then sealed
1. For the purposes of subheading 160210, the expression ‘homogenised preparations’ means preparations of meat, meat offal, blood or insects, finely homogenised, put up for retail sale as food suitable for infants or young children or for dietetic purposes, in containers of a net weight content not exceeding 250 g. For the application of this definition, no account is to be taken of small quantities of any ingredients which may have been added to the preparation for seasoning, preservation or other purposes. These preparations may contain a small quantity of visible pieces of meat, meat offal or insects. This subheading takes precedence over all other subheadings of heading 1602.
2. The fish, crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates specified in the subheadings of heading 1604 or 1605 under their common names only, are of the same species as those mentioned in Chapter 3 under the same name.
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.
See subheading note 2 to this chapter.
General
For the classification of composite food preparations (including so-called ‘prepared meals’) consisting of, for example, sausage, meat, meat offal, fish or crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates or any combination thereof, together with vegetables, spaghetti, sauce, etc., see note 2 to this chapter and the HS General Explanatory Note to this chapter, penultimate paragraph.
The second sentence of the first paragraph of note 2 (classification in the heading corresponding to the component which predominates by weight) also applies to the determination of the subheadings. The foregoing does not apply, however, to preparations containing liver, of headings 1601 00 and 1602 (see paragraph 2 of the note).
Additional note 2
As a general rule, the cut from which a part is obtained is identifiable only where the part measures approximately 100 × 80 × 2 mm or more.
The expression ‘parts thereof’ applies solely to parts when the cut from which they were obtained (for example, hams) can be determined by positive means, rather than by a process of elimination.
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 | In vegetable oil | 24% | — |
| 2025 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2024 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2023 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2022 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2021 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2020 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2019 | In vegetable oil | 24% | — |
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, 1604 14 21 is one of 10 lines under subheading 1604.14, tunas, skipjack tuna and bonito (Sarda spp.).
The third-country duty is 24%, and quantities are declared in —.
Goods from 142 countries can enter the EU at a preferential rate instead of the standard 24%; 122 of them pay no duty at all, for example under GSP-EBA or CARIFORUM.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the EU imported prepared or preserved tuna (HS 1604.14) worth €2.3bn (down 11% on the year before), at an average of €4.62 per kg; Ecuador supplied 38%, followed by Papua New Guinea.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is 20%–25%, the Türkiye duty is 80%, the US duty is 4.9%–35%, the Canada duty is 4.5%–7%, the Mexico duty is 0%–20%, the Brazil duty is 14.4%, the Argentina duty is 16%, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is 0%–5%, the Japan duty is 9.6%, the Taiwan duty is 14%–15%, 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 20%.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 1604.14 worth US$4bn in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was Ecuador.
The third-country duty in the EU Combined Nomenclature is 24%; the supplementary unit is —. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
142 countries have a preferential rate on this line, 122 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.
For subheading 1604.14 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was Ecuador (US$885m), followed by Papua New Guinea.
Everyday names, not part of the legal text.