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 1604.19
Other prepared or preserved fish
✓ 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 09.1936 | Chile | Free | 1 January 2026 – 31 December 2026 | 250,000 kg | 250,000 kg | Open |
Balances from the Commission’s weekly quota report of 30 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 | 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 1 November 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 · 1 November 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 |
| 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–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–New Zealand agreement | New Zealand | Free |
| EU–Peru agreement | Peru | Free |
| EU–Papua New Guinea agreement | Papua New Guinea | Free |
| EU–Palestinian Territories agreement | Palestinian Territories | Free |
| EU–Singapore agreement | Singapore | 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–Samoa agreement | Samoa | Free |
| EU–Kosovo agreement | Kosovo | Free |
| EU–South Africa agreement | South Africa | Free |
| EU–Vietnam agreement | Vietnam | 3% |
| EEA - European Economic Area | Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway | 7.2% |
| EU–Albania agreement | Albania | 12% |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| €55.6m | 29% | -3.4% | |
| €53.1m | 27.7% | +5.2% | |
| €17.3m | 9% | -5.4% | |
| €15.2m | 7.9% | +11.7% | |
| €13.3m | 7% | -8.9% | |
| €11.4m | 6% | -8.8% | |
| €8.8m | 4.6% | +21.4% | |
| €2.9m | 1.5% | -6.7% |
1604.19 Fish, whole or in pieces, but not minced: other
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 and Country of Origin of Ling Fish Fillets
The tariff classification of Frozen Seafood from Indonesia
The tariff classification of Frozen Tilapia in Sauce from Indonesia
The tariff classification and country of origin of Canned Precooked Tuna Loins.
Roasted fillets of Yellow Stripe Trevally (Selaroides Leptolepis), ready to eat. These are seasoned with chilli, additional spices, and flavourings. Intended for human consumption. The product is vacuum sealed in a 40g plastic pouch for retail sale.
Skinless boneless fillets in sunflower oil. Ingredients include: mackerel fillets (Trachurus murphy), sunflower oil and salt. Product is for human consumption. Presented in a 115g tin.
Skinless boneless fillets in brine. Ingredients include: mackerel fillets (Trachurus murphy), water and salt. Product is for human consumption. Presented in a 115g tin.
Frozen Fish in Chip Goujon For human consumption. Ingredients: Raw Basa species fish (Pangasianodon Hypophthalmus) 40%, coated in batter and in potato. Packed 10 boxes weighing 1 kg each inside cardboard outer carton.
13 rulings in total for this code
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.
See the explanatory note to subheading 1604 14 26.
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 | Fillets known as ‘loins’ | 24% | — |
| 2025 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2024 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2023 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2022 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2021 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2020 | unchanged | 24% | — |
| 2019 | Fillets known as ‘loins’ | 24% | — |
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, 1604 19 31 is one of 10 lines under subheading 1604.19, fish, whole or in pieces, but not minced: other.
The third-country duty is 24%, and quantities are declared in —.
Goods from 143 countries can enter the EU at a preferential rate instead of the standard 24%; 124 of them pay no duty at all, for example under GSP-EBA or CARIFORUM.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the EU imported other prepared or preserved fish (HS 1604.19) worth €191.7m (up 2% on the year before), at an average of €5.79 per kg; Morocco supplied 29%, followed by United Kingdom.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is 6%–20%, the Türkiye duty is 80%, the US duty is 0%–10%, the Canada duty is 7%, the Mexico duty is 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 7%–40%, 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 1604.19 worth US$1.2bn in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was Morocco, and the United Kingdom ranked 2nd with US$47m.
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.
143 countries have a preferential rate on this line, 124 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 1604.19 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was Morocco (US$55m), followed by the United Kingdom.
Everyday names, not part of the legal text.