Meat and edible offal CN 020110-021099: EU duty and import controls 2026

Quick answer: CN code and import conditions

Conditional answer: edible meat and offal imported fresh, chilled or frozen is classified in CN Chapter 02, but species, cut, bone, organ, preservation and processing control the eight-digit CN and ten-digit TARIC code. Customs classification does not itself confer market access. Each consignment must originate in an authorised third country/zone and listed establishment, carry the prescribed animal-health/official certificate, be pre-notified in TRACES NT and pass official controls at an approved border control post.

How to determine the code in Chapter 02

Apply GRI 1, Chapter 2 notes and GRI 6. Guts, bladders and stomachs are generally heading 0504; rendered fats fall in Chapter 15; sausages and prepared or preserved meat may fall in 1601 or 1602. Products unfit for human consumption are not edible offal. Seasoning, cooking or canning can move goods outside Chapter 02. Lock species, cut or organ, bone/skin/fat, fresh/chilled/frozen condition, salt/drying/smoking, heat treatment, packaging and human-food use.

Review the technical documents before selecting CN and TARIC

The specification, invoice, carton labels, veterinary certificate and actual lot must agree. Record scientific species, slaughter and cutting establishment, cold store, origin zone, production date, lot and temperature. CN classification and veterinary commodity coding serve different functions; neither a supplier HS code nor a TRACES certificate replaces tariff analysis. Where the cut, state or processing is uncertain, request a Binding Tariff Information decision before recurring imports.

Customs duty, quota, origin and VAT

TARIC duty varies by full code, origin, customs value, quota order number and entry date. Chapter 02 contains tariff-rate quotas, agricultural components and safeguards that cannot be summarised by one rate. Preference requires qualifying origin and proof; the veterinary country of origin is not automatically preferential origin. Import VAT is set by the Member State and food may receive a reduced rate, so identify the Member State of import and taxable event. Check licences, quota management and sanctions before contracting.

Listed third countries and zones

Under the Animal Health Law framework and Regulation 2021/404, the precise species and commodity must come from a listed third country, territory or zone and meet its specific conditions, guarantees and closing dates. Regulation 2021/405 and residue-control listings add public-health eligibility. A listing for poultry meat does not authorise bovine or porcine meat. Disease outbreaks such as FMD, ASF, HPAI or BSE can create regionalisation and emergency restrictions after the commercial contract is signed.

Approved establishments and official certificates

The slaughterhouse, cutting plant, game-handling establishment and cold store, as applicable, must appear on the EU's current TRACES list for the relevant activity and product. Regulation 2022/2292 requires food-safety conditions and official certification; animal-health certificates follow the applicable model. Establishment approval numbers, lot, species, origin and health attestations must match the goods. A certificate cannot cure an unlisted origin or establishment.

TRACES and border control post procedure

The operator responsible for the consignment pre-notifies Part I of the CHED-P in TRACES NT and presents the lot at the first-arrival border control post designated for products of animal origin. Authorities perform documentary, identity and physical checks under Regulation 2017/625, including sampling. Customs release depends on a favourable CHED decision. Non-compliance may lead to detention, special treatment, re-dispatch or destruction and reinforced checks on later consignments.

Food safety, residues, labeling and cold chain

Meat must comply with Regulations 178/2002, 852/2004 and 853/2004, microbiological criteria, maximum residue and contaminant rules, and applicable food-information law. Maintain approved hygiene controls, ante/post-mortem assurances, traceability and an uninterrupted cold chain. Labels and health marks must identify species, cut, lot, origin, establishment, storage temperature and dates as required. Customs clearance does not waive recall, national storage or retail obligations.

Customs file and suggested description

Keep invoice, packing list, transport document, customs value/origin evidence, quota or licence documents, official certificate, establishment listing evidence, CHED-P, laboratory results, labels, seal and temperature logs. Suggested description: “Frozen boneless bovine [cut], Bos taurus, uncooked and unseasoned, for human consumption, ... kg cartons, establishment ..., lot ..., CN/TARIC candidate ..., origin ...”. A generic ‘frozen meat’ description is insufficient for tariff and SPS controls.

Official EU sources

Official sources checked 12 September 2026: TARIC, Regulation (EU) 2017/625, Regulation (EU) 2021/404, Regulation (EU) 2022/2292 and EU lists of authorised non-EU establishments. Also verify Access2Markets, TRACES NT, current emergency measures, the Member State VAT database and the competent border authority immediately before dispatch.

Limits of this guidance

This is conditional general guidance, not BTI, a CHED decision or veterinary authorisation. Final advice requires species, cut/organ, bone and fat, treatment, temperature, photos, country and zone, establishments, certificate model, route, quantity, value, origin evidence, Member State and entry date. A listing or disease-status change may stop entry even with a correct CN code. The importer and operator responsible for the consignment retain their legal duties.