12.09 Seeds, fruit and spores; of a kind used for sowing
One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.
Section II, Vegetable Products — plants, vegetables, fruit, nuts, coffee, tea, cereals, seeds and flours.
- 12 Chapter Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit, industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
- 09 Heading Seeds, fruit and spores; of a kind used for sowing
- —— Subheading Pick one of the 10 six-digit codes below
Chapter 12 covers oil seeds and oleaginous fruits (soybeans, sunflower seed, rapeseed, groundnuts), plus miscellaneous grains, seeds, industrial or medicinal plants, straw and animal fodder. It's an agricultural-input chapter feeding into vegetable oil (chapter 15) and animal feed supply chains. Classification tip: Whether seed is intended for sowing versus crushing for oil can change both the applicable code and any phytosanitary/GMO documentation required, so confirm end-use before filing.
All of chapter 12The 10 six-digit codes under 12.09
One of these is the number you declare.
- 1209.10 Seed; sugar beet seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.21 Seeds of forage plants; lucerne (alfalfa) seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.22 Seeds of forage plants; clover (Trifolium spp.) seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.23 Seeds of forage plants; fescue seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.24 Seeds of forage plants; Kentucky blue grass (Poa pratensis L.) seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.25 Seeds of forage plants; rye grass (Lolium multiflorum Lam., Lolium perenne L.) seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.29 Seeds of forage plants; other than lucerne, clover, fescue, Kentucky blue grass, and rye grass seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.30 Seeds of herbaceous plants; cultivated principally for their flowers, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.91 Seeds; vegetable seeds, of a kind used for sowing
- 1209.99 Seeds; n.e.c. in heading 1209, of a kind used for sowing
Other headings in chapter 12
The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.
Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.
Shipping goods under 12.09? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipment12.09 FAQ
Heading 12.09 covers seeds, fruit and spores; of a kind used for sowing. It is part of chapter 12 (oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit, industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder), and it is subdivided into 10 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.
Pick one of the 10 subheadings below. Those six digits are what customs recognises internationally; the importing country may extend them to eight or ten in its own tariff schedule.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section II and to chapter 12. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.
A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.