HS 03Food & beverages

HS Code for Seafood, Frozen Fish and Shrimp (Chapter 03)

Q: What is an IUU catch certificate?

The EU Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing regulation requires a validated catch certificate from the flag state for all imports of wild-caught marine fish. Farmed / aquaculture product is exempt from IUU but still needs a health certificate.

Q: Do frozen and fresh fish share HS codes?

No. Live is 0301, fresh/chilled is 0302, frozen is 0303, fillets and other meat is 0304. The state of the product determines the heading before species determines the subheading.

Chapter 03 covers live, fresh, chilled and frozen fish, crustaceans and molluscs. Duty is only half the story - health certificates, IUU catch certificates, antibiotic residue limits and origin traceability determine whether a container clears or bounces at the border.

Reviewed against WCO HS · WTO IDB · National customs schedules2 authoritative sourcesLast reviewed July 2026

Sample 6-digit codes

Code	Description
0303.14	Frozen trout
0303.23	Frozen tilapia
0303.44	Frozen yellowfin tuna
0304.75	Frozen fillets of Alaska pollock
0306.17	Frozen shrimps and prawns
0307.43	Frozen cuttlefish and squid

Need to check a specific code? Use the free HS code lookup tool.

Typical import duty by market

Market	Duty
United States	0-5% Antidumping duties on Vietnamese pangasius and Indian shrimp.
European Union	0-24% Autonomous tariff quotas for specific species; GSP+ preferences.
Japan	3.5-10%
China	2-14% Import suspensions have been used repeatedly on food-safety grounds.
United Kingdom	0-18% UKGT

Worked landed-cost example

1 x 40'RH reefer, 26 MT frozen HLSO shrimp 26-30, FOB Chennai USD 6.20/kg, to Rotterdam

FOB valueUSD 161,200

Freight + insurance (reefer)USD 12,500

CIF valueUSD 173,700

EU duty @ 4.2% (GSP)USD 7,295

VAT @ 9% (NL, deductible)USD 16,290

Landed cost ≈ USD 180,995 net of recoverable VAT - roughly USD 6.96/kg.

Run your own numbers in the import duty & tax calculator.

Regulatory checkpoints

· EU IUU catch certificate (1005/2008) for wild-caught product.
· Health certificate from origin competent authority; EU-approved processing plant.
· US SIMP (Seafood Import Monitoring Program) for 13 priority species.
· Antibiotic residue limits - chloramphenicol, nitrofurans, malachite green (zero tolerance).
· Cold-chain integrity - core temperature <= -18C at all handover points.

Top exporting countries

· China
· Norway
· Vietnam
· India
· Ecuador
· Chile
· Indonesia

Frequently asked questions

What is an IUU catch certificate?

The EU Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing regulation requires a validated catch certificate from the flag state for all imports of wild-caught marine fish. Farmed / aquaculture product is exempt from IUU but still needs a health certificate.

Do frozen and fresh fish share HS codes?

No. Live is 0301, fresh/chilled is 0302, frozen is 0303, fillets and other meat is 0304. The state of the product determines the heading before species determines the subheading.