Is the HSN code for palm leaf plates 46021919 or 46021990?

What does HSN 4602 cover?

Heading 4602 sits in Chapter 46 of the Harmonized System, which covers manufactures of straw, esparto and other plaiting materials. The heading itself reads “basketwork, wickerwork and other articles, made directly to shape from plaiting materials”, plus articles made up from goods of heading 4601 and articles of loofah.

At six digits, 4602 11 is bamboo, 4602 12 is rattan and 4602 19 is other vegetable materials. India uses HSN, its own eight-digit version of the system, and splits 4602 19 further. That split is where palm leaf gets its own lines.

What is the difference between 46021919 and 46021990?

The difference is the material, not the shape of the product. Under 4602 19, India has a sub-group for articles of palm leaves, and then a residual line for everything else made of vegetable material.

You will find exporters using 4602 19 90 for palm leaf plates. I think that is a mistake, because the palm leaf lines exist for exactly this product. If your supplier’s invoice shows 4602 19 90, ask why before the shipping bill is filed. Check any code against the current Customs Tariff of India published by CBIC, because line descriptions do change.

Does my country have to use the same code as the Indian invoice?

No. The Indian HSN code tells Indian customs what left the port. When the container lands, your customs authority classifies the goods under its own tariff, using its own reading of the rules. Only the first six digits are common to every Harmonized System country, and even those can differ when two countries read a product differently.

For areca leaf plates the import classification is not settled. India exports them under 4602. HMRC has ruled them into 4419 90 in the past, and US customs has used 9602. Get your own binding ruling or written confirmation from your broker before you rely on any code, including ours.

The reason is the material. The leaf sheath is not woven, it is pressed into shape, and not every customs service accepts it as a plaiting material. Your broker should decide the import code on the facts of the product, not copy it from our paperwork.

How have UK and US customs classified areca leaf plates?

Several rulings are public and worth reading before you file an import entry.

• HM Revenue and Customs issued a set of advance tariff rulings in June 2023 for compressed areca palm leaf plates and bowls packed in twenties. All of them gave commodity code 4419 90 00 00, tableware and kitchenware of wood other than tropical wood. Those rulings expired in June 2026, but they show how HMRC reads the product.
• US Customs and Border Protection ruled in 2008 and again in 2012 that areca leaf plates, pressed in heated moulds, belong in heading 9602 as moulded articles of vegetable material.

The EU has no single public ruling I can point you to. An EU importer who wants certainty can apply to their national customs authority for Binding Tariff Information, which then binds customs across the EU. For a regular container trade I would do it. A wrong code found at audit costs far more than the application.

Does the EU deforestation regulation (EUDR) apply to palm leaf plates?

It depends on the code, and this is where the classification matters most. The EUDR, Regulation (EU) 2023/1115, lists the wood products it covers by HS code in its Annex I. Heading 4419, tableware and kitchenware of wood, is on that list. Heading 4602 is not.

So an areca plate entered in the EU under 4602 sits outside the EUDR. The same plate entered under 4419, the way HMRC read it in 2023, would need due diligence: a statement that the goods are deforestation-free and the geolocation of the land the leaf came from. The rules apply from 30 December 2026. Some micro and small operators outside the timber sector have until 30 June 2027, but 4419 is a wood heading, so plan on the December date. Whether a pressed leaf sheath counts as wood at all has not been tested, which is one more reason to get a ruling.

Full EUDR checklist for importers: Does the EUDR apply to palm leaf plates?

What import duty applies to palm leaf plates?

The duty follows the import code your customs accepts, so it changes with the classification. A plate entered under 4419 can carry a different rate from the same plate entered under 4602 or 9602. Trade agreements and preference schemes then change it again.

I will not quote a rate on this page, because rates change and they depend on your entry. Look up the current figure yourself: TARIC for the EU, the UK Trade Tariff for Great Britain. Add duty, freight and port charges to the FOB price when you work out landed cost. Our guide to the cost of importing palm leaf plates walks through that sum.

What documents come with an Ecodyne shipment?

We sell FOB New Mangalore Port. You get the commercial invoice and packing list showing the Indian code, and the bill of lading. Food-contact test reports and our ISO certificates are sent on request, by email, before the goods sail.

Payment is 70% deposit and 30% against documents by TT, with LC only above USD 50,000. If you are new to importing from India, the step-by-step import guide covers the paperwork in order.