Code 1604 12 91 · Subheading 1604 12

Final code reached

Whole or cut herring, prepared or preserved, in hermetically sealed packaging

This is a complete 8-digit customs code. There is no further code choice to make below it.

This covers whole herring or herring pieces that are prepared or preserved and packed in hermetically sealed packaging. It does not cover minced herring or raw herring fillets merely coated with batter, flour or breadcrumbs, including when pre-fried and frozen.

For example

Whole prepared herring in a hermetically sealed can
Pieces of preserved herring in a hermetically sealed jar

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See the official tariff text

Official tariff text

Herrings, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces, in airtight containers (excl. minced herrings and herring fillets, raw, merely coated with batter or breadcrumbs, whether or not pre-fried in oil, frozen)

The path to this code

Every level is settled. Open an earlier step if you need to change a choice.

Step 5 of 5 · Complete

Step 1 · Section IV Prepared foodstuffs; beverages, spirits and vinegar…
What kind of product is it: a prepared food product made from meat, fish, crustaceans, molluscs, other aquatic invertebrates or insects; sugar or a sugar product; cocoa or a product made from cocoa; a product made from grain, flour, starch or milk, or baked goods; a product made from vegetables, fruit, nuts or other plants or plant parts; another food-industry product; a beverage, ethanol or vinegar; a food-industry residue or waste product or prepared animal feed; tobacco, a manufactured tobacco substitute, a product with or without nicotine intended for inhalation without combustion, or another nicotine-containing product intended for nicotine absorption in the human body?
✓
Step 2 · Chapter 16 Preparations of meat, of fish, of crustaceans, moll… 1 of 9 chapters in section IV
Which type of product is it: a sausage or similar product; another prepared or preserved product of meat, meat by-products, blood or insects; a meat, fish, crustacean, mollusc or other aquatic invertebrate extract or juice; prepared or preserved fish or fish roe; or prepared or preserved crustaceans, molluscs or other aquatic invertebrates?
✓
Step 3 · Heading 1604 Prepared or preserved fish; caviar and caviar subst… 4 of 5 headings under chapter 16
Is it prepared or preserved fish—whole or in pieces, or in another form—or is it caviar or a fish-roe caviar substitute; and, for fish, which named species does it contain?
✓
Step 4 · Subheading 1604 12 Prepared or preserved herrings, whole or in pieces … 2 of 12 subheadings under heading 1604
Is it a raw frozen herring fillet coated only with batter, flour or breadcrumbs (also if pre-fried); if not, is it in hermetically sealed packaging; or is it another whole or piece of herring that is not minced?
✓
Step 5 · Full code 1604 12 91 Herrings, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces… 2 of 3 codes under subheading 1604 12

Classification complete

1604 12 91

Whole or cut herring, prepared or preserved, in hermetically sealed packaging

The spaces only make the code easier to read. Customs declarations normally use the unspaced form, 16041291.

See how EU customs ruled on similar products

One last check

Compare the sibling codes at this level before you settle on this one.

Classification decides the rate here: from 15.0% to 20.0%.

another option 1604 12 10 Fillets of herring, raw, merely coated with butter or breadcrumbs, whether or not pre-fried in oil, frozen 15.0%
you are here 1604 12 91 Herrings, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces, in airtight containers (excl. minced herrings and herring fillets, raw, merely coated with batter or breadcrumbs, whether or not pre-fried in oil, frozen) 20.0%
another option 1604 12 99 Herrings, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (excl. minced herrings and herring fillets, raw, merely coated with batter or breadcrumbs, whether or not pre-fried in oil, frozen and in airtight containers) 20.0%

Trade measures to be aware of

Besides the ordinary duty, the EU records these kinds of measure against this code. They are listed as signals only: whether one applies to your goods can depend on where they come from, who produced them, the exact product and the documents you present. No amounts are worked out here.

Lower duty for goods from some countries

Preferential rates exist for goods originating in United Kingdom; San Marino; Economic Partnership Agreements; CARIFORUM except Haiti; Comoros (excluding Mayotte), Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and dependencies and Zimbabwe; Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique and Namibia; Western Sahara; GSP-EBA (Special arrangement for the least-developed countries - Everything But Arms); 35 more origins. Whether you can use one depends on the origin rules for the goods and on the documentation you can show.
Check this code in the official EU TARIC database
A limited quantity at a lower rate

A tariff quota is recorded for this code. This does not say whether any of the quota is still available. It covers goods originating in Serbia, Iceland and Norway.
Check this code in the official EU TARIC database
Restrictions and paperwork

Import restrictions are recorded for goods originating in Japan; any country except Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland; Ukraine; North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea); any country except Andorra, Faroe Islands, Greenland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino and Switzerland; European Union; Faroe Islands.

Document or certificate conditions are recorded. Customs may ask for:
- The products left Japan before 30.10.2012 and comply with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012
- Products which left Japan before 28 March 2011
- The products left Japan before 2.6.2013 and comply with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012
- The products are accompanied by a declaration issued before 1 November 2012 in accordance with the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 284/2012 and stating that the products have left Japan before 1 December 2012
- The products are accompanied by a declaration issued before 1.6.2013 in accordance with the Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012 and stating that the products have left Japan before 1.7.2013
- Declaration for the import into the European Union of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 322/2014)
Show all 33 document conditions
- Goods not concerned by Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (organic products)
- Certificate of inspection for organic products
- Goods not originating from or destined to Crimea or Sevastopol (Articles 2 and 2b.1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 692/2014)
- Movement certificate EUR.1
- Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
- Goods not originating from or not destined for the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine in the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia
- Goods benefitting from derogation to veterinary controls according to Article 3 of Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/630
- Exemption by virtue of Articles 3 and 4 of regulation 2019/2122 (animals intended for scientific purposes, research and diagnostic samples, and samples for product analysis and quality testing).
- Goods with third country origin coming from Andorra, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from Switzerland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from Iceland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from Liechtenstein, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from Norway, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from San Marino, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from Faroe Islands, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Goods with third country origin coming from Greenland, according to the relevant EU legislation.
- Common Health Entry Document for Products (CHED-P) (as set out in Part 2, Section B of Annex II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/1715 (OJ L 261))
- Exemption by virtue of Article 7 of Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/2122 (Goods which form part of passengers' personal luggage and are intended for personal consumption or use) or Article 10 (small consignments of goods sent to natural persons which are not intended to be placed on the market) of Commission Delegated Regulation 2019/2122
- Goods with EU origin coming from outermost regions, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Goods with EU origin returning from Andorra, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Goods with EU origin returning from Norway, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Goods with EU origin returning from San Marino, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Goods with EU origin returning from Iceland, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Goods with EU origin returning from Lichtenstein, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Goods with EU origin returning from Switzerland, according to the relevant EU legislation
- Declaration for the import into the European Union of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 996/2012) which was issued before 1 April 2014; the products left Japan from 1 April 2014 but before 1 May 2014
- Declaration for the import into the European Union of feed and food originating in or consigned from Japan (Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 322/2014); the products left Japan before 9 January 2016
Check this code in the official EU TARIC database

EU tariff measure data version 2026-08-03-tullverket.

Export to Norway

What Norwegian customs charges when goods like these are imported into Norway.

16.04.1205

Spice cured

Ordinary duty

Duty free

Goods of EU origin

Duty free You need documentation of EU origin to use this rate.
16.04.1206

Vinegar cured

Ordinary duty

Duty free

Goods of EU origin

Duty free You need documentation of EU origin to use this rate.
16.04.1208

Other

Ordinary duty

Duty free

Goods of EU origin

Duty free You need documentation of EU origin to use this rate.

Norwegian tariff data version 1.5/1.2, last checked Aug. 9, 2026.

Contains data from Norwegian Customs (data.toll.no), licensed under CC BY 4.0, adapted for display.

Export to the United Kingdom

What UK customs charges when goods like these are imported into the UK.

All 6 UK lines under this code

They all have the same duty rates shown here.

Ordinary duty

20.0%

Goods of EU origin

Duty free You need documentation of EU preferential origin to use this rate.

These rates apply in Great Britain. Different rules may apply for goods entering Northern Ireland.

UK tariff data version v4.0.1576, last checked Aug. 3, 2026.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Source: UK Department for Business and Trade (data.api.trade.gov.uk).

Before you use the code

Check the facts that sit outside the code

The code can be right while what you pay still changes, because of where the goods come from, when they arrive, or extra EU measures.

Classify your own product, free Look up the current rates and rules

The product and its form Check that your product really matches this description, including what it is made of and the form it arrives in.
Country of origin Trade agreements, sanctions and extra measures can change the treatment of the very same code.
Current tariff measures Check today's rate, any restrictions or licences, and the quantity customs asks for, with SKAT or TARIC.

Worth comparing

Codes that sit close to this one, for when the material itself could be different.

Browse chapter 16

Often confused with

1604 12 10 Fillets of herring, raw, merely coated with butter or breadcrumbs, whether or not pre-fried in oil, frozen 15.0%
That code is for raw herring fillets only coated with batter, flour or breadcrumbs, including when pre-fried and frozen; this code is for whole herring or pieces in hermetically sealed packaging.
1604 12 99 Herrings, prepared or preserved, whole or in pieces (excl. minced herrings and herring fillets, raw, merely coated with batter or breadcrumbs, whether or not pre-fried in oil, frozen and in airtight containers) 20.0%
That code excludes herring in hermetically sealed packaging, while this code covers herring in hermetically sealed packaging.

Duty rates shown here are estimates, read from official EU / Danish, Norwegian and UK tariff data for orientation only. Confirm the current rate with SKAT, TARIC, Norwegian Customs or the UK Online Trade Tariff before you file. The rate you pay can also depend on the country of origin. These are base customs duties only: import VAT, excise duties, anti-dumping duties and safeguard or quota measures are not included.

Whole or cut herring, prepared or preserved, in hermetically sealed packaging

One last check

Trade measures to be aware of

Lower duty for goods from some countries

A limited quantity at a lower rate

Restrictions and paperwork

Export to Norway

Export to the United Kingdom

Check the facts that sit outside the code

Often confused with