EU tariff chapter 04

1. The expression ‘milk’ means full-cream milk or partially or completely skimmed milk.

2. For the purposes of heading 0403, yogurt may be concentrated or flavoured and may contain added sugar or other sweetening matter, fruit, nuts, cocoa, chocolate, spices, coffee or coffee extracts, plants, parts of plants, cereals or bakers’ wares, provided that any added substance is not used for the purpose of replacing, in whole or in part, any milk constituent, and the product retains the essential character of yogurt.

3. For the purposes of heading 0405:

(a) the term ‘butter’ means natural butter, whey butter or recombined butter (fresh, salted or rancid, including canned butter) derived exclusively from milk, with a milkfat content of 80 % or more but not more than 95 % by weight, a maximum milk solids-not-fat content of 2 % by weight and a maximum water content of 16 % by weight. Butter does not contain added emulsifiers, but may contain sodium chloride, food colours, neutralising salts and cultures of harmless lactic-acid-producing bacteria;

(b) the expression ‘dairy spreads’ means a spreadable emulsion of the water-in-oil type, containing milkfat as the only fat in the product, with a milkfat content of 39 % or more but less than 80 % by weight.

4. Products obtained by the concentration of whey and with the addition of milk or milkfat are to be classified as cheese in heading 0406 provided that they have the three following characteristics:

(a) a milkfat content, by weight of the dry matter, of 5 % or more;

(b) a dry matter content, by weight, of at least 70 % but not exceeding 85 %; and

(c) they are moulded or capable of being moulded.

5. This chapter does not cover:

(a) non-living insects, unfit for human consumption (heading 0511);

(b) products obtained from whey, containing by weight more than 95 % lactose, expressed as anhydrous lactose calculated on the dry matter (heading 1702);

(c) products obtained from milk by replacing one or more of its natural constituents (for example, butyric fats) by another substance (for example, oleic fats) (heading 1901 or 2106); or

(d) albumins (including concentrates of two or more whey proteins, containing by weight more than 80 % whey proteins, calculated on the dry matter) (heading 3502) or globulins (heading 3504).

6. For the purposes of heading 0410, the term ‘insects’ means edible non-living insects, whole or in parts, fresh, chilled, frozen, dried, smoked, salted or in brine, as well as flours and meals of insects, fit for human consumption. However, it does not cover edible non-living insects otherwise prepared or preserved (generally Section IV).

Subheading notes

1. For the purposes of subheading 0404 10, the expression ‘modified whey’ means products consisting of whey constituents, that is, whey from which all or part of the lactose, proteins or minerals have been removed, whey to which natural whey constituents have been added, and products obtained by mixing natural whey constituents.

2. For the purposes of subheading 0405 10, the term ‘butter’ does not include dehydrated butter or ghee (subheading 0405 90).

Additional notes

1. The duty rate applicable to mixtures falling in headings 0401 to 0406 shall be as follows:

(a) in mixtures where one of the components represents at least 90 % by weight, the rate applicable to that component applies;

(b) in other mixtures, the rate applicable shall be that of the component which results in the highest amount of import duty.

2. For the purposes of subheadings 0408 11 and 0408 19, the following applies:

the expression ‘otherwise preserved’ applies also to egg yolks with limited amounts of salt (in general, an amount of up to around 12 % by weight) or minor amounts of chemicals added for preservation purposes, provided that both of the following conditions are fulfilled:

(i) the products retain the character of egg yolks of subheadings 0408 11 and 0408 19;

(ii) salt or chemicals are not used at a level higher than is necessary for the purposes of preservation.

3. Dairy produce of Chapter 4 includes dairy permeates, which are milk products characterised by a high content of lactose and obtained by removing milk fats and milk proteins from milk, whey, cream and/or sweet buttermilk, and/or from similar raw material by ultrafiltration or other processing techniques.

4. For the purposes of subheadings 0404 10 and 0404 90 the following applies:

Milk permeate and whey permeate can be analytically distinguished by the presence of substances (e.g. lactic acid, lactates and glycomacropeptides) which are associated with whey production.

Subheading 0404 10 includes ‘whey permeate’ which is a product with generally a slightly sour smell, obtained from whey or mixtures of natural whey constituents by ultrafiltration or other processing techniques.

The presence of substances associated with whey production (e.g. lactic acid, lactates and glycomacropeptides) is a condition for the classification of whey permeates into that subheading.

Subheading 0404 90 includes ‘milk permeate’ which is a product with generally a milky smell obtained from milk by ultrafiltration or other processing techniques. The quantitatively limited level or absence of lactic acid and lactates (lower than 0,100 % by weight, in milk permeates in powder form, or lower than 0,015 % by weight in milk permeates in liquid form) as well as the absence of glycomacropeptides, are the conditions for the classification of milk permeates into subheading 0404 90.

The method to be used for the detection of lactates shall be the ISO 8069:2005 method and the method to detect rennet whey (i.e. the presence of caseinomacropeptides such as glycomacropeptides) shall be the method set out in Appendix II to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/150.