How to Import Green Coffee into the UK from Colombia: Controls, Documents and Checks, Step by Step

How to Import Green Coffee into the UK from Colombia: Controls, Documents and Checks, Step by Step

You probably don't need a CHED for green coffee. Many food importers raise one anyway — and pay for a check they never needed.

Green coffee — the dried, unroasted seed of the coffee plant — is one of the more forgiving food imports to bring into Great Britain, if you classify it correctly from the start. Because raw green coffee is a plant product, not a product of animal origin (POAO), it sits under plant health controls administered by Defra and the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), not the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) animal regime that imports of meat, dairy and fish run through. That single distinction shapes everything that follows: which pre-notification system you touch (if any), what documents the border expects, and what you declare on your customs entry in the Customs Declaration Service (CDS). This guide walks the journey for a shipment of Colombian green coffee from the moment you set the commodity code to the moment the container is released — and tells you, candidly, where you do not need to spend effort.

A note before we start: import rules change, sometimes mid-season. Treat the specific requirements below as the position at the time of writing and confirm the current GOV.UK guidance for your exact commodity and route before you commit a contract. The structure of the process is stable; the detail moves.

Is green coffee a plant product or a product of animal origin?

Green coffee is a plant product, so it falls under plant health (phytosanitary) import controls, not the SPS controls that govern POAO. This is the most important classification decision you make, because it determines which border regime applies. Get this right and the rest of the process follows logically. Get it wrong and you risk raising paperwork — or paying for checks — you never needed.

Products of animal origin — meat, dairy, eggs, honey, fish — run through the SPS regime: an Export Health Certificate (EHC) from the exporting country, pre-notification in IPAFFS (the Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System) that generates a Common Health Entry Document (CHED), and presentation at a Border Control Post (BCP). Plant and plant products run a parallel but distinct system: phytosanitary requirements, the possible need for a phytosanitary certificate, and — for regulated higher-risk plants — pre-notification, again in IPAFFS, against a plant-health CHED (CHED-PP).

The practical question for green coffee is therefore not "what SPS paperwork do I need?" but "where does green coffee sit on the plant-health risk list under the Border Target Operating Model (BTOM)?" That is the question that decides whether you pre-notify at all.

Does green coffee need a phytosanitary certificate and a CHED-PP?

For most green coffee imports, processed and dried beans are treated as a low-risk plant product and do not require a phytosanitary certificate or a CHED-PP pre-notification — but you must confirm the current risk categorisation for your specific commodity code on the GOV.UK plant health import pages before you rely on it. The category, not the assumption, governs.

Here is the logic. The Border Target Operating Model sorts plant and plant products into risk categories — broadly high, medium and low risk. High- and medium-risk regulated plants and plant products require a phytosanitary certificate issued by the exporting country's national plant protection organisation (in Colombia, the ICA), pre-notification in IPAFFS, and may face documentary, identity or physical checks at a BCP or control point. Low-risk plant products generally carry no phytosanitary certificate requirement and no pre-notification obligation.

Green coffee is processed (dried, hulled, unroasted) rather than live planting material, and in most cases is treated as low risk. That is why the CHED you might instinctively expect — having heard that "food imports need a CHED" — is usually not required for it. The expensive habit I see is importers raising a CHED-PP, or commissioning a phytosanitary certificate from origin, for a commodity that needs neither, adding cost and friction to a movement that should be clean.

But "usually" is doing real work in that sentence. Risk categorisations are reviewed and can change, and they turn on the precise commodity code and the form the goods are in. Always check the current requirement against your specific code rather than against the commodity in general. If you are unsure, that is exactly the call to make before the vessel sails — not at the BCP.

What is the commodity code for green coffee, and why does it matter so much?

Green coffee, not decaffeinated, is classified under commodity code heading 0901 11 — and that code drives your duty rate, your import licensing position, and which plant-health pathway (if any) applies. Classification is the first decision in the whole import, because every downstream system reads from it. Set it wrong and the error propagates through duty, controls and your customs entry.

The 0901 heading covers coffee; the sub-headings split it by whether it is roasted or unroasted, and caffeinated or decaffeinated. Green (raw, unroasted, not decaffeinated) coffee sits at 0901 11. Roasted coffee, decaffeinated coffee, coffee husks and skins, and coffee substitutes each carry their own codes and can carry different duty and control treatment, so do not borrow a code from a previous, different shipment.

Use the UK Integrated Online Tariff on GOV.UK to confirm the full ten-digit commodity code for your exact product, and to read off three things in one place:

• the third-country duty rate that applies by default;
• any preferential duty rate available under a trade agreement (more on Colombia below);
• any measures and restrictions flagged against the code — including plant health controls, licensing, or documentary requirements.

If you are not confident on classification, this is worth getting checked. A wrong commodity code is one of the most common — and most recoverable — errors in food importing: it can mean overpaid duty you can later reclaim, or underpaid duty HMRC will pursue. Either way, the code is the foundation. Build on it carefully.

What duty will I pay on green coffee from Colombia?

Your duty depends on the commodity code and whether your green coffee qualifies for preferential treatment under the UK–Andean countries trade agreement — preferential rates are not automatic just because the goods originate in Colombia. You must hold valid proof of origin, and the goods must actually meet the agreement's rules of origin. Origin is a status you evidence, not a postcode you state.

This is where the "free trade means duty-free" assumption catches people out. The UK has a trade agreement covering Colombia, and green coffee of genuine Colombian origin may be eligible for a reduced or nil preferential rate — but only if you can demonstrate origin in the form the agreement requires (typically an origin declaration on the commercial documents, made out by the exporter) and the consignment meets the agreement's origin rules. No valid proof, no preference: you pay the standard third-country rate.

So when you classify the goods on the tariff, check both the third-country rate and the preferential rate, and confirm with your Colombian supplier that they can provide the correct, valid statement on origin. Decide before shipment, not after the entry is filed — because claiming preference you can't substantiate is a problem, and failing to claim preference you were entitled to means leaving money on the table (recoverable, but only with a reclaim you'd rather not need).

Which systems and documents do I actually need? A worked example

For a standard shipment of low-risk green Colombian coffee, you need a correct commodity code, a customs declaration in CDS, an EORI number, and a complete commercial document set — and, for most such consignments, no IPAFFS pre-notification and no CHED. The named systems an importer touches are CDS (the customs declaration), the Online Tariff (classification and duty), and IPAFFS only if the plant-health category requires it.

Let's run a concrete pallet through end to end. Imagine 250 × 60kg jute sacks of washed Arabica green beans, bought FOB from a Colombian exporter, shipped in a container to a GB port, destined for your roastery.

1. Before you order — classify and check controls. Confirm the commodity code (0901 11, then the full ten digits) on the UK Integrated Online Tariff. Read the measures against the code: confirm the current plant-health requirement for green coffee (in this scenario, low risk, no phytosanitary certificate, no CHED-PP) and check for any licensing or restriction flags. Note the third-country and preferential duty rates. This is the step that determines everything else.

2. Sort origin and Incoterms. Agree with your supplier who is responsible for what, and confirm they will provide a valid statement on origin if you intend to claim preference under the UK–Colombia agreement. Make sure your Incoterm (FOB here) matches what you've budgeted — FOB means you take on cost and risk from the Colombian port onward, including the GB import declaration and duty.

3. Get your EORI and decide who declares. You need a GB EORI number to import. Decide whether you or a customs intermediary (a broker or freight forwarder acting on your behalf) will file the declaration in CDS. Many first-time importers use an intermediary — that's sensible — but the classification and origin decisions remain yours to direct. Your forwarder books the movement; the control questions are your call.

4. Assemble the document set. For this low-risk consignment, the core documents are:

• the commercial invoice (description, value, Incoterm, origin);
• the packing list (sacks, weights, container number);
• the bill of lading (the shipping document / title);
• the statement on origin, if claiming preference;
• your EORI and any deferment or payment arrangement for duty and import VAT.

Note what is not on this list for low-risk green coffee: no Export Health Certificate (that's POAO), and, in this scenario, no phytosanitary certificate and no CHED. Every line on the invoice and packing list must match what's declared on the customs entry — mismatches between document and declaration are where avoidable holds start.

5. File the customs declaration in CDS. As the goods arrive (or in advance, depending on the procedure), the import declaration goes into the Customs Declaration Service: the commodity code, customs value, origin and preference claim, procedure code, and the duty and import VAT calculation. CDS is HMRC's system for customs declarations; it replaced the older CHIEF system. Get the declaration right and clearance is, for a clean low-risk consignment, largely a documentary matter.

6. Border checks and release. Customs may select the entry for documentary or physical examination on a risk basis. Because there's no plant-health pre-notification in this low-risk scenario, the consignment isn't routed to a BCP for phytosanitary checks — the relevant question is the customs entry, not an SPS inspection. Once any checks are satisfied and duty/VAT are accounted for, the goods are released to you.

7. After release — keep your records. Retain the commercial documents, the declaration, the classification rationale and the origin evidence. If a wrong code or a missed preference comes to light later, clean records are what make a reclaim — or a voluntary disclosure — straightforward.

That's the full journey for the common case. Where green coffee's plant-health category were instead higher risk (always verify against the current list), steps 1, 4 and 6 would expand: a phytosanitary certificate from the Colombian authority, IPAFFS pre-notification generating a CHED-PP, and presentation at a BCP or designated control point for checks. The structure stays the same; the control load steps up.

What's the difference between a documentary check and a physical check at the border?

A documentary check verifies your paperwork — that the declaration, invoice and any certificates are correct and consistent — while a physical check involves examining the goods themselves. Which (if any) your consignment faces is decided on a risk basis, and for low-risk green coffee with a clean customs entry, most movements clear on documents alone. Knowing the difference tells you where timing risk sits.

The cost of getting this wrong compounds at the port. A documentary discrepancy — an invoice value that doesn't match the entry, a missing reference, a preference claimed without the origin statement to back it — can delay release while it's resolved. For a non-perishable like green coffee the risk is demurrage and storage charges rather than spoilage, but those charges still accrue by the day. The fix is upstream: reconcile every document against the declaration before the goods move, so there's nothing for a check to snag on.

Who is responsible for what — Defra, APHA, HMRC, and you?

Defra sets plant health import policy and APHA delivers it; HMRC owns the customs entry, the duty and import VAT; and you, the importer, own the decisions that feed both — the classification, the origin claim, and the call on whether pre-notification is required. Your freight forwarder books and moves the goods, but the control decisions are yours to direct. Knowing which body owns what is half the job.

A clean mental model:

• APHA / Defra — plant health: whether a phytosanitary certificate is needed, the risk category, and any plant-health pre-notification and checks.
• HMRC — customs: the commodity code's duty treatment, the CDS declaration, import VAT, and reliefs or reclaims.
• Your customs intermediary / forwarder — files the declaration and arranges the movement on your instructions.
• You — the importer of record: ultimately responsible for the accuracy of the classification, the value, the origin claim and the controls position.

That last line matters. If your forwarder files a declaration on your behalf, the legal responsibility for its accuracy still rests with you. This is the reassignment first-time importers most often miss: outsourcing the filing does not outsource the decisions.

Bringing it together

Green coffee from Colombia is a manageable import once the foundations are right: classify it correctly under 0901 11, confirm its current plant-health risk category (usually low, but always check), sort your origin position so you claim the duty preference you're entitled to and can substantiate, and file an accurate CDS declaration backed by a reconciled document set. For most low-risk consignments, the SPS machinery — EHCs, CHEDs, BCP checks — simply doesn't apply, and chasing it wastes money. Borders are complicated. This particular crossing needn't be.

The two decisions worth getting independently checked are the commodity code and the origin/preference claim — they carry the duty, and they're where the recoverable (and avoidable) errors cluster.

Got a question about your goods specifically? Tell us the goods and the route — we'll tell you exactly what you need. Talk to us.

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