Trade compliance checklist
Buyers and sellers on Parchment Exchange trade across borders, and every country has its own rules for exporting and importing coffee. Use this checklist as a starting point for your own checks. It is general information, not legal advice, and it is not complete. Parchment Exchange does not certify that any member, lot or trade complies with the law. Rules change often, so always confirm with the authorities in each country, your customs broker or freight forwarder, or a qualified adviser.
Every trade: producer and exporting countries
- Seller registered or licensed with the national coffee authority or board as a grower, processor, dealer or exporter, where required.
- Any national rule on how coffee must be sold (auction, exchange, registered or approved contract, minimum export prices) checked and followed.
- Export licence or permit and export declaration; export levies and taxes paid.
- Certificate of origin (ICO certificate of origin, coffee board or chamber of commerce certificate, as the destination requires).
- Phytosanitary certificate from the national plant protection organisation, plus any fumigation or treatment certificate.
- Quality or grading certificate and pre-shipment sample approval, if required nationally or by the contract.
- Plot geolocation, farm and lot traceability records kept, ready for buyers' due diligence (EU and others).
European Union
- EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR): the operator placing coffee on the EU market files a due diligence statement with plot geolocation, and shows the coffee is deforestation-free (no deforestation after 31 December 2020) and legally produced. Application dates have been postponed before, so check the current dates on the European Commission's EUDR pages.
- EU general food law: importer is a registered food business, keeps one-step-back/one-step-forward traceability, and meets limits for contaminants such as ochratoxin A and for pesticide residues.
- EORI number, customs declaration, correct tariff code (green coffee is under HS 0901.11) and VAT.
- Organic lots: a certificate of inspection issued through the EU TRACES system.
United Kingdom
- EORI number, customs declaration, UK tariff and VAT.
- UK food law: importer registered as a food business, traceability, contaminant and pesticide limits.
- Organic lots: GB organic certificate of inspection through the UK's import system.
- Check whether UK forest-risk commodity rules apply to coffee at the time of import.
United States
- Foreign facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold the coffee registered with the FDA, where required, and FDA Prior Notice filed before each shipment arrives.
- US importer meets the FDA Foreign Supplier Verification Program (FSVP) rules.
- CBP entry, Importer Security Filing (ISF, "10+2") for ocean freight, and current tariffs, which have changed often.
- Organic lots: USDA organic import certificate in the CBP system.
- No dealings with persons or places on OFAC sanctions lists.
Canada
- Importer holds a Safe Food for Canadians licence from the CFIA, where required, with a preventive control plan and traceability.
- CBSA customs declaration and duties/taxes.
- Organic lots: certified under the Canada Organic Regime or an equivalent arrangement.
China
- Overseas food producers registered with China Customs (GACC) where the product category requires it.
- Importer registered with China Customs; inspection and quarantine at entry; Chinese labelling for packaged goods.
Japan
- Import notification under the Food Sanitation Act at a quarantine station, and pesticide residues within Japan's positive-list limits.
- Organic claims only with JAS organic certification.
South Korea
- Import declaration to the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS); foreign manufacturing facility registered where required.
- Inspection and testing on arrival as MFDS requires.
Australia and New Zealand
- Australia: green coffee meets the biosecurity import conditions in BICON (for example freedom from soil, pests and contaminants; some lots may need treatment or inspection) and the Imported Food Inspection Scheme.
- New Zealand: MPI import health standard and food import rules.
Middle East (Gulf states)
- Importer and product registration with the food authority, for example SFDA in Saudi Arabia or the municipal food import systems in the UAE.
- Health or phytosanitary certificate and a certificate of origin, which may need to be legalised or attested.
- Arabic labelling for packaged goods and any conformity certificates required.
Every trade: money, sanctions and ethics
- Know your counterparty: check the company is real, its licence and registration, and that bank details match the company name.
- Screen both parties and the destination against UN, US, EU and UK sanctions lists.
- Follow anti-money-laundering rules; be wary of unusual payment routes or third-party payers.
- No bribes or improper payments to anyone, including officials, to obtain licences, certificates or contracts.
Also see
Trade safely: avoiding fraud · Terms of Use, section 3. Spotted something out of date? Email support@coffeeparchment.coffee.