Tea · guide
A tea shipment is only as smooth as its paperwork. Here is what each document is for, who normally issues it, and the mistakes that cause holds and payment delays.
| Market | Imports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| United States | $11.7B | 2024 |
| Germany | $6.5B | 2024 |
| France | $4.0B | 2024 |
| Italy | $3.4B | 2024 |
| Canada | $2.4B | 2024 |
| Spain | $2.2B | 2024 |
| Market | Exports | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Brazil | $11.8B | 2024 |
| India | $5.2B | 2024 |
| Vietnam | $4.7B | 2023 |
| Germany | $4.5B | 2024 |
| Switzerland | $3.9B | 2024 |
| China | $3.6B | 2024 |
Figures are for the whole of HS chapter 09 (coffee, tea, mate and spices). Source: UN Comtrade.
Almost every cross-border tea sale rests on four papers: the commercial invoice, the packing list, the transport document and the customs export declaration. The invoice states the seller, buyer, goods description, code, quantity, unit terms and total. The packing list breaks the consignment into bags, cartons or pallets with gross and net weights. The transport document, a bill of lading for sea freight or an airway bill for air, is the carrier’s receipt and, for sea freight, often the document of title.
The customs export declaration is filed by you or your agent with the origin customs authority. It records the goods, value and destination and is what lets the shipment leave the country. The details must agree across all four papers. If the invoice and the packing list give different carton counts, expect questions from the carrier, the port and the buyer’s bank.
Tea is classified in heading 0902, and the subheading turns on two facts: green or black, and whether the immediate pack is up to 3kg or above. The subheadings are 090210, 090220, 090230 and 090240. The description on your invoice should match the code. Writing simply ‘tea’ next to a code for packs above 3kg invites a query, particularly if the goods are actually retail boxes.
Mixed consignments need care. If one container holds bulk black tea and retail cartons of green tea, list each line with its own code and quantity. The national tariff extends the six digits further, and both duty at destination and origin-side statistics follow that longer code, so ask your broker to confirm it for each line instead of guessing.
A certificate of origin states where the tea was grown or substantially produced. It is issued by an authorised body in the exporting country, commonly a chamber of commerce or a designated government office. Some buyers ask for it as a matter of habit; others need it so the goods can qualify for preferential duty under a trade agreement, in which case the format and wording may be prescribed.
Blended tea causes the most trouble. If leaf from several origins is blended in your country, the origin claim depends on the rules of the relevant regime, not on where the box was packed. Read those rules before promising preferential treatment, and never ask an issuing body to certify something the product does not meet.
Although tea is processed and dry, many destinations still ask for a plant-health or phytosanitary certificate, issued by the plant protection authority of the exporting country after inspection. This is usually required, but treat that as a prompt to confirm rather than an assumption: rules change, and some markets waive it for processed tea while others do not.
Food-safety evidence is a separate track. Importers routinely want a laboratory analysis covering the limits that apply in their own market, along with proof of the facility’s food-safety management certification. Order test reports from a laboratory the buyer will accept, date them close to shipment, and match the lot numbers on the report to the lot numbers on the bags.
Quality papers matter more for tea than for many dry goods because the product is judged by taste and appearance. Typical items are a sample approval note, a grade or leaf-size specification, and a certificate of analysis showing moisture and other agreed parameters. If the sale is under an auction or contract catalogue description, the lot reference should appear on every document.
Keep a retained sample from each lot. When a buyer disputes cup quality, the retained sample and the signed pre-shipment approval decide whether the claim has merit. Also record the packing date, since freshness questions are easier to answer with a date on file than with an argument.
If the sale is under a letter of credit, the credit’s wording is the master checklist. The issuing bank pays against documents that comply literally, so check every line: the goods description, the port names, the latest shipment date, the required number of originals and copies, and any certificates the credit demands. A discrepancy as small as a transposed letter in the consignee name can hold payment.
Under a collection or open account, the invoice and transport document still drive when money is due. Agree in the contract who sends originals, by which courier, and how many days after shipment. Ship the originals with tracking and keep receipts.
Most delays trace back to mismatches rather than exotic problems. Watch for weight differences between documents, a code that contradicts the pack size, an origin certificate that names the wrong exporter, an expired or undated certificate, and a description that differs from the credit. Labelling is another repeat cause: the destination may require particular language, ingredient or best-before information on retail packs, so ask for the label rules before printing.
Do a final review the day before loading, reading each paper against the contract and, if applicable, the credit. Keep scanned copies of everything for at least the period your tax authority requires. If you later want to see how importing companies describe tea on their own entries, customs shipment records show the description and code as declared, which is a handy way to align your wording.
The chapter-level statistics show where demand sits: United States $11.7B, Germany $6.5B, France $4.0B, Italy $3.4B, Canada $2.4B and Spain $2.2B in the latest reported year, for the whole of chapter 09 rather than tea alone. Each of those destinations has its own entry rules for dried leaf. Pick the market first, then ask the buyer for their importer’s checklist.
Comparing recent shipment records for the tea heading in that market also shows which origins already ship there, which tells you the paperwork is workable. It does not replace checking the current rules with the destination customs authority, but it stops you preparing documents for a route nobody uses.
A commercial invoice, packing list, bill of lading or airway bill, and the customs export declaration form the base. Buyers often add a certificate of origin, a plant-health certificate and a quality analysis report.
It is usually requested, but not in every market for processed tea. Confirm the current requirement with the buyer and the destination customs or plant-health authority before you load the container.
Heading 0902. Use 090210 or 090220 for green tea and 090230 or 090240 for black or partly fermented tea, depending on whether packs are up to 3kg or above. Your broker will add the national digits.
Usually because of discrepancies against the letter of credit: a different description, mismatched weights, a wrong consignee spelling, missing certificates or a late shipment date. Check each paper line by line before presenting them.
Only when the buyer, the contract or a preferential duty scheme asks for one. Blended tea needs care, because origin rules follow the relevant regime rather than the packing location.
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