# Pepper HS Code 0904: Which Code Applies to Your Pepper Product?

**Heading 0904 is not only pepper. It also covers dried chilli and paprika — and the two branches carry different US duty.** Peppercorns enter the United States at 0%; dried chilli does not. Two questions settle which of the four codes is yours: is the product true pepper or a chilli-family fruit, and is it whole or crushed and ground?

> Section II · Vegetable products
> Chapter 09 · Coffee, tea, maté and spices

**HS code:** `0904`

## Pepper HS Code 0904: Quick Classification Table

| Code | Product family | Form | What it covers |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [**090411**](/hscode/09/090411) | Pepper — genus *Piper* | Neither crushed nor ground | Whole peppercorns — black, white, or dried green |
| [**090412**](/hscode/09/090412) | Pepper — genus *Piper* | Crushed or ground | Ground pepper, cracked pepper |
| [**090421**](/hscode/09/090421) | Fruit of genus *Capsicum* or *Pimenta* | Dried, neither crushed nor ground | Whole dried chillies, whole allspice |
| [**090422**](/hscode/09/090422) | Fruit of genus *Capsicum* or *Pimenta* | Crushed or ground | Chilli powder, paprika, crushed red pepper |

> Full legal text of the heading: *Pepper of the genus Piper; dried or crushed or ground fruit of the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta.* Heading 0904 sits in [Chapter 09](/hscode/09) (coffee, tea, maté and spices), Section II (vegetable products).

## How Do You Choose the Right HS Code for Pepper?

Work through two questions, in this order. The first decides the pair; the second decides which of the two.

**Question 1 — Is it true pepper, or a chilli-family fruit?** True pepper is the genus *Piper* — that is the peppercorn, whatever its colour. It sends you to 090411 or 090412. Chillies, paprika and allspice are the genus *Capsicum* or *Pimenta*, and send you to 090421 or 090422. **This is the fork that costs money if you get it wrong**, because the two branches are dutied differently in the United States.

**Question 2 — Is it whole, or crushed and ground?** Whole takes the first code in the pair, crushed or ground takes the second. Cracked pepper counts as crushed. **Within a pair, breaking the product is what moves the code** — cleaning, grading and sorting do not.

**Is it true pepper, or a chilli-family fruit?**
- Pepper — genus Piper (peppercorns) → **Is it whole, or crushed and ground?** Whole: [090411](/hscode/09/090411) (US MFN 0%) · Crushed or ground: [090412](/hscode/09/090412) (US MFN 0%)
- Capsicum or Pimenta (chilli, paprika, allspice) → **Is it whole, or crushed and ground?** Whole: [090421](/hscode/09/090421) (US MFN 2.5¢/kg, varies by US subheading) · Crushed or ground: [090422](/hscode/09/090422) (US MFN 3¢/kg, varies by US subheading)

**Drying behaves differently on the two branches**, which is easy to miss. A peppercorn is in 0904 whether or not it has been dried. A chilli is in 0904 *only* once it has been dried, crushed or ground — see the next paragraph.

**One thing the second question does not decide: fresh chillies are not in 0904 at all.** The heading's own wording covers Capsicum and Pimenta fruit only when *dried or crushed or ground*. Fresh chillies belong to Chapter 07, under [**070960**](/hscode/07/070960) — *"Other vegetables, fresh or chilled: Fruits of the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta."* **The same two genus names, a different chapter, because the fruit is fresh rather than dried.**

## What Is the HS Code for Black Pepper?

**Whole black peppercorns are 090411. Ground black pepper is 090412.**

Black pepper is the genus *Piper*, so it always lands on the first branch. The only question left is form: whole peppercorns take 090411, and anything cracked, crushed or ground takes 090412.

**The heading's test is the genus, not the colour.** Its wording is *"Pepper of the genus Piper"* — it says nothing about black, white or green. So once you know the product is a peppercorn of that genus, the only remaining question is whether it is whole or ground.

## What Is the HS Code for White Pepper?

**White pepper follows exactly the same rule as black: 090411 whole, 090412 ground.**

Heading 0904 gives no separate line for white pepper, and neither do its four six-digit codes. Removing the outer layer of a peppercorn changes neither of the two things the heading actually tests — the genus, and whether the product is crushed or ground — so white pepper is classified on form alone, exactly like black.

This is worth stating because `white pepper hs code` is searched as if it were a code of its own. **It is not a separate code.**

## Whole Peppercorn vs Ground Pepper: Which Code Applies?

**Whole is 090411. Crushed or ground is 090412.** This is the whole of the second decision for *Piper* products, and it is where most avoidable 0904 errors happen.

What counts as crushed or ground:

- Ground pepper, fine or coarse — **090412**
- Cracked or coarsely crushed peppercorns — **090412**
- Whole peppercorns, cleaned, dried, graded or sorted — still **090411**

Processing that does not break the corn does not move the code. Once it is broken, it does.

The same fork exists on the chilli branch, with the same logic: whole dried chillies are 090421, chilli powder is 090422.

## What Is the HS Code for Dried Chili and Chili Powder?

**Whole dried chillies are 090421. Chilli powder and paprika are 090422.**

Chillies belong to the genus *Capsicum*; allspice belongs to *Pimenta*. Both sit on the second branch of heading 0904, and both are only in 0904 when the fruit is **dried, or crushed, or ground** — the heading says so in its own text.

Two consequences worth knowing before you file:

- **Fresh chillies are not classified here** — they are [070960](/hscode/07/070960), in Chapter 07 with the fresh vegetables. Drying is the condition of entry to heading 0904 for the Capsicum branch, not an optional processing step.
- **This branch is dutied and the pepper branch is not** — see the duty section below. A chilli product filed as pepper is not a paperwork error, it is an underpayment.

## Pepper HS Code Mistakes That Lead to the Wrong Classification

**1. Treating chilli as pepper because the heading is called "pepper".** Heading 0904 covers both families, and they are dutied differently in the US. This is the most expensive mistake on the page.

**2. Assuming white pepper has its own code.** It does not — it is *Piper*, classified on form like any other peppercorn.

**3. Filing fresh chillies under 090421.** The Capsicum branch requires the fruit to be dried, crushed or ground. Fresh is [070960](/hscode/07/070960), a different chapter entirely — same genus names, different code.

**4. Reading the four codes off a collapsed code list.** Many code lists render 090412 and 090422 with identical labels — both simply "Crushed or ground". Two different products, two different duty treatments, one string. Use the classification table above, or the code's own page, which carries the full path.

**5. Assuming the duty is the same across a branch.** The US rates below vary by subheading within the Capsicum branch. Check the code you are actually filing.

## Already Know the Code? Check the Import Duty

US MFN base rates, HTS 2026 Column-1 General, **as of 1 January 2026**. Verified on the live code pages 23 Aug 2026.

| Code | US MFN rate |
| --- | --- |
| [090411](/hscode/09/090411) — whole peppercorns | **0%** |
| [090412](/hscode/09/090412) — ground pepper | **0%** |
| [090421](/hscode/09/090421) — whole dried chilli | **2.5¢/kg** *(varies by US subheading)* |
| [090422](/hscode/09/090422) — chilli powder, paprika | **3¢/kg** *(varies by US subheading)* |

**Pepper of the genus *Piper* enters the United States duty-free. Chilli-family products do not.** That is the practical reason the first question on this page matters more than the second.

These figures **exclude Section 301 and IEEPA add-ons**, and they are the base rate only — the per-kilo rates vary by the US subheading beneath the six-digit code. This is not legal advice, and it is **United States data only**; rates for other destination markets are not covered here.

## Turn HS Code 0904 Into a List of Pepper Importers

You have the code. The next question is who already buys it.

Each six-digit code has a companies page built from customs filings, ranked by shipments over the last 12 months. Verified live 23 Aug 2026:

| Code | Product | Companies on record |
| --- | --- | --- |
| [090411](/companies/hs/090411) | Whole peppercorns | **27 companies** |
| [090412](/companies/hs/090412) | Ground pepper | **34 companies** |
| [090421](/companies/hs/090421) | Whole dried chilli | **34 companies** |
| [090422](/companies/hs/090422) | Chilli powder, paprika | **85 companies** |

**One limit stated plainly: this company data is United States filings only** — the same single-country limit that applies to the duty figures above.

**[Find pepper importers →](/companies/hs/090412)**

## Frequently asked questions

**What is HS code 0904?**
Heading 0904 covers pepper of the genus *Piper*, and dried, crushed or ground fruit of the genus *Capsicum* or *Pimenta*. It splits into four six-digit codes: 090411, 090412, 090421 and 090422.

**What is the HS code for black pepper?**
090411 for whole peppercorns, 090412 for ground.

**What is the HS code for white pepper?**
The same as black — 090411 whole, 090412 ground. White pepper is not a separate code.

**What is the HS code for chilli powder?**
090422. Whole dried chillies are 090421.

**Is fresh chilli covered by 0904?**
No. The Capsicum and Pimenta branch only covers fruit that is dried, crushed or ground. Fresh chillies are [070960](/hscode/07/070960), in Chapter 07.

**Does grinding change the HS code?**
Yes. Grinding or crushing moves the product from the first code of a pair to the second — 090411 to 090412, or 090421 to 090422.

**What is the US import duty on pepper?**
Peppercorns are 0% MFN. Chilli-family products carry a per-kilo rate — 2.5¢/kg on 090421 and 3¢/kg on 090422, varying by US subheading, as of 1 January 2026.

## Subheadings as written in the nomenclature

- `090411` — Pepper — Neither crushed nor ground
- `090412` — Pepper — Crushed or ground
- `090421` — Fruit of the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta — Dried, neither crushed nor ground
- `090422` — Fruit of the genus Capsicum or of the genus Pimenta — Crushed or ground

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Source: https://eximagent.ai/hscode/09/0904
Last updated: 2026-08-29
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