Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing › Seeds of forage plants
1209.21.00 — Lucerne (alfalfa) seeds
Hạt cỏ linh lăng (alfalfa)
Unit: kg (kg)
HS code 12092100 covers lucerne (alfalfa) seeds under heading 1209 (seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing), Chapter 12. The MFN import duty is 0%; the lowest FTA rate is 0% under ASEAN - China (ACFTA) (C/O form E required). VAT: */8/10. Unit of quantity: kg.
MFN import duty
0%
Lowest FTA
0%
ASEAN - China (ACFTA)
VAT
*/8/10
Excise / Env. tax
—
Not subject
Import duty comparison across FTA schedules
Full table with legal documents & effective dates
| Tax / Schedule | Rate | Document | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Preferential import duty (MFN) | 0% | 26/2023/NĐ-CP | 15/07/2023 |
| Ordinary import duty | 5% | 15/2023/QĐ-TTg | 15/07/2023 |
| ASEAN (ATIGA)(2026) | 0% | 126/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| ASEAN - China (ACFTA) | 0% | 118/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| ASEAN - Japan (AJCEP)(01/04/2026 - 31/3/2027) | 0% | 120/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - Japan (VJEPA)(1/4/2026 - 31/3/2027) | 0% | 124/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| ASEAN - Korea (AKFTA) | 0% | 119/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| ASEAN - Australia/New Zealand (AANZFTA) | 0% | 121/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| ASEAN - India (AIFTA)(01/01/2026 - 31/12/2026) | 0% | 122/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - Korea (VKFTA)(2026) | 0% | 125/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - Chile (VCFTA)(2026) | 0% | 112/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - Eurasian Economic Union (VN-EAEU)(2026) | 0% | 113/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| CPTPP Agreement(2026) | 0% | 115/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| ASEAN - Hong Kong (AHKFTA)(2026) | 0% | 123/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - EU (EVFTA)(2026) | 0% | 116/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - UK (UKVFTA)(2026) | 0% | 117/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| Vietnam - Laos | 0% | 206/2025/NĐ-CP | 15/07/2025 |
| Vietnam - Israel (VIFTA)(2026) | 0% | 131/2024/NĐ-CP | 15/10/2024 |
| RCEP - Group A (ASEAN)(2026) | 0% | 129/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| RCEP - Group B (China)(2026) | 0% | 129/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| RCEP - Group C (Korea)(2026) | 0% | 129/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| RCEP - Group D (Japan)(2026) | 0% | 129/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| RCEP - Group E (Australia)(2026) | 0% | 129/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
| RCEP - Group F (New Zealand)(2026) | 0% | 129/2022/NĐ-CP | 30/12/2022 |
FTA schedules are cut annually: the rate shown applies to the period in brackets, per the decree's appendix.
VAT · Excise tax · Environmental protection tax
| Tax / Schedule | Rate | Document | Effective |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value added tax (VAT) | */8/10 | 181/2025/NĐ-CP | 01/07/2025 |
Rules of origin by FTA
To claim an FTA rate the goods must meet the origin criterion below AND carry a valid C/O — the right HS code alone is not enough.
- - Lucerne (alfalfa) seeds
RVC(40) or CC
RVC(40) hoặc CC
CCRVC40
Source: Circular No. 44/2025/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2022 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
CC
CC
Source: Circular No. 37/2022/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2017 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
WO
WO
Source: Circular No. 49/2025/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2022 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
- - Lucerne (alfalfa) seeds
RVC40 or CC
RVC40 hoặc CC
CCRVC40
Source: Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2022 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing
CC
CC
Source: Circular No. 03/2019/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2012 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
Manufacture using materials of any heading, except that of the product.
Sử dụng nguyên liệu từ bất kỳ Nhóm nào để sản xuất, ngoại trừ Nhóm của sản phẩm.
Source: Circular No. 14/2026/TT-BCT
Seeds, fruit and spores, of a kind used for sowing
CC
CC
Source: Circular No. 32/2022/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2022 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
Manufacture from materials of any heading, except that of the product.
Sản xuất từ nguyên liệu thuộc bất kỳ Nhóm nào, ngoại trừ Nhóm của sản phẩm.
Source: Circular No. 02/2021/TT-BCT
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
CC
CC
Source: Circular No. 31/2013/TT-BCT
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
WO
WO
Source: Circular No. 11/2024/TT-BCT
Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
CC
CC
Source: Circular No. 10/2009/TT-BCT
- - Lucerne (alfalfa) seeds
WO
WO
Source: Circular No. 09/2022/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2017 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
- - Lucerne (alfalfa) seeds
CC
CC
Source: Circular No. 01/2024/TT-BCT · annex uses HS 2022 while this site uses AHTN 2022 — check headings that changed between versions
Agreements with no rule specific to this code
This code carries a preferential rate under the agreements below but has no line of its own in the product-specific rules annex. The goods must still meet an origin requirement.
The agreement sets a general rule for codes outside the annex:
1. The goods referred to in Clause 3, Article 5 of this Circular, other than the goods provided in Clause 2 of this Article, are considered originating if they have an RVC of not less than 40% calculated in accordance with Article 8 of this Circular.
Source: Circular No. 21/2019/TT-BCT · Article 7(1)
The agreement sets a general rule for codes outside the annex:
1. Products referred to in Clause 2, Article 2 are considered originating if:
a) The AIFTA content is not less than thirty-five per cent (35%) of the FOB value; and
b) The non-originating materials used in the production of that product have undergone a change in tariff classification at the six (6)-digit level (CTSH) of the Harmonized System.
provided that the last production process is carried out in the territory of the exporting Member State.
CTSH
Source: Circular No. 15/2010/TT-BCT · Article 4(1) of Appendix 1
The agreement sets a general rule for codes outside the annex:
1. General origin criterion
a) Goods specified in Clause 2 of Article 2 shall be considered as originating in the Member State where the working or processing of those goods has taken place if:
- The goods have a regional value content (hereinafter referred to as the “Viet Nam - Laos value content” or the “regional value content (LVC)”) of not less than forty percent (40%), calculated in accordance with the formula provided in Article 5; or
- All non-originating materials used in the production of those goods have undergone a change in tariff classification (hereinafter referred to as “CTC”) at the four (4)-digit level (meaning a change of heading) of the Harmonized System.
b) Each Member State shall allow the exporter of the goods to decide to use either of the two criteria “LVC of not less than forty percent (40%)” or “change in tariff classification at the four (04)-digit level” referred to at point a of Clause 1 in order to determine the origin of the goods.
CTCLVC
Source: Circular No. 04/2010/TT-BCT · Article 4(1) of Appendix 1
Criteria are quoted verbatim from the Vietnamese circular, not paraphrased.
Commodity policy for this HS code
Unofficial English rendering of the Vietnamese source; the document numbers link to the full text.
Managing authority: Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
- Plant quarantine (01/2024/TT-BNNPTNT M9)Quarantine· Ministry of Agriculture and Environment
Related documents (full text)
Notes for Section II — VEGETABLE PRODUCTS
1. In this Section the term “pellets” means products which have been agglomerated either directly by compression or by the addition of a binder in a proportion not exceeding 3% by weight.
Notes for Chapter 12 — Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medicinal plants; straw and fodder
Notes
1. Heading 12.07 applies, inter alia, to palm nuts and kernels, cotton seeds, castor oil seeds, sesamum seeds, mustard seeds, safflower seeds, poppy seeds and shea nuts (karite nuts). It does not apply to products of heading 08.01 or 08.02 or to olives (Chapter 7 or Chapter 20).
2. Heading 12.08 applies not only to non-defatted flours and meals but also to flours and meals which have been partially defatted or defatted and wholly or partially refatted with their original oils. It does not, however, apply to residues of headings 23.04 to 23.06.
3. For the purposes of heading 12.09, beet seeds, grass and other herbage seeds, seeds of ornamental flowers, vegetable seeds, seeds of forest trees, seeds of fruit trees, seeds of vetches (other than those of the species Vicia faba) or of lupines are to be regarded as “seeds of a kind used for sowing”.
Heading 12.09 does not, however, apply to the following even if for sowing:
(a) Leguminous vegetables or sweet corn (Chapter 7);
(b) Spices or other products of Chapter 9;
(c) Cereals (Chapter 10); or
(d) Products of headings 12.01 to 12.07 or 12.11.
4. Heading 12.11 applies, inter alia, to the following plants or parts thereof: basil, borage, ginseng, hyssop, liquorice, all species of mint, rosemary, rue, sage and wormwood.
Heading 12.11 does not, however, apply to:
(a) Medicaments of Chapter 30;
(b) Perfumery, cosmetic or toilet preparations of Chapter 33; or
(c) Insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, disinfectants or similar products of heading 38.08.
5. For the purposes of heading 12.12, the term “seaweeds and other algae” does not include:
(a) Dead single-cell micro-organisms of heading 21.02;
(b) Cultures of micro-organisms of heading 30.02; or
(c) Fertilisers of heading 31.01 or 31.05.
Subheading Note
1. For the purposes of subheading 1205.10, the expression “low erucic acid rape or colza seeds” means rape or colza seeds yielding a fixed oil which has an erucic acid content of less than 2% by weight and yielding a solid component which contains less than 30 micromoles of glucosinolates per gram.
Corresponding US tariff lines
Six digits are identical worldwide under the HS Convention, so 1209.21 is the same subheading in both schedules. What differs is how each country splits it: below are the 2 US lines under 1209.21.
| US HTS code | Description | General duty |
|---|---|---|
| 1209.21.00.20 | Seeds of forage plants › Alfalfa (lucerne) seeds › Certified(kg) | 1.5¢/kg |
| 1209.21.00.40 | Seeds of forage plants › Alfalfa (lucerne) seeds › Other(kg) | 1.5¢/kg |
Additional Chapter 99 duties apply to goods of Vietnam
- 9903.02.69 +20% — The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 20%
- 9903.05.84 +12.5% — The duty provided in the applicable subheading + 12.5%
These are added to the General duty above, not in place of it. Whether a given article falls inside their scope — and the exclusion lists — is set out in the U.S. notes to Chapter 99, which are prose and not machine-readable, so this site does not assign them per code. Check the official schedule before quoting a landed cost.
Already terminated: 9903.01.72 +46%
The General column is the rate for Vietnam: the Special column lists US preference programmes (GSP, USMCA, KORUS…) and Vietnam is in none of them. Source: USITC Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States — 2026 HTS Revision 13. For reference only — classification on import is decided by US Customs, and anti-dumping, countervailing and Section 232/301 measures are not covered here.
Codes at the same level under “Seeds of forage plants:”
Check neighbouring codes to make sure the classification fits best.
Data updated: 31/07/2026 · Found wrong or missing data? Report an issue for this code →