HS Code for Olive Oil

Olive oil obtained from the fruit of the olive tree is classified in chapter 15 of the HTSUS, where heading 1509 covers olive oil and its fractions, whether or not refined but not chemically modified. Two factors usually drive the subheading: the grade of the oil, extra virgin (1509.20), virgin (1509.30), or other olive oil such as refined grades (1509.90), and, within each grade, the size of the packaging it is imported in. Smaller retail-sized containers point toward the lines carrying a specific rate of 5¢/kg assessed on contents and container, while larger or bulk packagings point toward the lower 3.4¢/kg lines. Oil pressed from olive residue (olive-pomace oil) is a separate story and points toward heading 1510 rather than 1509.

Olive oil sits in chapter 15 of the HTSUS among the animal, vegetable and microbial fats and oils. Heading 1509 is the dedicated provision for olive oil and its fractions obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or physical means, whether or not refined, provided it has not been chemically modified. Bottled cooking and finishing oils, as well as bulk oil shipped for repackaging, all point toward heading 1509.

The first branch within the heading is the grade of the oil. Extra virgin olive oil points toward subheading 1509.20, virgin olive oil (not extra virgin) toward 1509.30, and other olive oil (including refined olive oil and blends of refined with virgin) toward the residual 1509.90 subheading. Confirming the grade stated on the product is usually the clearest first step.

Within each grade, the next branch is the packaging in which the oil is imported. The tariff separates oil in smaller retail-sized containers, which points toward the lines carrying a specific rate of 5¢/kg assessed on the contents and container together, from oil in larger or bulk packagings, which points toward the lower 3.4¢/kg lines. This is why the same extra virgin oil can point toward either 1509.20.20 or 1509.20.90 depending on how it is packed; the grade and the pack size are read together.

A practical approach is to confirm the grade first (extra virgin, virgin, or other), then the packaging size, and then read the specific line and its statistical suffix. That sequence usually points toward a single most-appropriate subheading to explore. It is worth keeping heading 1509 distinct from two neighbors: oil extracted from olive residue with solvents (olive-pomace oil) points toward heading 1510, and finished food preparations or blends where olive oil is only one ingredient may point toward the prepared-food headings rather than 1509 itself.

Duty on olive oil under heading 1509 is expressed as a specific rate per kilogram rather than a percentage of value. Oil in smaller retail-sized packagings tends toward the lines carrying 5¢/kg assessed on the contents and container together, while oil in larger or bulk packagings tends toward the lower 3.4¢/kg lines; so within a single grade the packaging can change the estimated duty. The grade itself (extra virgin, virgin, or other) sets the subheading but the pack-size split drives which specific rate applies. Preferential rates under free trade agreements or programs such as the Generalized System of Preferences may reduce or eliminate these duties for qualifying origins. Because the rates are specific and depend on weight, the duty estimate moves with the quantity imported. These figures are estimates for general planning purposes only.