HS Code 2308Vegetable materials and vegetable waste, vegetable residues and bi-products; whether or not in the form of pellets, of a kind used in animal feeding, not elsewhere specified or included

What HS code 2308 covers

Think of this heading as the home for plant leftovers that end up in animal feed. The material can be waste, a residue or a by-product. It can be loose, or it can be pressed into pellets.

The key phrase is "not elsewhere specified or included". It means the heading is a last stop. If a narrower heading already names your goods, you use that heading and not this one.

Chapter 23 deals with food industry residues and prepared animal fodder, and this heading sits at the plain, unprepared end of that range. Countries that need more detail add their own extra digits after it, so a national tariff line can be longer than six digits.

How 2308 differs from nearby headings

Check the narrower headings first. A specific heading always beats a general one, and most mistakes happen when a buyer skips this step. Here is what each neighbour is for.

• 2301: meal and pellets made from meat, fish or other aquatic animals that are unfit for people to eat.
• 2302: bran, sharps and other leftovers from sifting or milling cereals and beans.
• 2303: waste from making starch and sugar, plus brewing and distilling waste.
• 2304, 2305 and 2306: the solid cake left after oil is pressed out. The split is by oil source: soya-bean, ground-nut, and all other vegetable or microbial oils.
• 2307: wine lees and argol.
• 2309: prepared feed for animals.

Choosing a heading for vegetable residues

Start with where the goods came from. Leftovers from milling grain point to 2302. Leftovers from sugar, starch or beer point to 2303. A solid left after pressing seeds for oil points to 2304, 2305 or 2306. Only when none of these fit should you move on to 2308.

The most common mix-up is with 2309. That heading is for prepared feed made for animals. Ask whether the product was mixed or made up as a feed. If it was, look at 2309. If it is simply a plant leftover, 2308 is the likely answer.

Pellets do not change the answer. The wording allows goods with or without pellets, so form alone never decides the heading. The material and its use decide it.

Keep notes on the origin, the process and the planned use. Good records make your tariff classification easier to defend with customs. If you are still unsure, the HS code classifier lets you compare options.

HS 2308 import and export data

EximDataX shows shipment-level import and export records from official customs sources. Coverage: 43 direct customs feeds plus 184 mirror-derived countries.

Named buyers and named suppliers are available in 38 of the 43 direct markets. Most markets refresh weekly and some refresh daily.

You can search by HS code to see who imports and exports a product, and book a free demo. To look at this heading, search for 2308 and open the live records. Then use the buyer data and supplier data pages to see who is trading the goods.