Agricultural instruments

This section is not part of the standard

The content in this section is only included to help explain the standard, provide examples or make recommendations about use.

It does not contain requirements for complying with the standard and is not governed by the formal standards process.

The information may not have been updated to accurately reflect Government policy.

The term ‘agricultural instruments’ refers to any policy or mechanism which only applies to agricultural goods.

There are 2 types of agricultural measures to be aware of.

These are:

Meursing code

A Meursing code is an additional code used in the EU. It applies specific duties to goods containing certain types of milk and sugars.

On 1 January 2021, Meursing was removed from the UK Tariff. As a result, imports to Great Britain do not need Meursing codes.

Imports to Northern Ireland and the EU do need Meursing codes.

Simplified procedure value (SPV) rates are used for imported fresh fruit and vegetables.

SPV rates can only be used for batches of whole fruit and vegetable produce, of a single kind, that are yet to be sold.

Fruit or vegetable products that are cut and diced before they’re imported are excluded.

SPV rates change every 14 days.

SPV are always assigned to Erga Omnes (1011 – the whole world). There are no preferential instances of SPVs.

SPVs use measure type 488 (Unit Price).

There are never any conditions associated with an SPV, only components identifying the specific import duty. For example, 184.58 EUR (EUC) / 100 kg.