HS 3302 or 2106? How Food Flavourings Are Classified in ASEAN

Heading 33.02 covers mixtures of odoriferous substances, and mixtures based on them, of a kind used as raw materials in industry; it also covers other preparations based on odoriferous substances for beverage manufacture. Heading 21.06 covers food preparations "not elsewhere specified or included". The difference moves duty: in a Philippine case decided in January 2025, the Bureau of Customs had moved three food flavourings to 2106.90.99 at a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate of 7 per cent ad valorem. The Tariff Commission classified all three in 3302.10.30 at a 2024 MFN rate of 1 per cent, with a zero ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) rate subject to proof of origin. Rates for Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam were not reviewed here.

How Are Headings 33.02 and 21.06 Worded?

In the 2022 edition of the World Customs Organization (WCO) Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature, heading 33.02 reads "Mixtures of odoriferous substances and mixtures (including alcoholic solutions) with a basis of one or more of these substances, of a kind used as raw materials in industry; other preparations based on odoriferous substances, of a kind used for the manufacture of beverages.". Its subheadings are 3302.10, "Of a kind used in the food or drink industries", and 3302.90, "Other".

Chapter 33 Note 2 reads: "The expression “odoriferous substances” in heading 33.02 refers only to the substances of heading 33.01, to odoriferous constituents isolated from those substances or to synthetic aromatics.". Heading 33.01 covers essential oils, resinoids, extracted oleoresins and related products. Chapter 33 Note 1(a) excludes natural oleoresins and vegetable extracts of headings 13.01 or 13.02.

Heading 21.06 reads "Food preparations not elsewhere specified or included.". Its subheadings are 2106.10, "Protein concentrates and textured protein substances", and 2106.90, "Other". The Chapter 21 Notes do not mention heading 33.02, but Note 1 excludes specified products, including flavoured tea and spices or other products of headings 09.04 to 09.10. The ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN) Supplementary Explanatory Notes, edition 2022, describe the 21.06 flavouring line, 2106.90.98, as "mixtures of one or more flavouring substances or extracts, not based on odoriferous substances, with starch, flour or other food substances acting as a carrier.". The same entry says their primary function is to impart a characteristic taste. Their foreword says that in a conflict, "the definitions provided in the HS and EN shall prevail".

What Did the Philippine Tariff Commission Decide?

The Philippine case is one importer and one shipment, decided three times. Three Tariff Commission rulings, each issued on 7 January 2025 and published by the Bureau of Customs (BOC) as Customs Memorandum Circulars 16, 18 and 19 of 2025, cover three flavours on the same import entry. The importer declared 3302.10.90 and claimed the zero ATIGA rate; the documents examined by the Commission included a Certificate of Origin Form D. The BOC "contested the declared heading and reclassified subject article under AHTN 2022 subheading 2106.90.99, with a Most Favoured Nation (MFN) rate of duty of 7% ad valorem.". The Commission stated that it had received no BOC response by the ruling date.

A peach flavour is "a flavouring preparation in the form of a colorless to light-yellow liquid", composed of propylene glycol and eight named synthetic aromatics. A tutti fruitti flavour is composed of "essential oil (orange oil) and synthetic aromatics". A chocolate flavour is "composed of propylene glycol, water, synthetic aromatics (ethyl maltol, ethyl vanillin, and furfural), caramel, acetic acid, cocoa extract, and vanilla extract". Each is used as an ingredient in the manufacture of candies, ice cream and confectionery, the chocolate flavour also in bakery and dairy products.

The Commission relied on Chapter 33 Note 2 and the Explanatory Note to 33.02, which, as quoted in the rulings, covers "Mixtures of one or more odoriferous substances (essential oils, resinoids, extracted oleoresins or synthetic aromatics) combined with added diluents or carriers such as vegetable oil, dextrose or starch", cited for the peach and chocolate flavours, and mixtures of two or more odoriferous substances, cited for the tutti fruitti flavour. The peach ruling finds "a flavouring preparation based on odoriferous substances (i.e., synthetic aromatics), with added diluent or carrier (i.e., propylene glycol), not containing alcohol", used in the food industry, and adds that heading 21.06 "should only be considered when classifying food preparations that are not covered by any other heading of the AHTN 2022". The chocolate ruling does not discuss the caramel, cocoa extract or vanilla extract separately. The Malaysian rambutan decisions also reproduce Explanatory Note paragraph (7), covering mixtures with products of other chapters, such as spices, provided odoriferous substances form the basis of the mixture.

The 8-digit subdivisions of 3302.10 distinguish alcohol content, intended use and physical form. The rulings contain contradictory wording about 3302.10.90; the tariff schedule separately identifies alcoholic-beverage preparations in liquid and other forms, other preparations not containing alcohol, and a residual "Other" line. A footnote in each ruling says: "Based on the discussion in the 14th Meeting of the ASEAN Technical Sub-Working Group on Classification (TSWGC) held on 23-28 July 2024 in Singapore, the term "alcohol", as used in the AHTN 2022 subheadings under heading 33.02, refers to the low molecular weight alcohols (e.g., ethyl alcohol and isopropyl alcohol) used as an intoxicating agent in alcoholic beverages.". No TSWGC record was obtained.

All three rulings classify the goods in 3302.10.30 "by virtue of Rules 1 and 6" of the General Rules for the Interpretation of the HS, at a 2024 MFN rate of "1% ad valorem" and a 2024 ATIGA rate of "Zero", "Subject to submission of CO Form D, Electronic Certificate of Origin (e-Form D), or Origin Declaration by Approved Exporter". The Commission kept heading 33.02 and changed the 8-digit line, from the declared 3302.10.90 to 3302.10.30.

What Has Malaysian Customs Published?

The Royal Malaysian Customs Department publishes classification decisions in its public eKKB database. In a search for "3302", of 44 rows on the Customs Duties Order 2022 (PDK 2022), 23 are in 3302.10.90, 16 in 3302.10.30 and 4 in 3302.90.00. The Malaysian codes cited here append "00" to the eight-digit AHTN code. All 17 PDK 2022 rows whose text says "containing alcohol" are in 3302.10.90, and 16 of the 17 that say "not containing alcohol" are in 3302.10.30. The exception has no letter linked, so its reason is not shown. Four letters of 14 March 2025 for rambutan flavours containing ethanol classify them in 3302.10.90 00.

A search for "2106.90.98" returned five rows, all flavouring preparations. A letter of 8 May 2024 classifies a cheese flavouring powder, whose composition begins "Maltodextrin, palm oil, cheddar cheese, milk permeate, salt", in 2106.90.98 00, "Other flavouring preparations", as a food preparation used as a raw material in the food industry under paragraph (A) of the Explanatory Note to heading 21.06 (our translation).

A letter of 16 January 2024, under the 2017 order, sent a strawberry and a milk flavour to 3824.99.70 00, "Chemical preparation used in food industry not elsewhere specified or included". Analysis detected only triacetin and propylene glycol, acting as solvents, and no natural or synthetic aromatics; the letter rejects 21.06 because the goods are not a mixture of chemicals with foodstuff under item (B) of the Explanatory Note (our translation). The same decision places three other flavours under heading 33.02. Its decision box prints 3302.10.99 00, while its reasoning prints 3302.10.90 00; the document does not reconcile those codes.

The database describes itself as a guide for customs officers and says that where information shown is wrong, reference must be made to the hard copy of Jadual B (Ketetapan Kastam) or the relevant classification letter (our translation). No ruling reference number appears in the ten letters reviewed here.

Which AHTN 2022 Lines Cover Flavourings?

The descriptions and Philippine MFN rates below are printed in the Philippine Tariff Commission's Tariff Book 2022. Its chapter files are linked from the Commission's site but hosted on a third-party file service. The files carry a "FOR REFERENCE" watermark and display dated MFN-rate columns for 2024 to 2028; the underlying Executive Order was not checked. Each rate is the same in every column from 2024 to 2028. Selected AHTN 2022 lines; this is not an exhaustive list. The Chapter 21 schedule also contains separate alcoholic beverage-preparation lines, 2106.90.61 to 2106.90.69.

The Tariff Commission rulings attached to the BOC circulars give 1 per cent for 3302.10.30 as a 2024 MFN rate, and report the BOC's 7 per cent MFN classification under 2106.90.99. Malaysian decision letters reproduce the 3302 descriptions, and the 2106.90.98 description appears in those letters and the ASEAN supplementary notes. The other Chapter 21 rates shown in the table, except the 7 per cent reported for 2106.90.99 in the rulings, rely on the reference copy. This includes the 1 per cent rate for 2106.90.98. Confirm any rate against the importing country's official schedule.

What Changes in HS 2028?

The next edition is HS 2028, which the WCO says "will enter into force on 1 January 2028". It inserts subheading "2106.20 - Premixes and mixtures as specified in Subheading Note 1 to this Chapter, other than products of subheading 2106.10". Subheading 2106.20 covers specified premixes and mixtures for producing fortified foods and beverages or dietary supplements, consisting of or based on vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, extracts or isolates as active substances. It excludes products of 2106.10, fortified foods as defined in the Note, and preparations packed for retail sale. Qualifying preparations may contain flavours or odoriferous substances. New heading 21.07 covers dietary supplements in measured doses as defined in Note 5, and other dietary supplements in retail packings not elsewhere specified or included, subject to Note 4. Note 4(B) excludes products of Section VI.

No explicit amendment to heading 33.02 was found in the documents reviewed: a text search of the WCO amendment document for "33.02", "3302" and "CHAPTER 33" returns no Chapter 33 amendment, and the WCO correlation tables contain no Chapter 33 line. This is an absence in the WCO documents reviewed here, not a WCO statement. The correlation tables are non-binding guides, and the WCO says the correlations for new 2107.10 and 2107.90 are not comprehensive; absence from those tables does not establish that every product's classification remains unchanged. ASEAN and national 2028 schedules were not reviewed here.

Have Other ASEAN Customs Authorities Published Flavouring Rulings?

None was found for Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand or Vietnam, within limited checks. Singapore Customs rulings apply only within Singapore and give an 8-digit code; its public Customs Ruling Database, a non-exhaustive list of 78 products, has no 3302 entry and no flavouring under 2106. The Thai e-Advance Ruling search was not reviewed here, and for Indonesia and Vietnam only domain-restricted web searches were run.

What Should You Ask a Flavour Supplier?

The declared code and its basis. Ask for the 8-digit AHTN 2022 code, the national code where the importing country adds digits, and what the code rests on: a published ruling, a decision letter or the supplier's own reading. Singapore rulings apply only within Singapore. Malaysia's eKKB database is a guide for customs officers; if displayed information is wrong, it directs them to the relevant hard-copy Jadual B or classification letter (our translation).

The composition detail customs works from. The Philippine rulings record the physical form, the carrier or diluent, each odoriferous substance by type and name, foodstuff ingredients such as caramel or cocoa extract, and the end use. Ask about alcohol content, food carriers and the substances forming the basis of the mixture; a food carrier alone does not determine the heading.

Origin documents for ATIGA. Ask which of a Form D, an e-Form D or an approved exporter origin declaration the supplier can provide for each shipment, since the Philippine rulings make the zero ATIGA rate subject to one of them.

Start with the exact flavour reference, its specification and its composition statement. VKA provides specification and safety data sheets, certificates of analysis, allergen and composition statements, halal scope documents, our FSSC 22000 certificate, and a certificate of free sale where your importer asks for one.