Does the Lacey Act apply to coconut charcoal? What the two APHIS tables actually say

By Mohamad Sinno, Charcoal Expert · Reviewed by Budi Hartanto, shipping specialist · Last updated 10 August 2026

Your entry gets flagged, and you still do not file a declaration. Heading 4402 has sat on APHIS' Lacey Act implementation schedule since 1 October 2009, so a coconut shell charcoal entry trips the Lacey message set in ACE. APHIS separately lists coconut as a common food crop and exempts all plant parts — which reaches the shell. The correct response to the flag is a disclaimer, not a declaration.

The two lookups, performed — read 10 August 2026

APHIS publishes the test but not the answer for any particular commodity, so the question only resolves by opening both tables and reading the rows. Here they are.

The second row decides it, and its width is deliberate. The same page warns that "apples are considered a common food crop, but wood from an apple tree is not" — then states that where the Exempted Parts column is broader than the commodity name, "This is intentional", and those parts "supersede the commodity listed in Commodity Type for exclusion purposes". Coconut's column reads all plant parts. Shell is a plant part; charcoal made from it is a product thereof.

Four conditions, and the one your entry fails

A declaration is due only when all four hold: the product contains plant material, it is classified under an APHIS-listed HTS code, it enters as a formal entry, and it falls under a covered entry type code. A coconut shell charcoal entry satisfies the first three without difficulty — then APHIS' exclusion for common cultivars and common food crops takes it out, listed alongside de minimis, informal entry and in-bond movement as a reason no declaration is required.

Which subheading you enter under does not change this. The schedule lists 4402 at heading level, so the 4402.20 versus 4402.90 question moves your duty documentation, not your Lacey position.

What a declaration contains, if you ever owe one

Worth knowing even when you disclaim: a mixed container, a reformulated binder, or a non-coconut feedstock line puts you back inside the requirement. APHIS requires twelve data elements — scientific name (genus and species) of any plant in the shipment, description of shipment, value, quantity of the plant in metric units, the country from which the plant was taken, importer name and address, consignee name and address, HTS code, bill of lading, container number, Manufacturer Identification Code, and contact details for the importer of record or agent.

Ten come out of your own entry file. Two do not — the scientific name and the country from which the plant was taken — and both have to reach you from the supplier before the vessel loads. Where either genuinely varies, APHIS' rule is to declare every species or country that may apply; its special use designations cover the case where genus and species cannot be given at all, without waiving any other field. Only the importer of record or an agent holding Power of Attorney may file, and APHIS is explicit that both "assume responsibility for the accuracy and truthfulness of the information" — a disclaimer carries that responsibility exactly as a declaration does.

The verify-before-filing path

Both tables above carry a Last Modified date, and APHIS says the exclusion list "will be updated periodically". Neither answer is permanent, so re-run the pair rather than citing this page at entry. APHIS is one of three agencies that touch a US charcoal entry, and the other two, with the duty position, are on importing shisha charcoal to the USA.

1. Open the implementation schedule and search the Heading column for 4402. Confirm it is still listed and note the effective date shown against it.
2. Open Common Cultivars and Common Food Crops and search for Coconut. Read the Exempted Parts column, not the commodity name — that column governs.
3. Confirm the conditions the exclusion depends on: the material was raised, grown or cultivated as defined in 7 CFR Part 357.2 and is not a wild specimen, and the taxon is not listed under CITES, the Endangered Species Act, or a State conservation law. APHIS keeps protected species outside the exclusion regardless of the table.
4. Have your broker enter disclaimer code A, "Not Regulated", in the APHIS Lacey Act Message Set when ACE prompts. Code A is the one APHIS names for common cultivars and common food crops.

The code-G trap, and two filing routes worth knowing

Seeing a plant-product flag on a fuel commodity, brokers often reach for de minimis and file code G. Wrong code, and it fails on its own terms: de minimis is capped at 5 percent of unit weight and 2.9 kilograms per ten-digit HTS line, and charcoal made from coconut shell is plant material throughout. APHIS also notes its de minimis is unrelated to CBP's, which is based on shipment value — the two get conflated constantly.

Two routes to have straight before entry. Paper is gone: APHIS stopped accepting the PPQ 505 and 505B forms on 1 January 2026, leaving ACE primary and LAWGS the alternative. And goods admitted into a Foreign Trade Zone cannot yet be filed in ACE — those go through LAWGS, with disclaimer code C in ACE to show the data was filed elsewhere.

Sending a first US container and want the supplier-side fields settled before loading? Message us on WhatsApp at +62 821 3924 038 and we will put the scientific name and harvest country in writing for your broker's file.

Questions importers ask about Lacey and charcoal

Is coconut shell charcoal covered by heading 4402 for Lacey purposes?

Yes. APHIS lists 4402 at four-digit heading level rather than as a ten-digit line, so every subheading beneath it sits inside the listed scope, 4402.20.00.00 included. That is what triggers the message set at entry — not the same thing as owing a declaration.

Can I use the de minimis exception instead?

No. Both limbs fail for a product that is plant material throughout, and de minimis carries code G where the exclusion that actually reaches coconut carries code A.

Can I still file a paper PPQ 505?

No. APHIS stopped accepting paper PPQ 505 and 505B submissions on 1 January 2026; filers who used paper must move to ACE or LAWGS.

Sources, all read 10 August 2026: USDA APHIS, Lacey Act Declaration Implementation Schedule (mod. 13 Jan 2026); Common Cultivars and Common Food Crops (mod. 13 Jan 2026); Lacey Act Declaration Requirements (mod. 24 Dec 2025); Frequently Asked Questions About Lacey Act Declaration Requirements (mod. 30 Jul 2025); File a Lacey Act Declaration (mod. 6 Jan 2026). This is import guidance, not legal advice, and it does not bind APHIS or CBP — the importer of record certifies the filing.