Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1206 replaced the annexes of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 on 9 June 2026. Two of the changes remove requirements that had applied to Indian spices for years. Almost every guide online still describes the old regime.
If you import Indian spices into the European Union, the paperwork you needed in May is not the paperwork you need now. Here is the position as at 26 August 2026, with the regulation cited for each line.
| Commodity | Before 9 June 2026 | Now |
|---|---|---|
| Cinnamon (0906) | Annex II — official health certificate and analytical report with every consignment | Annex I — no certificate. 20% pesticide checks at the border |
| Dried, roasted, crushed or ground chilli (Capsicum) | Increased controls for aflatoxins | Aflatoxin entry deleted. Covered only by the general 0904 pesticide check at 20% |
| Turmeric (0910 30 00) | Annex II — certificate + analytical report, 20% | Unchanged. Still Annex II, still 20% |
| Black pepper (0904) | Annex I, pesticides | Unchanged. Annex I, 20% |
This is the change most likely to affect your next order. Cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers were in Annex II, the special-conditions regime: every consignment had to travel with an official certificate issued in India and the results of sampling and analysis. The June amendment moved the entry into Annex I, which carries no certificate requirement at all — only a stated frequency of border checks, set at 20% for pesticide residues.
The Commission's reasoning is stated in recital 9 of the regulation: the official controls carried out by Member States show improvement in compliance, so it is not necessary to continue requiring that each consignment be accompanied by an official certificate.
In practice: your customs agent no longer needs to hold a certificate for the consignment to move. One in five consignments will still be sampled at the border control post, so the underlying testing matters as much as it ever did — what has gone is the paperwork, not the standard.
Dried, roasted, crushed and ground Capsicum from India had carried an increased-controls entry for aflatoxins since 2019. Recital 7 of the June regulation records the finding: official controls since May 2019 indicate an overall satisfactory degree of compliance, and an increased level of official controls for aflatoxins is no longer justified. The entry is gone.
Indian chilli is still caught by the general entry covering heading 0904 — pepper of the genus Piper and dried or crushed fruits of the genus Capsicum or Pimenta — which sits in Annex I at a 20% check frequency for pesticide residues.
Tell us the spice, the grade and the destination port and we will send the document list your entry actually requires, plus a recent Certificate of Analysis so you can see what the testing covers.
Start a Conversation →It is tempting to read the June amendment as a general relaxation. It is not. Turmeric remains in Annex II at a 20% check frequency for pesticide residues, which means every consignment still needs an official certificate issued by the Indian authorities and an accompanying analytical report from an accredited laboratory, travelling with the goods.
If you buy cinnamon and turmeric from the same supplier on the same booking, the two now sit under different regimes. That is a realistic way to have a container held.
This is the part worth writing down. The UK maintains its own list of foodstuffs with GB import restrictions, amended independently of the EU's. On the version last modified 10 July 2026, dried Capsicum from India is still listed under the aflatoxin provisions — the entry the EU has just deleted.
So as of today the same Indian chilli faces aflatoxin controls entering Great Britain and does not entering the European Union. Cinnamon and turmeric are both on the GB list for pesticide residues. Black pepper is not on the GB list at all.
If you supply both markets from one lot, plan to the stricter of the two.
SpiceModo ships a NABL-accredited Certificate of Analysis with every lot, and the document pack is built to the destination rather than to a template. If you want to see what that looks like before committing to an order, ask for a specimen.
No. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1206 of 9 June 2026 moved cinnamon and cinnamon-tree flowers out of Annex II of Regulation (EU) 2019/1793 and into Annex I. Annex I carries no certificate requirement — only a 20% frequency of border checks for pesticide residues.
Not under the increased-controls regime. The same June 2026 regulation deleted the aflatoxin entry for Indian dried, roasted, crushed and ground Capsicum, on the finding that compliance since 2019 had been satisfactory. The aflatoxin limits in Regulation (EU) 2023/915 still apply; what has gone is the elevated sampling frequency.
Turmeric remains in Annex II. Every consignment needs an official certificate issued in India and an accompanying analytical report, travelling with the goods, plus a CHED filed in TRACES NT. The check frequency is 20%.
No. Great Britain runs its own list, last modified 10 July 2026, and has not deleted the aflatoxin entry for Indian dried Capsicum. Cinnamon and turmeric are listed for pesticide residues; black pepper is not listed. Plan to the stricter of the two markets if one lot serves both.
No. Increased official controls govern how often a consignment is sampled, not what it is measured against. The limits in Regulation (EU) 2023/915 and the pesticide MRLs under Regulation (EC) 396/2005 are unchanged.
Last verified 26 August 2026. EU border-control annexes are amended several times a year. Confirm the current position with your customs agent before booking a consignment. This page is information, not customs or legal advice.