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Tobacco Export from India: HS 2401 Leaf and HS 2403 Cut Rag

LR Tobacco handles tobacco export from India under HS 2401 for unmanufactured leaf and byproduct, and under HS 2403 for processed material and cut rag. We are a family firm in the Charotar region of Kheda district, Gujarat, growing on over 100 acres with annual capacity of 25,00,000 kg of raw tobacco. Buyers come to us for rain-fed material carrying nicotine up to 6%, and for the byproduct lines extraction plants and bidi factories buy in bulk. Every lot is titrated in-house before it is packed.

What we can export

HS 2401 covers most of our export volume: whole leaf, bidi patti, refuse, dust, rava and stems. That is the material going to nicotine extraction, to bidi manufacture, and to blenders who want a high nicotine component to lift a weaker base.

HS 2403 covers cut rag and ready blends made to a written specification. We also arrange threshed lamina cut on toll through a GLT partner in Guntur, so a buyer who needs lamina and grades rather than whole leaf is served from the same order. If you are drafting a spec, start with cut rag specifications.

Product form to HS code

  • Whole leaf, unstemmed: HS 2401.10 · Rain-fed Charotar leaf, nicotine up to 6%
  • Bidi patti: HS 2401.10 or 2401.20 · Heading depends on whether the lot is stemmed
  • Threshed lamina: HS 2401.20 · Cut on toll through a Guntur GLT partner
  • Stems and kandi: HS 2401.30 · Byproduct line, bought mainly by extraction plants
  • Refuse, dust, rava: HS 2401.30 · Sold on nicotine, tested per batch
  • Cut rag: HS 2403.19 · Cut to buyer specification
  • Ready blends: HS 2403.19 · Blended to a written recipe
  • Chewing tobacco raw material: HS 2403.99 · ITC (HS) 2403 99 10 is the chewing tobacco line. Material shipped unmanufactured stays in 2401

The four-digit headings are settled. The eight-digit ITC (HS) line is fixed per shipment with the broker, since it moves with stemming, cut and end use. See exporting tobacco from India: HS codes, documents and packing.

Documentation we handle as an Indian unmanufactured tobacco exporter

We prepare and coordinate the commercial invoice, packing list, shipping bill, bill of lading or airway bill, and certificate of origin. The non-preferential certificate of origin is issued by an agency notified by the DGFT and applied for on the DGFT eCoO platform. Tobacco exports from India also run under registration with the Tobacco Board, the statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry that registers tobacco exporters. That registration and the export authorisation sit with us, not the buyer, and the numbers go on the shipping documents.

Phytosanitary and fumigation paperwork is arranged where the destination asks for it. The phytosanitary certificate is issued by the plant quarantine authority under the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and applied for through the Plant Quarantine Information System. Fumigation has to be carried out at an approved place by an approved pest control operator under the supervision of a plant quarantine officer, so that part is done outside and we coordinate it.

If your import side needs a document not listed here, tell us at enquiry stage. Some certificates have to be applied for before the material is packed.

Packing and container loading for HS 2401 and 2403 shipments

Leaf and patti go in bales. Dust, rava and refuse go in bags. Cut rag and ready blends are packed to whatever the buyer's line needs, and marked lot by lot so the titration report matches the stack.

  • Bale and bag weights: confirmed per product form on the order
  • Net weight per 20 ft and 40 ft container: planned per order once the product form and packing are fixed
  • Liner, wrapping and pallet practice: set to your requirement and confirmed before packing

Dust and rava load heavy for their volume and leaf loads light, so the container plan is worked out per order.

Lead times

Lead time depends on whether the material is in stock at the required nicotine level or has to be procured and blended up to it. A stock lot moves faster than one blended to a spec. Tell us the form, the nicotine level and the quantity and we will confirm a loading date against current stock. Samples go out ahead of an order, with size and timing confirmed when you ask.

The port of loading and the inland container depot, if one is used, are fixed per shipment with the buyer and the freight forwarder.

Markets

We supply nicotine extraction plants and bidi manufacturers across India, and ship to overseas buyers on the same terms. We do not publish export buyer names or the countries they sit in. Ask for a reference and we will handle it directly. Buyers replacing higher-cost origins should read Indian tobacco as a substitute for Brazilian and Zimbabwean grades before sending a spec.

Send us the specification

Tell us the product form, nicotine level, quantity and destination. We will come back with what we can hold, what it costs and what the paperwork looks like.

Call +91 8000150037, email hello@lrtobacco.com, or ask for a sample. More on the farm and the processing side is on the about page.

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