32 Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks
The broadest level of the Harmonized System. Pick the heading below that fits your goods, then the six-digit code under it — that last one is what you declare.
Section VI, Chemical Products — inorganic and organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, paints and cosmetics.
- 32 Chapter Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks
- —— Heading Pick one of the 15 headings below
- —— Subheading Six digits, the level every country shares
Chapter 32 covers tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks: the colour and coating chemicals used across textiles, construction, printing and manufacturing. Classification tip: Whether a colouring product is 'prepared' (ready to use) or a raw dyestuff changes the subheading, and printing ink is classified separately from paint even though both are pigment-based coatings.
15 headings in chapter 32
Four-digit groups. Pick the one that fits, then the six-digit code inside it.
- 32.01 Tanning extracts of vegetable origin; tannins and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives 3 codes
- 32.02 Tanning substances; synthetic organic or inorganic tanning substances; tanning preparations, whether or not containing natural tanning substances, enzymatic preparations for pre-tanning 2 codes
- 32.03 Colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin (including dyeing extracts, not animal black); whether or not chemically defined; preparations based on colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin 1 code
- 32.04 Synthetic organic colouring matter and preparations based thereon; synthetic organic products used as fluorescent brightening agents or as luminophores; whether or not chemically defined 11 codes
- 32.05 Colour lakes; preparations based on colour lakes as specified in note 3 to this chapter 1 code
- 32.06 Colouring matter and preparations thereof n.e.c. in heading no. 3203, 3204, 3205; inorganic products, kind used as luminophores whether or not chemically defined 7 codes
- 32.07 Pigments, prepared; opacifiers, colours, vitrifiable enamels, glazes, engobes (slips), liquid lustres etc as used in the ceramic enamelling or glass industry; glass frit and powder, granules or flakes 4 codes
- 32.08 Paints, varnishes; (enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium 3 codes
- 32.09 Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium 2 codes
- 32.10 Paints and varnishes (including enamels, lacquers and distempers), excluding those of heading no. 3209, prepared water pigments of a kind used for finishing leather 1 code
- 32.11 Driers; prepared 1 code
- 32.12 Pigments (metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in non-aqueous media in liquid or paste form, as used in manufacture of paints (including enamels); stamping foils, dyes etc in forms, packing for retail sale 2 codes
- 32.13 Colours; artists, students, or signboard painters, modifying tints, amusement colours and the like; in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pan or in similar forms or packings 2 codes
- 32.14 Glaziers' putty, grafting putty, resin cements, caulking compounds and other mastics; painters' fillings; non-refractory surfacing preparations for facades, indoor walls, floors, ceilings or the like 2 codes
- 32.15 Ink; printing, writing or drawing ink and other inks; whether or not concentrated or solid 3 codes
Other chapters in Section VI
The wording above is the Harmonized System nomenclature as published by the World Customs Organization, HS 2022 edition. It is a classification reference, not a tariff: it carries no duty rates, and it stops at six digits — the importing country adds its own beyond that.
Classification is decided by the General Rules of Interpretation and the section and chapter notes, and it is the importing country’s customs authority that makes it binding.
Shipping goods from chapter 32? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.
Track a shipmentChapter 32 FAQ
Chapter 32 covers tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks: the colour and coating chemicals used across textiles, construction, printing and manufacturing. Classification tip: Whether a colouring product is 'prepared' (ready to use) or a raw dyestuff changes the subheading, and printing ink is classified separately from paint even though both are pigment-based coatings.
Pick the heading below that describes the goods, then the six-digit subheading under it. Six digits is the level the Harmonized System defines and the level customs everywhere recognises; anything beyond that is added by the importing country.
The General Rules of Interpretation, read together with the notes to Section VI and to chapter 32. A description that reads right is not enough on its own — the notes routinely pull goods out of the chapter they obviously belong to and put them somewhere else. Where duty or licensing turns on the answer, ask the importing country’s customs authority for a binding ruling.
A wrong or missing code is one of the common reasons customs holds a container, and a hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving. Watch for it in the container tracking app, on the air waybill in the air cargo tracker, or through the tracking API.