Chapter 32 — Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks 4-digit heading

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

One level above the number you declare. Pick one of the six-digit codes below.

Section VI, Chemical Products — inorganic and organic chemicals, pharmaceuticals, fertilisers, paints and cosmetics.

  1. 32 Chapter Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks
  2. 12 Heading 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
  3. —— Subheading Pick one of the 2 six-digit codes below

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.

All of chapter 32

The 2 six-digit codes under 32.12

One of these is the number you declare.

Other headings in chapter 32

32.01 Tanning extracts of vegetable origin; tannins and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives 32.02 Tanning substances; synthetic organic or inorganic tanning substances; tanning preparations, whether or not containing natural tanning substances, enzymatic preparations for pre-tanning 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 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 32.05 Colour lakes; preparations based on colour lakes as specified in note 3 to this chapter 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 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 32.08 Paints, varnishes; (enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium 32.09 Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium 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 32.11 Driers; prepared 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 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 32.15 Ink; printing, writing or drawing ink and other inks; whether or not concentrated or solid

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 under 32.12? A customs hold shows up as a milestone that stops moving — follow the container or the air waybill from departure to delivery.

Track a shipment

32.12 FAQ

Heading 32.12 covers 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. It is part of chapter 32 (tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints, varnishes; putty, other mastics; inks), and it is subdivided into 2 six-digit subheadings — the level you actually declare.

Pick one of the 2 subheadings below. Those six digits are what customs recognises internationally; the importing country may extend them to eight or ten in its own tariff schedule.

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.

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