Section VI · Products of the chemical or allied industries
Chapter 32: Tanning or dyeing extracts; tannins and their derivatives; dyes, pigments and other colouring matter; paints and varnishes; putty and other mastics; inks
Chapter 32 of the Harmonized System has 15 four-digit headings, from 32.01 to 32.15. Each heading is split further into six-digit subheadings, then into national 8- and 10-digit commodity codes.
Headings in chapter 32
| Heading | Description |
|---|---|
| 32.01 | Tanning extracts of vegetable origin; tannins and their salts, ethers, esters and other derivatives |
| 32.02 | Synthetic organic tanning substances; 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 but excluding animal black), whether or not chemically defined; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter based on colouring matter of vegetable or animal origin |
| 32.04 | Synthetic organic colouring matter, whether or not chemically defined; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter based on synthetic organic colouring matter; synthetic organic products of a kind used as fluorescent brightening agents or as luminophores, whether or not chemically defined |
| 32.05 | Colour lakes; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter based on colour lakes |
| 32.06 | Other colouring matter; preparations as specified in note 3 to this chapter, other than those of heading 3203, 3204 or 3205; inorganic products of a kind used as luminophores, whether or not chemically defined |
| 32.07 | Prepared pigments, prepared opacifiers and prepared colours, vitrifiable enamels and glazes, engobes (slips), liquid lustres and similar preparations, of a kind used in the ceramic, enamelling or glass industry; glass frit and other glass, in the form of powder, granules or flakes |
| 32.08 | Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in a non-aqueous medium; solutions as defined in note 4 to this chapter |
| 32.09 | Paints and varnishes (including enamels and lacquers) based on synthetic polymers or chemically modified natural polymers, dispersed or dissolved in an aqueous medium |
| 32.10 | Other paints and varnishes (including enamels, lacquers and distempers); prepared water pigments of a kind used for finishing leather |
| 32.11 | Prepared driers |
| 32.12 | Pigments (including metallic powders and flakes) dispersed in non-aqueous media, in liquid or paste form, of a kind used in the manufacture of paints (including enamels); stamping foils; dyes and other colouring matter put up in forms or packings for retail sale |
| 32.13 | Artists', students' or signboard painters' colours, modifying tints, amusement colours and the like, in tablets, tubes, jars, bottles, pans 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 façades, indoor walls, floors, ceilings or the like |
| 32.15 | Printing ink, writing or drawing ink and other inks, whether or not concentrated or solid |
Classifying goods in chapter 32
Start with the chapter and section notes: they are legally binding and often decide what is included or excluded. Then choose the heading whose wording best describes your product (GRI 1), and work down to the six-digit subheading before choosing the national commodity code.
The six-digit code is shared internationally. The UK and EU add digits for their own tariffs and statistics, and the US uses its own 10-digit HTS lines, so always confirm the final code in the tariff of the country you are importing into.
Official sources
Check chapter 32 in the UK Trade Tariff, the EU TARIC and the US HTS.