3206 42 00: Lithopone and other pigments and preparations based on zinc sulphide
✓ Can be used in a customs declarationData: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
3206 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:
Other colouring matter and other preparations:
3206 42 00 Lithopone and other pigments and preparations based on zinc sulphide
What you pay
Importing into EU
Customs duty6.5% standard rate depends on the country of origin
Y106 Compliance with the REACH restrictions defined in Column 2 of Annex XVII of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
Y110 Exemption from REACH restrictions by virtue of Article 67(1) and 67(2) of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006
Y113 Substance/mixture not subjected to the provisions of Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (Annex XVII)
Import control
Applies to goods from
Ukraine
Legal act
Regulation 0263/22
Documents
Y984 Goods not originating from or not destined for the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine in the oblasts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia
N864 Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
Export measures 4
Prohibitions, licences, controls and sanctions that apply when these goods leave the EU.
Export measures
Destination
Legal act
Validity
Export controlSanctions regime: Russia
Russia
Regulation 0833/14
22 October 2025
Export controlSanctions regime: Belarus
Belarus
Regulation 0765/06
20 July 2025
Export control - Waste
Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Israel, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Türkiye, United States
Regulation 1157/24
21 May 2026
Export control - Waste
All third countries (except Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Israel, Iceland, Japan, South Korea, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Norway, New Zealand, Türkiye, United States)
Regulation 1157/24
21 May 2026
TARIC data as of 25 October 2026
Import VAT in the EU member states
The rate each member state applies to goods of this code, from the Commission’s Taxes in Europe Database. A reduced rate can cover only part of the goods under a code: check the national VAT law.
Austria20%
Belgium21%
Bulgaria20%
Croatia25%
Cyprus19%
Czechia21%
Denmark25%
Estonia24%
Finland25.5%
France20%
Germany19%
Greece24%
Hungary27%
Ireland23%
Italy22%
Latvia21%
Lithuania21%
Luxembourg17%
Malta18%
Netherlands21%
Poland23%
Portugal23%
Romania21%
Slovakia23%
Slovenia22%
Spain21%
Sweden6% reduced rate
TEDB · 25 October 2026
Preferential rates by country
Agreement or scheme
Countries
Rate
standard rate (no agreement)
—
6.5%
GSP-EBA (Special arrangement for the least-developed countries - Everything But Arms)
Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin and 42 more
Preferential origin in accordance with the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco on the amendment of Protocols 1 and 4 to the Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Kingdom of Morocco, of the other part.
(a) separate chemically defined elements or compounds (except those of heading 3203 or 3204, inorganic products of a kind used as luminophores (heading 3206), glass obtained from fused quartz or other fused silica in the forms provided for in heading 3207, and also dyes and other colouring matter put up in forms or packings for retail sale of heading 3212);
(b) tannates or other tannin derivatives of products of headings 2936 to 2939, 2941 or 3501 to 3504; or
(c) mastics of asphalt or other bituminous mastics (heading 2715).
2. Heading 3204 includes mixtures of stabilised diazonium salts and couplers for the production of azo dyes.
3. Headings 3203, 3204, 3205 and 3206 apply also to preparations based on colouring matter (including, in the case of heading 3206, colouring pigments of heading 2530 or Chapter 28, metal flakes and metal powders), of a kind used for colouring any material or used as ingredients in the manufacture of colouring preparations. The headings do not apply, however, to pigments dispersed in non-aqueous media, in liquid or paste form, of a kind used in the manufacture of paints, including enamels (heading 3212), or to other preparations of headings 3207, 3208, 3209, 3210, 3212, 3213 or 3215.
4. Heading 3208 includes solutions (other than collodions) consisting of any of the products specified in headings 3901 to 3913 in volatile organic solvents when the weight of the solvent exceeds 50 % of the weight of the solution.
5. The expression ‘colouring matter’ in this chapter does not include products of a kind used as extenders in oil paints, whether or not they are also suitable for colouring distempers.
6. The expression ‘stamping foils’ in heading 3212 applies only to thin sheets of a kind used for printing, for example, book covers or hat bands, and consisting of:
(a) metallic powder (including powder of precious metal) or pigment, agglomerated with glue, gelatin or other binder; or
(b) metal (including precious metal) or pigment, deposited on a supporting sheet of any material.
The European Commission's explanatory notes on how to classify goods in these CN codes. They are not legally binding but customs authorities follow them; they complement the HS Explanatory Notes of the World Customs Organization.
3206 · 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
See note 5 to this chapter.
Nucleate pigments, i.e., pigments consisting of grains or inert material (generally, of silica) each of which, by means of special technical processes, has been coated with an individual layer of inorganic colouring matter, are classified in the heading appropriate to the colouring matter constituting the coating.
Thus, for example, pigments of the above type in which the coating consists of basic silico-chromate of lead are classified in subheading 3206 20 00; those in which the coating consists of copper borate or calcium plumbate are classified in subheading 3206 49 70.
3206 42 00 · Lithopone and other pigments and preparations based on zinc sulphide
See the HS Explanatory Note to heading 3206, (A), (4), and, in so far as they concern preparations of this subheading, the four paragraphs following (13).
General notes to the chapter
TANNING OR DYEING EXTRACTS; TANNINS AND THEIR DERIVATIVES; DYES, PIGMENTS AND OTHER COLOURING MATTER; PAINTS AND VARNISHES; PUTTY AND OTHER MASTICS; INKS
Note 4
The term ‘solutions’ used both in this note and in note 6(a) to Chapter 39 does not apply to colloidal solutions.
The Combined Nomenclature of each year, as published in the Official Journal: description, third-country duty and supplementary unit.
Year
Description
Third-country duty
Supplementary unit
2026
Lithopone and other pigments and preparations based on zinc sulphide
6.5%
—
2025
unchanged
6.5%
—
2024
unchanged
6.5%
—
2023
unchanged
6.5%
—
2022
unchanged
6.5%
—
2021
unchanged
6.5%
—
2020
unchanged
6.5%
—
2019
Lithopone and other pigments and preparations based on zinc sulphide
6.5%
—
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, 3206 42 00 is one of 1 line under subheading 3206.42, lithopone and other pigments and preparations based on zinc sulphide.
The third-country duty is 6.5%, and quantities are declared in —.
Goods from 153 countries can enter the EU at a preferential rate instead of the standard 6.5%; 140 of them pay no duty at all, for example under GSP-EBA or CARIFORUM.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the EU imported goods of subheading 3206.42 worth €1.8m (up 45% on the year before), at an average of €1.99 per kg; China supplied 95%, followed by United States.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is 6%, the Türkiye duty is 6.5%, the US duty is 2.2%, the Canada duty is free, the Mexico duty is free, the Brazil duty is 0%–10.8%, the Argentina duty is 0%–10.8%, the Peru duty is free, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is 2.6%–3.9%, the Taiwan duty is 4%, the GCC duty is 5%, the Switzerland duty is free, the Norway duty is free, the North Macedonia duty is free and the Nigeria duty is 5%.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 3206.42 worth US$14m in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was China, and the United Kingdom ranked 2nd with US$668k.
Questions and answers
What is the EU import duty for CN code 3206 42 00?
The third-country duty in the EU Combined Nomenclature is 6.5%; the supplementary unit is —. Preferential rates for goods from agreement countries, anti-dumping duties and VAT are not included.
Which countries get a lower rate on 3206 42 00?
153 countries have a preferential rate on this line, 140 of them at 0%, under GSP-EBA, CARIFORUM and OCTs and other arrangements. The rate applies only to goods that meet the rules of origin of the agreement, with proof of origin. Choose the country of origin on this page to see its rate.
Where does the EU import these goods from?
For subheading 3206.42 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was China (US$1m), followed by the United Kingdom.
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EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · 
China
United States
Norway
United Kingdom
Japan
Morocco
Taiwan
Hong Kong SAR China
Türkiye
Canada
Mexico
Brazil
Argentina
Peru
New Zealand
GCC
Switzerland
North Macedonia
Nigeria