✓ Can be used in a customs declarationData: EU Combined Nomenclature, in force from 1 January 2026 · checked on 24 October 2026
3212 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:
3212 90 00 Other
What you pay
Importing into EU
Customs duty6.5% standard rate depends on the country of origin
Import controlImport control on ozone-depleting substances
Applies to goods from
all countries
Legal act
Regulation 0590/24
Documents
L100 Import licence "controlled substances" (ozone), issued by the Commission
Y793 Products and equipment containing ozone-depleting substances or whose functioning relies upon those substances, imported/exported as personal effects (Article 5(2) Regulation (EU) 2024/590)
Y792 Substances, products, equipment, other than those falling within the scope of Regulation (EU) 2024/590
Y791 Exemption from prohibition for ozone-depleting substances to be used for essential laboratory and analytical uses (articles 8, 13.1(c) (import) and article 14.1(a) (export) of regulation (EU) 2024/590), and for products and equipment (articles 11.1 and 13.1(j) (import) and 14.1(g) (export) of regulation (EU) 2024/590)
Y789 Exemption from prohibition for products and equipment containing halons or whose functioning relies upon halons (see articles 13.1(h) (import) and 14.1(f) (export) of Regulation (EU) 2024/590)
Y790 Exemption from prohibition for ozone-depleting substances destined to destruction or reclamation (see articles 12, 13.1(d), 13.1(e) (import) of Regulation (EU) 2024/590), and for products and equipment (see articles 12, 13.1(i) (import) of Regulation (EU) 2024/590)
Y797 Licensing system registration identification number as defined in Article 17.3 (a) of Regulation (EU) 2024/590
Y798 Declaration of net mass of ozone-depleting substance(s), when included in products and equipment
Y799 Net mass of the ozone-depleting substance multiplied by the ODP of the ozone-depleting substance(s), also when included in products and equipment
Import controlImport control - Waste
Applies to goods from
all countries
Legal act
Regulation 1157/24
Documents
C672 Information document accompanying shipments of waste as mentioned in Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 – Article 18 and Annex VII
C669 Notification document as mentioned in Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 - Article 5 and Annex IA
Y923 Product not subjected to the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2024/1157
C670 Movement document as mentioned in Regulation (EU) 2024/1157 – Article 5 and Annex IB
Import control
Applies to goods from
Ukraine
Legal act
Regulation 0692/14
Documents
Y997 Goods not originating from or destined to Crimea or Sevastopol (Articles 2 and 2b.1 of Council Regulation (EU) No 692/2014)
N864 Invoice declaration or origin declaration made out by any exporter on invoice or any other commercial document
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 6
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
26 June 2024
Export control on restricted goods and technologiesSanctions regime: Syria
Syria
Regulation 0697/13
24 July 2013
Export controlSanctions regime: Belarus
Belarus
Regulation 0765/06
25 February 2025
Export control on ozone-depleting substances
All third countries
Regulation 0590/24
11 March 2024
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 27 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%
Sweden25%
TEDB · 27 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.
Decisions of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CROSS) and HMRC (Advance Tariff Rulings) on goods classified here. A ruling binds only its holder, but shows how the authorities classify similar goods. The descriptions are the authorities’ own, in English.
The tariff classification of “Cinquasia Magenta L 4540” and “Irgazin Rubine L 4025” from Japan
600011502HMRC6 November 2024 – 5 November 2027 · 3212 90 00 00
Edible Drink Shimmer Designed for cakes/baking and also can be used in drinks to give colour and an unflavoured shimmering effect. 10ml Transparent PET Bottle with Silver Aluminium Cap which are then packaged within a small branded printed card box. Ingredients: E555 (potassium aluminium silicate)…
600011168HMRC16 September 2024 – 15 September 2027 · 3212 90 00 00
Orange Food Colouring Powder Orange Food Colouring Powder to be added to water. Ingredients: Salt, Tartrazine, Allura Red, Carmoisine 500g
600011125HMRC21 August 2024 – 20 August 2027 · 3212 90 00 00
Food colouring gel/liquid Used to give food colour, for mainly in food baking Ingredients: Glucose syrup, sugar, water, colour (curcumin), gelling agents (agar, xanthan gum), acidity regulator (citric acid), preservative (potassium sorbate) Packaged in to a plastic tube containing 19g
20 rulings in total for this code
Legal notes
Notes
1. This chapter does not cover:
(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.
3212 90 00 · Other
See the HS Explanatory Note to heading 3212, parts (A) and (C).
Metallic powders and flakes, as referred to in part (A) of the HS Explanatory Note to heading 3212, include:
1. zinc powder, which is incompatible with acid binders but is an excellent rust-inhibitive pigment;
2. lamellar stainless steel and nickel powders, used in certain acid-resistant anticorrosive paints;
3. lead powder, a basic reaction pigment, used as a rust inhibitor (possibly mixed with red lead or basic lead sulphate) in oil paints or oil varnishes applied as a priming coat to large steel sections (hangar structures, bridges, viaducts, etc.);
4. copper and bronze powders whose lamellar particles ‘leaf’ in varnishes based on alcohol, natural or artificial resins to form decorative coatings.
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
Other
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
Other
6.5%
—
In the EU Combined Nomenclature, 3212 90 00 is one of 1 line under subheading 3212.90, pigments: other.
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%; 149 of them pay no duty at all, for example under GSP-EBA or CARIFORUM.
In the 12 months to August 2026, the EU imported pigments in non-aqueous media; dyes for retail (HS 3212.90) worth €96.5m (down 4% on the year before), at an average of €13.84 per kg; United States supplied 36%, followed by United Kingdom.
For the same subheading, the UK duty is free, the Türkiye duty is 6.5%, the US duty is 3.1%, the Canada duty is free, the Mexico duty is free, the Brazil duty is 12.6%, the Argentina duty is 12.6%, the Peru duty is 0%–6%, the New Zealand duty is free, the Japan duty is 2.1%–4.1%, the Taiwan duty is 5%–6.5%, the GCC duty is 5%, the Switzerland duty is free, the Norway duty is free, the North Macedonia duty is 5% and the Nigeria duty is 10%.
EU member states imported goods of subheading 3212.90 worth US$539m in 2024; the largest supplier from outside the EU was the United States, and the United Kingdom ranked 2nd with US$19m.
Questions and answers
What is the EU import duty for CN code 3212 90 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 3212 90 00?
153 countries have a preferential rate on this line, 149 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 3212.90 as a whole, the largest supplier from outside the EU in 2024 was the United States (US$31m), followed by the United Kingdom.
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EU Combined Nomenclature · CN code · 
United States
United Kingdom
Switzerland
India
Japan
China
Norway
Türkiye
Canada
Mexico
Brazil
Argentina
Peru
New Zealand
Taiwan
GCC
North Macedonia
Nigeria