HSN code · Customs Tariff of India · GST rate
32041981 is the 8-digit HSN code for “Food colouring matters: Yellow 3 (sunset yellow)”: tariff item 3204 19 81 under heading 3204 of the Customs Tariff of India. The GST rate depends on the goods: the entries for this code carry 5% or 18%. Search a code or product below, or copy the code for your invoice.
This code
Chapter 32Heading 3204Sub-heading 3204 19Tariff item 3204 19 81
Food colouring matters: Yellow 3 (sunset yellow)
Tariff item 3204 19 81 · Heading 3204 · Chapter 32, Customs Tariff of India
The code
What the code covers in the Customs Tariff of India, and the GST rate entries that apply to it.
320419818 digits: 32 + 04 + 19 + 813204 19 81Yellow 3 (sunset yellow)How to read it
An HSN code is built in layers. Each pair of digits narrows the one before it: 2 digits = chapter, 4 = heading, 6 = sub-heading, 8 = tariff item in the Customs Tariff of India.
The broadest layer. Chapter 32 covers tanning or dyeing extracts, tannins and their derivatives, dyes, pigments and other colouring matter, paints and varnishes, putty and other mastics, inks. It sits in Section VI, products of the chemical or allied industries.
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.
Other, including mixtures of colouring matter of two or more of the sub-headings 3204 11 to 3204 19. Between the heading and this item the tariff also prints the lines “Synthetic organic colouring matter and preparations based thereon as specified in Note 3 to this Chapter”; “Food colouring matters”.
Yellow 3 (sunset yellow). The full 8-digit code used in the Customs Tariff of India and on invoices that show the complete HSN.
Unit of quantity: kg.
GST rate
2 entries of the GST rate notifications name this code's heading or particular goods in its chapter, and they carry 5% or 18%. No single rate is stated for 32041981 here; read each entry's official description against your goods.
| Entry | Tariff column, as printed | Description, as printed | GST rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry that cites 3204 (this code's heading) | |||
| Schedule II, S. No. 46Notification No. 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate)Central Tax: Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) | 3204 | 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 | 18%IGST 18% · CGST 9% · SGST/UTGST 9%From 22 September 2025 |
| Entries for particular goods in chapter 32 | |||
| Schedule I, S. No. 242Notification No. 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate)Central Tax: Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) | 32 | Wattle extract, quebracho extract, chestnut extract | 5%IGST 5% · CGST 2.5% · SGST/UTGST 2.5%From 22 September 2025 |
Each entry applies only to the goods it describes. If none describes your goods, the entry for goods not specified elsewhere applies: Schedule II, S. No. 639, 18%: “Goods which are not specified in Schedule I, III, IV, V, VI or VII”.
Rates are IGST on inter-State supplies; on supplies within a State the same rate is split equally between CGST and SGST/UTGST, under Notification No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) with the same S. Nos.
On your invoice
Notification No. 78/2020-Central Tax dated 15.10.2020 sets the minimum number of HSN digits on B2B tax invoices from 1 April 2021, by the business's aggregate turnover in the previous year.
Businesses with aggregate turnover up to ₹5 crore in the previous year show at least the heading, 3204, on B2B tax invoices.
Above ₹5 crore, at least the sub-heading, 320419, goes on B2B tax invoices.
Many businesses show the full 32041981, the tariff item itself.
Rate history
Rate depends on the goods
Notification No. 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate) and No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) dated 17.09.2025 (as corrected 18.09.2025), which superseded Notification No. 1/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017. The 2 entries in force from this date are listed in the GST rate section above.
Earlier rates under Notification 1/2017 are not shown here
Notification No. 1/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) dated 28.06.2017 applied until it was superseded by Notification 9/2025.
Related codes
Heading 3204, 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. The codes below sit closest to 32041981 in the Customs Tariff of India: the other tariff items under heading 3204. Each is shown in the official wording and has its own page with its GST rate entries. Use the search above for any other code.
32041989Tariff item 3204 19 8932041990Tariff item 3204 19 9032041966Tariff item 3204 19 6632041978Tariff item 3204 19 7832049000Tariff item 3204 90 0032041111Tariff item 3204 11 1132041119Tariff item 3204 11 1932041199Tariff item 3204 11 9932041981, this page's code, is tariff item 3204 19 81 under the same heading. 4 of the codes listed share its sub-heading, 3204 19.
Questions
It depends on the goods: 2 entries of the rate notifications name this code's heading or particular goods in its chapter, and they carry 5% or 18%: Schedule II, S. No. 46 (18%); Schedule I, S. No. 242 (5%). Each entry applies only to the goods it describes; if none describes your goods, Schedule II, S. No. 639 (18%) applies. The full wording of every entry is in the GST rate section above.
At least 4 digits if your aggregate turnover in the previous year was up to ₹5 crore, and at least 6 digits above ₹5 crore, on B2B tax invoices (Notification No. 78/2020-Central Tax dated 15.10.2020, from 1 April 2021). For this code that is 3204 or 320419; many businesses use the full 32041981.
Tariff item 3204 19 81 of the Customs Tariff of India, First Schedule: “Yellow 3 (sunset yellow)”, under the line “Food colouring matters”, sub-heading 3204 19 (“Other, including mixtures of colouring matter of two or more of the sub-headings 3204 11 to 3204 19”), the line “Synthetic organic colouring matter and preparations based thereon as specified in Note 3 to this Chapter”, heading 3204 (“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”), in chapter 32 (tanning or dyeing extracts, tannins and their derivatives, dyes, pigments and other colouring matter, paints and varnishes, putty and other mastics, inks), Section VI (products of the chemical or allied industries). Unit of quantity: kg.
About this page
The section, chapter, heading, sub-heading and tariff item on this page are taken from the Customs Tariff of India, First Schedule (Customs Tariff Act, 1975), CBIC edition as on 30 June 2024, with the tariff-line changes of the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024, Finance Act 2025 and Finance Act 2026 applied. The GST entries are taken from Notification No. 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate) and No. 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) dated 17.09.2025 (as corrected 18.09.2025), as amended by Notifications 19/2025 and 01/2026; exemptions: Notification No. 10/2025.
This is reference information for classification and invoicing. It is not advice on how your own goods should be classified, and the official tariff and notifications prevail if the two ever differ. A change in the tariff or in a rate notification re-opens this page for an update.
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