China regulates perfume and makeup imports from EU and US based on cosmetic claims

20 Oct 2022 --- CIRS Group is laying out the Chinese regulatory requirements for importing perfume and makeup products into the mainland from the EU and US. The company highlights that perfume and makeup products are China’s most widely imported cosmetic products.

“Perfume and makeup products without special claims are considered ordinary cosmetics and are subject to filing management. Those with special claims require registration management,” the Hangzhou-based product safety and regulatory consulting firm elucidates.

“An important consideration for overseas companies is whether they have a legal entity based in mainland China or a domestic responsible person. This is a mandatory requirement of the regulation.”

According to the Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulation (CSAR), implemented in 2021 by the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), “cosmetics are defined as daily chemical industrial products applied to skin, hair, nails, lips and other human surfaces by scrubbing, spraying or other similar methods for cleansing, protecting, beautifying and modifying.”

In China, perfumes and makeup products are considered ordinary cosmetics unless they have a special claim.CSAR lists cosmetic products’ safety and quality control guidelines by managing new ingredients and efficacy claim requirements.

Filing and registration requirements
Product classification in China determines the management process for importing perfume and makeup. While ordinary cosmetics are free of special claims, specific function claims such as SPF protection or use on children may require a special classification.

The difference in the import procedure is that special cosmetics must be registered and undergo a more comprehensive technical review before receiving a certificate to import to China.

For perfume and makeup products without special claims, animal testing may be exempted under certain conditions that include classification as ordinary cosmetics, certification issued by the country of origin, valid safety assessment reports and if there are no claims for use by infants and children.

Animal testing exemption
Additionally, to be exempt from animal testing, the ordinary cosmetics product formula must only contain ingredients that have passed the three-year monitoring period and have been included in the 2021 Inventory of Existing Cosmetic Ingredients list.

If there is a special claim, animal testing is mandatory and a complete technical review by the NMPA is required before import and sale to China.

CIRS also lists out the deadlines for reporting the safety information of cosmetic ingredients to the NMPA. “According to the CSAR regulation, the safety information of cosmetic ingredients used in the product formula of perfume and makeup should be reported to the NMPA before applicable deadlines, in one of two ways,” the group shares.

Either filer or registrant can complete Annex 14 for each cosmetic ingredient and submit with dossier, or, the supplier of the cosmetic ingredients responsible for the safety can generate a code on the NMPA safety information platform and share it with downstream filer or registrants.

Edited by Radhika Sikaria