Written by Cosmoally Team • 14-May-2020 • Cosmetic

Import of Cosmetics: Cosmetic Categorization and Form 43 application

India has a booming market for cosmetic and personal care products. To discern the safety of these products, the Central Drug Standards Control Organization (CDSCO) has mandated that the importers need to obtain Form 43 for import of cosmetics in India. In the Guidelines on Registration of Import of Cosmetics, cosmetics are categorized as per Column 3 of Brand of Cosmetic products. Cosmetic product categorization is important as government charges for cosmetic registration application based on each category and variant.

Documents for Grant of Cosmetic Registration Certificate in Form no 43 to Import Cosmetics

Covering letter
Power of Attorney
Form 42 online form
Schedule D (III)
Treasury Challan
List of ingredients of the product
Certificate of Analysis
Labels of proposed products
Free Sale Certificate
Testing Protocol of the cosmetic product
Package insert
List of countries where Market Authorization or import permission or registration was granted.

List of Approved Cosmetic Product Categories by CDSCO

Brands of Cosmetic Products
Column-1	Column-2	Column-3
1. Skin products	1. Skin care products	1. Face care products other than face mask
		2. Face mask
		3. Eye contour products
		4. Lip care products
		5. Hand care products
		6. Foot care products
		7. Body care products
		8. External intimate care products
		9. Chemical exfoliation products
		10. Mechanical exfoliation products
		11. Skin lightening products
		12. Other skin care products
	2. Skin cleansing products	1. Soap products
		2. Bath / shower products
		3. Make-up remover products
		4.External Intimate hygiene products
		5. Other skin cleansing products
	3. Body hair removal products	1. Chemical depilatories
		2. Physical epilation products
		3. Other body hair removal products
	4. Bleach for body hair products	1. Bleach for body hair
	5.Correction of body odour and/or perspiration	1. Products with antiperspirant activity
		2. Products without antiperspirant activity
	6. Shaving and pre- / after- shaving products	1. Shaving products
		2. Pre- / after-shaving products
		3. Other shaving and pre- / after- shaving products
	7. Make-up products	1. Foundation 2
		2. Concealer
		3. Other face make-up products
		4. Mascara
		5. Eye shadow
		6. Eye pencil
		7. Eye liner
		8. Other eye make-up products
		9. Lip stick
		10. Lipstick sealer
		11. Other lip make-up products
		12. Body or face paint , including “carneval make-up”
		13. Other make-up products
	8. Perfumes	1. Hydroalcoholic perfumes
		2. Non hydroalcoholic perfumes
	9. Sun and self-tanning products	1. Before and ater sun products Sun protection products
		2. Self-tanning products
		3. Other sun and self-tanning products
	10. Other skin products	1. Other skin products
2. Hair and scalp products	11. Hair and scalp care and cleansing products	1. Hair conditioner
		2. Scalp and hair roots care products
		3. Anti-hair loss products
		4. Other hair and scalp care and cleansing products
		5. Antidandruff products
	12. Hair colouring products	1. Oxidative hair colour products
		2. Non-oxidative hair colour products
		3. Hair bleaching and dye remover products
		4. Other hair colouring products
	13. Hair styling products	1. Products for temporary hair
		2. styling Permanent wave products
		3. Hair relaxer / straightener products
		4. Other hair styling products
	14. Other hair and scalp products	1. Hair sun protection products 2. Other hair and scalp products
3. Nail and cuticle products	15. Nail varnish and remover products	1. Nail varnish / Nail make-up
		2. Nail varnish remover
		3. Nail varnish thinner
		4. Nail bleach
		5. Other nail varnish and remover products
	16. Nail care / nail hardener products	1. Nail care products
		2. Nail hardener
		3. Other nail care / nail hardener products
	17. Nail glue remover products	1. Nail glue remover
	18. Other nail and cuticle products	1. Cuticle remover / softener
		2. Nail sculpting products
		3. Other nail and cuticle products
4. Oral hygiene products	19. Tooth care products	1. Toothpaste
		2. Tooth cleansing powder / salt
		3. Other tooth care products
	20. Mouth wash / breath spray	1. Mouth wash
		2. Breath spray
		3. Other mouth wash / breath spray products
	21. Tooth whiteners	1. Tooth whiteners
	22. Other oral hygiene products	1 Other oral hygiene products

According to new regulations, the government fee is 2000 USD per category and 50 USD per variant. If you want to import cosmetic products in India but cannot make through all the regulations, then you are at the right place. Login into our user-friendly and informative Cosmoally App for more details about the import and regulations of cosmetics in India. If you have more than five cosmetic products, you can contact our regulatory team at CliniExperts.

N.B. This is subject to change, as per the regulations and ingredients

References

Frequently Asked Questions on Registration and Import of Cosmetics in India. Available at: https://cdsco.gov.in/opencms/export/sites/CDSCO_WEB/Pdf-documents/cosmetics/Documents_required_for_registration.pdf.Accessed on29 th April, 2020.
Guidelines on Registration of Import of Cosmetics. Available at: https://cdsco.gov.in/opencms/export/sites/CDSCO_WEB/Pdf-documents/cosmetics/Guidelines_on_Registration_of_Import_of_Cosmetics.pdf.Accessed on 29th April, 2020.

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