India Consults on Changes to Cosmetic’s Regulation
On 15 May 2023 the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MHFW) published a notification in the Gazette of India concerning amendments of the Cosmetic Rules, 2020. The MHFW is accepting comments for 45 days, i.e. until 29 June 2023.
The following are some of the changes proposed in the amendment:
| Cancellation of licenses | The state Licensing Authority will get the power to cancel or suspend a license to manufacture for sale or for distribution if the license holder fails to comply with the cosmetic rules. The license holder will have the possibility to appeal the decision within a period of three months. |
| Testing | Testing of manufactured cosmetics will have to be carried out by a laboratory approved by the State Licensing Authority rather than the current Central Licensing Authority. |
| Record keeping | Records must be kept by the license holder for each manufactured batch of cosmetics and the raw materials used in the manufacture. The records must be kept for a period of three years or six months after the expiry of the batch, whichever is later. |
| Labelling rules | Labelling rules for cosmetics intended only for export have been simplified. Labelling of packages or containers of cosmetics shall now only meet the specific requirements of the country to which the cosmetics are being exported. |
| Expiry date | The terms ‘use before’ and ‘expiry date’ have been clarified. When ‘use before’ term is used it means ‘use before the first day of the month stated on the label’. When ‘date of expiry’ is used it means the cosmetic will expire on the last day of the month stated on the label. |
The Cosmetic Rules, 2020 came into force on 15 December 2020 but an 18-month extension was granted to comply with the rules. The Rules are a part of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1945.
The notification can be found here: https://egazette.nic.in/WriteReadData/2023/245904.pdf
