Legislation
In order to be offered for sale and used in the UAE, imported and locally-manufactured cosmetics and perfumery products must comply with health and safety requirements that are principally set out by the following legislation:
Cabinet Decision No. 18 of 2014 on the UAE Regulation for the Control of Cosmetics and Personal Care Products (the “Cosmetics Law”)
Cabinet Decision No. 5 of 2014 on the UAE Regulation for the Supervision of Fragrances (the “Fragrances Law”)
Definition of Cosmetics Product
The UAE Cosmetics Law defines cosmetics and personal care products as follows:
“any substance or mixture made for the use and contact of the external organs and parts of the body (such as the skin, hair, nails, lips, teeth, genitals or the mucosa of oral cavity) for the purpose of cleaning or perfuming them, changing their appearance, or enhancing their smell, or protecting or keeping them in the best shape.
Labelling
All information included on the labels must be accurate, scientifically or laboratory verified, and shall not be misleading. It should be in English and/or Arabic, apart from the following information that must be in English AND Arabic:
Product function and/or use
Warning instructions and precautionary information
Storage instructions for safe use
The foregoing information must be included on the label of both the container and outer packaging (if any).
In addition, if products contain allergen(s), these substances must be mentioned on the list of substances composing the product which appears on the labels of container packages.
As for perfumes, if the composition contains any aromatic allergenic substances of a concentration exceeding (0,001%), these substances must be indicated within the list of substances composing the product appearing on the container’s packaging.
Registration Process
In addition to the foregoing, cosmetics and personal care products must be registered with the Dubai Municipality or the Municipality of the relevant Emirate in which the products are intended to be sold.
It is important to note that, only a company incorporated in the UAE may proceed with such registration process. It may therefore be the local importer, manufacturer or distributor of the product.
Once registered with the relevant Municipality, the applicant may proceed with the application process by submitting the following information alongside the application form:
Picture or artwork of the product illustrating all the required information, including shelf life, batch lot number, period after opening
Free Sale Certificate from the country of origin (for imported products)
Analysis and Ingredients Report from the manufacturing company (In addition to the physical, chemical and microbiological analyzes of the product, detailed information about its components and concentrations should be provided.)
Laboratory Test report related to certain heavy metal and preservatives and microbiology tests from an accredited laboratory (Tests may vary depending on the product and must be taken from the Dubai Central Laboratory or accredited laboratories of other United Arab Emirates.)
Notes
Product Registration is mandatory before distributing in the local market.
Any company want to import / manufacture / sell any consumer product must independently register that product. Registration validity is on a company level , and required – Presence of Valid Trade / Industrial License in UAE with a related activity.
A customs code is required to import and export products, if this code is missing, the transaction fee is 1,500 AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham)
For a detail information, please contact to us.
