Overview

India, with the world’s second-largest population, stands as a lucrative market for cosmetic products. In India, the Central Drug Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) regulates beauty and personal care products under the overarching regulations governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act 1940 & Rules 1945 vide Gazette Notification G.S.R 763(E). Manufacturers, their authorized agents and subsidiaries in India, and any other importers can apply for the issuance of a registration certificate for importing cosmetics in India by uploading the necessary documents through the official online portal, known as SUGAM.

In India, the application for cosmetic product registration is carried out by submitting Form COS – 1, along with other documents required to obtain the registration certificate, i.e., Form COS – 2. Now, with new technologies and innovations coming into the picture, novel cosmetics and cosmetic product safety assessments are also trending in the cosmetics industry. Considering this, the CDSCO has introduced registration of novel cosmetics, where the application is submitted through Form COS – 12 and approval is received on Form COS – 3.

While the Regulatory process is moderate in approach, the key challenge lies in making appropriate product and placement decisions in suburban and rural areas of the sub-continental country. The lack of evolved supply and distribution channels acts as another key setback in navigating through the region. With the global operation center in India, Freyr provides Regulatory intelligence services to decode the CDSCO cosmetics regulations and identify the right channels and products to retain optimum market potential.