Though scheduled to take place from March 29, 2019, the Brexit has now postponed to October 31, 2019. The decision is assumed to give more time to the United Kingdom (UK) and the European Union (EU) to agree upon the terms of the UK leaving the EU.
Until now, the EU regulations directly affected the cosmetic products that are distributed in the UK. However, with the Brexit in scenario, they are no longer expected to be applicable in the UK region as the UK is expected to be treated as a third country. In simple words, the UK will not have to comply with the regulations applicable to the EU member states. Therefore, to align with the Brexit changes, for Cosmetic products, some new laws have been laid before the UK parliament.
The UK Cosmetic Regulations Draft
The Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association (CTPA) has proposed the UK Cosmetic Products Statutory Instrument to the UK parliament to ensure that post the Brexit only safe cosmetic products are distributed in the UK. The new draft will be in line with that of the EU’s including the list of banned and restricted ingredients.
To enter the UK cosmetics market, companies will be required to appoint a UK-based Responsible Person (RP), who is expected to notify the product to the competent authority. To make sure the notification process streamlined, the CTPA seems to be in the process of building the required product notification portal for the UK similar to that of the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP) of the EU.
Once Brexit takes place, all the cosmetic products notified to the EU through CPNP are expected to be notified to the UK notification system within ninety (90) days. Following are the pre-requisites for notifying a product in the UK.
- The name and category of the cosmetic product
- The name and address of the responsible person
- The content and ingredients of the product
In addition to this, the label of a cosmetic product must also bear the name and address of the Responsible Person. Post Brexit, cosmetic products labeled with an EU-27 address and compliant with the EU labeling regulation will be considered compliant for 2 years in the UK. In case of imports also, the UK will have to comply with the import regulations of the EU.
According to the industry experts, if the UK leaves the EU with a no-deal, the entire supply chain of cosmetic products will be affected heavily. However, as the regulations overlap in many regions of the EU and the UK, the industry is yet to identify the exact impact of Brexit to ensure compliance in both the regions.
As the cosmetic regulations of both the regions are still unclear, it is advised for the companies planning to enter both the cosmetic markets (EU and UK) to consult Regulatory experts with strong local presence for compliant market entry. Be informed. Be compliant.
