Requirements

The Gulf Cooperation Council cosmetics legislation closely follows the EU Cosmetics Regulation 1223/2009. However, it has some of its own criteria when it comes to processes, ingredients, labelling and claims.

Products should fulfil certain requirements, some of which are: they should be completely free from pork and its derivatives, they should be safe for human health under normal and reasonably foreseeable conditions of use, they should be stable and their properties impacting safety, efficacy and quality should not change during their shelf life, they should be free from any filthy or decomposed substances.

The legislation is organized in the same way as the EU Regulation when it comes to restricted and prohibited substances. Annex II lists the prohibited substances, Annex III lists the restricted substances and Annexes IV to VI list the allowed colourants, preservatives and UV filters—the list of such ingredients is also very similar to that of the EU.

In terms of labelling requirements, it is important to note that the graphics, images and phrases on the labels should be consistent with Islamic traditions and social values, that certain parts of the label have to be translated into Arabic and that claims have to be truthful (the legislation on claims follows the EU common claims criteria).

Despite having the same basic legislation across all of the GCC member countries, each country requires a separate product notification (Bahrain does not require any notification) and the customs clearance process requirements may differ from country to country.