Do I Need a Certificate?

All types of Cosmetics and Perfumery Products under the Saudi Food and Drug Authority (SFDA) require a mandatory Certificate of Conformity (CoC) to enable them to be cleared through Saudi Customs. They shall meet the following requirements of Saudi Law, Standards and Regulations including:

Registration with Saudi Authorities

The Importer must have an account with the SFDA and the Cosmetics and Perfumery Products must be notified on eCosma.
The Importer must have a valid Commercial Registration Certificate which includes Cosmetics Trade as a registered commercial activity.

Laws, Regulations and Standards

Cosmetics and Perfumery Products must meet the Standards and other Requirements as stipulated by the SFDA
Cosmetics and Perfumery Products intended for the Saudi market shall be in compliance with the requirements of GSO 1943/2016 “Safety Requirements of Cosmetics and Personal Care Products” and of GSO 2528/2016 “Cosmetic Products - Technical Regulation of Cosmetic and Personal Care Products Claims”.

The main Cosmetics and Perfumery products regulatory requirements are:

Compliance to GSO 1943 (Safety of Cosmetics) and GSO 2528 (Cosmetic Products Claims)
Absence of pork or derivatives in products
Labelling should be in Arabic language
Medical claims are not allowed
Product visuals and advertising material shall not be offensive to social customs
Specifications on alcohol-based products: prohibition on alcohol in mouthwash, specific classification for alcohol-based hand sanitizers

Marking and Labelling Requirements

Marking and Labelling information such as Function, Instructions for Storage and Use, and Warnings shall be in Arabic language. Other Languages may be used in additional to the Arabic marking and labeling provided that the information written in these languages is equivalent to the information written in Arabic text.
Marking and Labelling must comply with GSO 1943/2016 requirements, that stresses on both consumer information and respect of Saudi Customs and Islamic values (offensive imagery, contents shall be avoided).

eCosma Notification

The cosmetic notification system (eCosma) is mainly responsible for the configuration of implementation of the regulations over Cosmetic manufacturing, importation and marketing processes. The eCosma system is divided into many sections. These different sections are: Clearance, Domestic Manufacture Licensing and Warehouse Licensing, Product Notification besides issuance of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate for the local manufacturer.

Cosmetics and Perfumery Products must be notified and approved on the SFDA eCosma Notification platform.
eCosma system is also used to obtain Warehouse licensing for manufacturing or distribution activities.

Intertek can facilitate eCosma notification for Cosmetics and Perfumery Products and notifying Manufacturing locations.

FASEH facilitation

Importers shall raise consignment Certification requests in the FASEH system. Alternatively, Importers can also nominate Intertek as authorised representatives to facilitate the raising of the consignment Certification requests in the FASEH system on their behalf.

Additional Documentation:

For any Request for Certification, the following information is mandatory and under Importer/Exporter responsibility:

Provision of eCosma final numbers and Batch numbers for all Cosmetics and Perfumery Products that requires certification.
Original Invoice attested by Trade Authority of the Country of Origin
Certificate of Origin legalized by Chamber of Commerce at the Country of Origin
Halal Certificate, if applicable
Applicable declaration letters