As part of its partnership with CosmeticOBS, Business France details the new rules of the customs clearance procedure for cosmetics and related products in Saudi Arabia, which applies in particular to empty containers intended to be filled with cosmetic products.
In Saudi Arabia, cosmetics products are placed under the responsibility of the Executive Department of Cosmetic Products Safety of the Saudi Food and Drug Administration (SFDA). The SFDA is the Saudi Food and Drug Administration. Its main purpose is to regulate, monitor and control food, medicines, medical devices and cosmetics and hygiene products, but also to set mandatory specifications, whether the products are imported or manufactured locally.
Cosmetic products are subject to a notification procedure and a certificate of conformity upon entry into Saudi Arabia. In addition, a list of documents must be presented to Saudi customs to remove cosmetic products.
This customs clearance procedure and these documents are described in Guidelines published by the SFDA entitled Cosmetic Products Clearance Requirements from Customs Port which are updated on a regular basis. The last update was made in September 2019.
Indeed, the SFDA now introduces a specific procedure for the customs clearance of empty containers intended to be filled with cosmetic products and labelled as such. In this context, any container bearing symbols or trade names that do not concern the importer may be released (removed) from customs with the agreement of the manufacturer (the beneficiary party) only.
For customs clearance, …