The General Administration of Customs held a press conference today (11th) to provide a policy interpretation of the newly revised "Administrative Measures for the Inspection, Quarantine, and Supervision of Import and Export Cosmetics." The new measures will take effect on December 1st.
Based on the newly revised measures, the General Administration of Customs, in consultation with the National Medical Products Administration, has agreed to launch a pilot program for electronic labeling of imported cosmetics in Shanghai, which officially commenced today.
Currently, China has become the world's largest consumer market for cosmetics, with steadily expanding import and export scales and increasingly diversified trade formats. In 2025, the total value of China's import and export cosmetics reached 171.6 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 2.74%. This includes imports worth 115.69 billion yuan and exports worth 55.92 billion yuan.
The revision of these measures adhered to an "open-door" policy for soliciting suggestions, widely gathering opinions from the public, relevant enterprises, industry associations, and departments such as the National Medical Products Administration. It follows international rules, having been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO), and includes a policy transition period of over six months to provide ample time for domestic and foreign enterprises to adapt to the new regulations.
In terms of enhancing the convenience of cross-border trade, the new measures eliminate the requirement for import cosmetics consignees and export cosmetics manufacturers to undergo filing management. They also remove the requirement for cosmetics to be stored in designated or approved locations.
The measures optimize the setting of inspection locations. The inspection site for imported cosmetics is shifted from the port to the destination declared by the consignee or their agent. For exported cosmetics, inspection locations can be designated by the General Administration of Customs, granting enterprises greater autonomy and flexibility in their production and operations.
The measures strengthen data interconnectivity between departments, enabling automatic comparison and verification of electronic data such as registration and filing information for imported cosmetics, thereby further streamlining paper materials and manual reviews. This truly achieves the goals of reducing burdens on enterprises and enabling more precise supervision, helping companies lower costs and improve efficiency.
The measures support the development of new business formats, continuously accumulating momentum for reform. They systematically solidify the achievements of recent customs reforms in the safety supervision of import and export cosmetics.
Addressing the diversified export demands for beauty products, the measures innovate the regulatory model for market procurement trade, providing "lightweight," efficient, and convenient customs clearance services tailored for small, medium, and micro enterprises expanding into overseas markets.
The measures eliminate special management requirements for cosmetics imported for the first time and optimize the supervision of exhibition items, supporting the quality improvement and upgrading of business formats involving "first launches, first exhibitions, first orders, and first stores."
They expand the scope of application for exempting imported cosmetic samples from inspection, empowering the innovative development of new business formats such as testing and research & development. This contributes to China's transition from a major cosmetics manufacturer to a leading cosmetics powerhouse.
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