Trade with health and beauty products in Dubai

Dubai aims to uphold the best quality of products and services provided for the city’s consumers at all times, may it be for nationals, expatriates or tourists. One of the categories of consumer products, which are greatly susceptible to damaging the health and well-being of these categories of population, are those, which involve the intake of certain substances or their application on the skin.

Businesses selling and trading perfumes, cosmetics and other items for personal care can often be seen as having quite a busy environment due to the steady demand from consumers in Dubai. Commercial activity comprising of health products (e.g. health supplements) are also expanding, in line with the Emirate’s steady efforts in raising awareness, when it comes to monitoring one’s fitness scale. Thus, to secure that beauty and health products do not pose any risk to the population, the government has set out precise instructions in relation to businesses working in the beauty and health industry.

If you wish to establish a company in Dubai and to trade with beauty and health products, you must know, that you will be dealing with the Consumer Products Safety Section (CPSS) of the Dubai Municipality (DM) moving forwards. And in order for your business to conduct the sale, supply, import and manufacturing of cosmetics and personal care items, perfumes and health supplements in the UAE, there is a set of requirements, that your company will need to meet first.

It is not sufficient to register a company. Each product you will be selling must be registered with the CPSS. It is a given to certify that these products have not been banned nor recalled previously in another country. To further supply guidance on the matter, local authority retains online records of banned consumer products, such as a lengthy list of slimming supplements where there are comprehensive pieces of information explaining the reasons, as to why these supplements are barred.

The Public Health and Safety Department of the Dubai Municipality has published details on the registration procedure for these health, beauty and personal care products. If your UAE company wishes to obtain registration for a particular product, you should create an account for the business through the Dubai Municipality website and fill in the form which follows. As a next step, you proceed with payment of relevant fees. Upon completion of this step, the process of product registration itself shall be completed. At this stage you would be requested to submit a copy of the valid label for assessment of the product. A registration report on the product is then generated by the CPSS that can be collected from the counter personally.

In addition to the said requirements, products concerned are required to be tested by accredited laboratories. They should also comply with label specifications, to be provided in Arabic or English, listing the product and brand name, details on the manufacturer (including country of origin), ingredients, weight and size, production and expiry dates, storage conditions and such. A highly significant factor to be mindful of is that medical claims are prohibited, together with displays of pictures which do not comply with the country’s customs and values.

Succeeding the approval of a product, a business would undoubtedly aim to make this new item’s availability known to its target market in Dubai. Therefore, it must be clarified that Dubai Municipality has additionally declared that advertisements for consumer products which range from cosmetics, personal care and perfumes to health supplements, first and foremost require a No Objection Official permit from the CPSS before the release of any kind of promotional material or advertising campaign. Social media platforms and shopping websites are not excluded from this obligation. The business must moreover ensure that other relevant permits which are issued from separate sectors of the government should be retained.

Expounded lists covering the topics addressed in this article can be found on the respective government authorities’ websites. It is advised to still verify requirements from these sources in order to suit each unique case presented.

Business Boutique | UAE-Consultants.com has an expertise in company formations and all business consultancy matters within Dubai and the UAE. We would be happy to assist you with any follow-up queries within our competency. You can contact us via uae@uae-consultants.com or via our office phone no. +971 4 368 48 84.

Prepared by Business Boutique | Published on Oct 2, 2018

Disclaimer: Business Boutique UAE-Consultants.com is not affiliated with any particular government or legal entity. Business Boutique does not give professional legal advice nor any other professional advice subject to a public office in the government. This article merely sets out a simple and basic idea on the notion of health and beauty products within Dubai. Business Boutique in no way holds nor imposes any official governmental or legal authority and the article herein is only to be taken as a guide. All further governmental or legal issues should be addressed to the corresponding authorities.

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