The State Council has recently issued the Regulations on the Supervision and Administration of Cosmetics (the "Regulations") which shall enter into force as of January 1, 2021.
The Regulations spotlight four points as below. The first is fully implementing the requirements on the reform of "delegating power, streamlining administration and strengthening regulation, and improving services". The category-specific administrative systems for cosmetics and raw materials of cosmetics are improved; the procedures for registration and for record-filing are streamlined; and innovation in cosmetics research will be encouraged and endorsed. The second is requiring holding firm to the bottom line of quality and safety. The primary responsibility of subjects of cosmetics registration and record-filing is clarified; the whole-process production and operation management and the post-marketing management and control of quality and safety will be stepped up; and the safety re-assessment system for cosmetics and raw materials of cosmetics and the recall system for problematic cosmetics are established. The third is optimizing the regulatory measures. The cosmetics risk monitoring and assessment system is instituted; law enforcement measures and procedures are regulated and standardized; and additional regulatory measures, such as holding regulatory talks on liability, taking emergency countermeasures, offering rewards to whistleblowers, and taking joint disciplinary actions against discreditable acts, are incorporated. And the fourth is ramping up efforts to combat and punish violations. Punitive measures, such as confiscation, fines, and orders to suspend production and business operation, will be employed in a combined manner to combat unlawful acts; relevant personnel of the entities with serious violations will be fined, and parties committing serious offenses will be driven out of the market.