The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) has started implementing the Gulf Standard specifications number GSO1943/2016 for cosmetics and personal care products. The specifications came into force by the end of January, six months after the Ministerial Decision (No 128/2019) issued on July 11, 2019.

The Directorate General of Standards and Metrology said that the aim of this ministerial decision was to make only those products available which are safe and healthy for human use. The ministry’s decision also seeks to regulate the Omani market in conformity with Gulf standards.

MoCI stipulates that an applicant seeking licence for selling cosmetics and personal care products must have a valid import licence.

He must provide all the documents asked for in the forms prepared by the ministry when submitting the application.

He must bear responsibility for the documents attached and furnish a certificate of the manufacturer with information on composition of each product, its proportion and function, as well as a test report for each cosmetic product issued by an accredited laboratory. The product should also have ISO 17025 certification.

The explanatory card provided along with the product must be readable and includes information regarding the safety requirements according to the Gulf standard specifications for cosmetics GSO 1943.

The applicant should also submit a declaration stating his products comply with Gulf standard specifications GSO 1943.

The ministry has said that the standard specifications are for general safety. According to the specifications, cosmetics and personal care products must be free of pig derivatives. They should also not possess any unclean or decomposed materials and their properties should not change within the shelf life stated. The products should also not contain pictures and expressions that are against Islam and moral values of GCC countries.

The standards also specify the permissible pH limits and that of heavy metals and microbiological elements.