The Ministry of Commerce , Industry and Investment Promotion (MoCIIP) on August 1 will start the second phase of implementing the specification on cosmetic and personal care products, which requires importers to submit the technical documents of the registered products.

‘This comes in line with the implementation of Ministerial Decision No. 128/2019, that considers the Gulf standard specifications for safety requirements in cosmetics as an obligatory Omani specification. It further regulates imports and ensures their safety for use by the consumer in relation to personal care requirements and cosmetics,’ the MoCIIP said.

Hiba bint Yasser al Mazrouei, a chemical products quality control specialist at the ministry’s Directorate General of Standards and Metrology said that the importers must submit technical documents of the products registered in the second stage before allowing the release of the shipment by the ministry through Bayan platform.

She pointed out that the second phase of implementing the standard includes a new package of the products, which includes all cosmetic and personal care products (other than products for rinsing), products to be used on the skin (face, body, hand, feet, etc) such as creams, emulsions, lotions, jelly/buttery gels, oils and serums. 

It also includes oral and dental care products, which include toothpastes, mouthwash products, and perfumes, in addition to cosmetic products for hair (head, face, beard), such as hair dyes of all kinds, products for curling, straightening and fixing hair, products for strengthening and reviving hair such as oils, creams, etc, hair decoration products, hair cleaning products, hair shaping products, and henna, sun protection products of all kinds, deodorants and antiperspirants. 

“In accordance with the regulations and procedures prepared by the MoCIIP, represented by the Directorate General of Standards and Metrology, the importers also must submit technical documents through the ministry’s platforms for approval some time before shipments arrive in order to avoid the challenges of delays at border ports,” Hiba added.