Cosmetics licence: 65 applications pending for 2 months

Sixty-five applications from cosmetics companies have been pending with the state drug controller’s office for the past two months for the lack of a licensing authority.

In all, there are 119 licensed cosmetics companies in Karnataka.

Without a licence, cosmetics can’t be exported from the state. Licences also have to be renewed every five years for products to be sold in the domestic market. Out of the 65, seven are applications for new companies, four are for renewal and 53 are for introducing additional products of existing companies in the market.

After the companies wrote to Anil Kumar T K, the principal secretary of the health department, he promised the state would soon have a licensing authority as the file had been cleared.

The Karnataka Drugs and Pharmaceuticals Manufacturers’ Association (KDPMA) says a licence is a prerequisite for the manufacturing and export of cosmetic products.

“All these days, the state drug controller used to give the licences. But, for the past one-and-a-half months, there has been no licensing authority. Nearly 500 files are pending with the drug controller,” KDPMA president Harish Jain told DH.

The KDPMA sent a representation to Kumar on March 9 conveying the same.

Kumar told DH, "The file has been cleared today. The issuance of licences should resume shortly. There was some confusion regarding the Cosmetic Rules, 2020. There was a show-cause notice issued in February and the powers of the licensing authority were given to someone
else.”

When a product is registered, a free sale certificate is required for export. The importing country will need a safety check certificate, and would need to know if the said product is sold in the home country freely without any restrictions. A Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certificate is also held up without a licence.

According to Jain, Karnataka has at least six big cosmetic companies, including Himalaya, Wipro, Daffy Cosmetics, Group Pharmaceuticals and Nimvas. Products range from face wash and moisturiser to serum and sunscreen.

“Only those with old permissions can function and once in five years it has to be renewed, but new product launches will be held up,” he added.

State Drug Controller Bhagoji T Khanapure told DH,”The government issued the notification on Tuesday. I will start acting on it from Wednesday.”

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