Licences Required for a Cosmetics Business in India

Licences and registrations to plan for

• Planning stage
  Udyam registration

  Records your enterprise size and is commonly asked for by marketplaces, banks and government schemes. It is not a precondition for a cosmetic licence.

• Before launch
  Trademark registration

  A cosmetic brand lives on its name and logo. Search and file before you print labels and packaging, because a refused or opposed mark means a rebrand.

• Before construction
  Building plan approval

  A manufacturing unit needs a layout approved by the local authority, and the licensing inspector compares your premises with the plan you filed.

• Before installing machinery
  Pollution consent (CTE / CTO)

  Whether a cosmetic unit needs consent depends on its category and process under the state board's list. Confirm the category with the board before you buy machinery.

• Before occupation
  Fire NOC

  Alcohol-based and aerosol products, perfumes and packaging stock raise the fire load, and fire clearance depends on building height and use under state rules.

• Before production
  Factory licence

  A manufacturing unit that crosses the worker and power thresholds under the current labour law needs a factory licence before production starts.

• Before manufacture or import
  Cosmetic manufacturing licence or import registration

  The core approval. Manufacture needs a licence from the state Drugs Control authority, while import needs a registration certificate from CDSCO through the SUGAM portal.

• Before first sale
  Legal metrology compliance

  Packaged cosmetics must carry the declarations required by the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, such as net quantity and maximum retail price. Importers and packers may have separate registration or licence obligations.

• During product development
  BIS standards and certification

  The Cosmetics Rules refer to Indian Standards for many product classes, so check which BIS standard applies to your product. Treat any BIS certification as product-specific rather than universal.

• Before first shipment
  Import Export Code

  Needed to import cosmetics or raw materials and to export finished products. The IEC is separate from the CDSCO import registration.

• Before or soon after launch
  Plastic waste EPR registration

  Producers and brand owners that put plastic packaging on the market have extended producer responsibility duties under the Plastic Waste Management Rules.

• Before first sale
  GST registration

  Needed for sales and input tax credit, and almost always for selling through online marketplaces. Check the GST rate for each product category as rates changed in September 2025.

• On hiring
  EPF and ESIC

  Employer registrations apply once a manufacturing or warehouse team crosses the coverage limits under the Code on Social Security.

Manufacturer, importer or seller: which route are you on?

The Cosmetics Rules, 2020 separate the three roles. A manufacturer works from its own approved premises. An importer brings finished cosmetics into India and must hold a CDSCO registration certificate for each manufacturer, product category and site. A seller who buys finished products from a licensed manufacturer and resells them is generally not required to hold a separate cosmetic sale licence, but this should be confirmed against the current Rules and any state requirement before you launch.

Many new brands choose a loan licence. You contract manufacturing to a licensed unit under a loan licence arrangement, so you carry the brand and label responsibility while the host unit carries the plant. This avoids capital cost for a plant, but both parties stay answerable for quality, so the contract should set out who handles complaints, recalls and records.

The roadmap: order of approvals

For a new manufacturing unit the sequence below works in practice. Importers and brand-only businesses skip the plant-related steps.

• Fix the entity and register for PAN, GST and Udyam. A company or LLP should name the person responsible for manufacture and quality when it files.
• Search and file the trademark, and settle product names, formulations and ingredient lists. Ingredient declarations on the label must match what you actually use.
• Select premises, obtain the building plan approval, and design the layout so that production, storage, quality control and washing areas are separated as the licensing authority expects.
• Apply for pollution Consent to Establish if your category needs it, and secure groundwater permission if you will draw borewell water.
• Appoint technical staff whose qualifications meet the Cosmetics Rules and prepare documents such as the site plan, equipment list and staff details.
• Apply to the State Licensing Authority for the manufacturing licence. Our service page lists the Delhi fee schedule, and an inspection normally follows before grant.
• Obtain Consent to Operate, fire NOC and the factory licence if applicable, then start commercial production.
• Settle legal metrology declarations on the label, GST invoicing and, if you sell online, the seller documents that marketplaces ask for.

Importing cosmetics: CDSCO registration comes first

An importer applies on the CDSCO SUGAM portal for a registration certificate, and the foreign manufacturer authorises the importer through the documents CDSCO prescribes. Fees are charged in US dollars per category, per variant and per manufacturing site, and our cosmetic licence page lists the amounts we verified from CDSCO guidance.

Goods without a valid registration can be held at customs. Plan the registration before you place the first order, not after the shipment is on the water, and obtain the Import Export Code in parallel because customs clearance also needs it.

Labels, legal metrology and BIS standards

Cosmetics Rules labelling and Legal Metrology packaged commodity declarations overlap but are not the same. The first covers matters such as the product name, ingredients, batch number, manufacturing and expiry information and the licence reference. The second covers net quantity, maximum retail price, the name and address of the manufacturer or importer and a consumer care contact. Review the label against both sets of rules before printing.

BIS standards are referred to in the Cosmetics Rules for many product classes. Whether a given product needs BIS certification is a product-specific question, so confirm the position for your category on the BIS website or with a compliance adviser. Do not assume that an ISI mark is a general requirement for every cosmetic.

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana: where applications go

Delhi: The Drugs Control Department of the Government of NCT of Delhi publishes forms and fees for cosmetic manufacturing licences. Industrial land is limited, so many Delhi applicants are traders or loan licensees rather than plant owners.

Uttar Pradesh: The Food Safety and Drug Administration handles cosmetic manufacturing licences, and approvals for industrial projects run through the Nivesh Mitra single window. Cosmetic and personal-care units cluster around Noida, Greater Noida and Ghaziabad.

Haryana: The state Drugs Control organisation licenses manufacturers, and pollution and fire clearances come from HSPCB and the Haryana Fire and Emergency Services. Units are concentrated in Faridabad, Gurugram, Sonipat and Panchkula.

Forms, fee schedules and inspection practice differ between these offices, so confirm the current checklist on the state portal before you file.

Recurring compliance for a cosmetics business

• Licence retention: manufacturing licences and import registrations carry retention fee provisions. Confirm the due dates stated on your grant and calendar them.
• Records: batch manufacturing records, ingredient and supplier records, complaint and recall logs, and stability or quality test data where your formulation requires them.
• Labels: re-check labels whenever you change a formulation, pack size, MRP or manufacturing site.
• GST: monthly or quarterly returns and annual return, with reconciliation of input tax credit.
• Labour: PF and ESIC returns and the factory annual return where a factory licence is held.
• Packaging waste: annual EPR filings where you are a producer or brand owner of plastic packaging.
• Inspections: drug inspectors may draw samples, and a sample that does not match the declared standard can lead to action against the licence.

Pitfalls that delay cosmetic businesses

• Launching on marketplaces first. Platforms increasingly ask for licence, GST and legal metrology details, so a product without them can be delisted.
• Treating FSSAI as relevant. Cosmetics are outside FSSAI. Ingestible beauty supplements are a different category and need separate advice.
• Mismatched label and licence. The product category and manufacturer named on the label should match the licence or registration.
• Import registration after shipment. Customs will not wait for a certificate you have not yet obtained.
• Over-claiming on labels. Medical or therapeutic claims can move a product into drug territory under the Act, so keep claims modest and consult a regulatory adviser.

Frequently asked questions

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