Legal basis

Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulation

The CSAR took effect on 1st January 2021 and replaced the outdated “Cosmetic Hygiene Supervision Regulation” (CHSR), which was implemented in 1990. CSAR is the most important regulation in the Chinese cosmetics industry. 

The CSAR consists of 6 chapters with 80 clauses (compared with only 34 clauses of CHSR). The themes include:

1. General Principles (10 clauses)
   NMPA – competent authority, definition of cosmetics, classification of raw materials, legal responsibilities of notifier/registrant, etc.
2. Cosmetic Raw Materials and Cosmetic Products (15 clauses)
   Classification of cosmetic products, qualifications of notifier/registrant, required dossiers for notification/registration of cosmetic products and raw materials, etc.
3. Production and Sales (20 clauses)
   Production license, production quality management, qualification of head of QC, Chinese labelling, efficacy claims, sales and operation management, etc.
4. Supervision and Management (13 clauses)
   Monitoring and evaluation system for adverse reaction of cosmetics, safety risk monitoring and evaluation system for cosmetics, etc.
5. Legal Liability (18 clauses)
   Penalties based on different kinds of offences
6. Supplementary Articles (4 clauses)
   Regulations for toothpaste and soap