CSAR Subsidiary Regulations: China Releases the Draft Cosmetic Classification Rules and Catalog

The classification of cosmetics in China will be refined into 5 categories and will adopt a coding system going forward. The draft lists 28 efficacy claims, 13 application areas, 14 dosage forms, 3 types of target users and 2 application methods to determine the classification of cosmetics.

On July 29, China National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) issued the draft Cosmetic Classification Rules and Catalog for public consultation ^[1], which is one of the significant subsidiary regulations of China’s Cosmetic Supervision and Administration Regulation (CSAR) and the revised version of the previous draft Cosmetic Classification Standard ^[2]. The consultation period will last until August 30, 2020. Stakeholders with any suggestions or opinions can send back to NMPA by mail at huazhuangpinchu@163.com.

Encompassing 12 articles and 5 coding catalogs, the new draft stipulates that the classification of cosmetics will be refined into 5 categories and will adopt a coding system going forward. Specifically, the five categories are:

5 Layers		Sub-categories	Range of Codes
1^st layer	Efficacy Claims	Includes 28 kinds of claims such as cleansing, makeup removing, moisturizing, beauty modifying, hair styling, sunscreen, deodorant, hair removal, etc.	01-28, A^*
2^nd layer:	Application Areas	Includes 13 parts such as hair, scalp, body skin, face, eyes, underarms, etc.	01-13, B^*
3^rd layer	Dosage Forms	Includes 14 categories such as creams, emulsions, water aquas, gels, powders or solids, pastes, aerosols, etc.	01-14, C^*
4^th layer	Target Users	Includes 3 categories, namely ordinary people, infants (between birth and the age of 3), and children (aged between 3 and 12).	01-03, D^*
5^th layer	Application Methods	Rinse-off and leave-on categories	01, 02
Note: *"": In any of the first four layers, products outside the prescribed sub-categories will fall under a separate class, be coded by letters and managed as special cosmetics.** For the specific coding catalogs, please refer to our upcoming English translation (It is in urgent translation and the English Version will be uploaded these days).