Imported Soaps, Black Hair Powder and Hair Removal Wax, Require Submission of Entry Notice to KPTA from 2020

Earlier ChemLinked reported ^[1] that South Korea implemented the amended Enforcement Rule of the Cosmetics Act ^[2] on December 31, 2018. In the amendments, solid soaps, black hair powder, and hair removal wax will be classified as cosmetics starting from December 31, 2019. They will be required to report an Entry Notice of Imported Products and get the approval from Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association (KPTA) before importing it to South Korea.

Then on November 22, 2019, KPTA released an announcement stating that it would begin to accept the application and issue the approval of entry notice of imported solid soaps, black hair powder, and hair removal wax from December 1, 2019 ^[3]. Approval of an entry notice reported in December will be issued starting from January 2, 2020.

• Dossiers necessary for reporting an entry notice of imported soaps, black hair powder, and hair removal wax:

• Products classification code when filling the entry notice application form:

Click here to see the full list of cosmetics classification codes in South Korea.

Import Procedures for Finished Cosmetic Products

Sale of imported cosmetic products in South Korea requires compliance with the following procedures:

1) Register as a responsible cosmetic distributor in South Korea. For functional cosmetics, an application for examination to MFDS is required.
2) Report an entry notice of imported products to KPTA for approval.
3) Submit an entry notice of imported products to the Korea Customs Service (KCS) for customs clearance.
4) Test samples and get approval from the lab.
5) Attach the South Korean label on the package. For details, please refer to the following graph.

Source: KPTA Official Website