Indonesia Implements the Amended Procedure for the Submission of Cosmetics Notification

The main amendments include the following: 1) Refining the process and requirements for applying for the “letter of recommendation as a notification applicant”; 2) Clarifying the requirements for products with multiple production sites or commissioned manufacturers in Indonesia; 3) Adding a situation that allows the use of previously notified cosmetic product names; 4) Slightly amending the requirements for mandatory documents for cosmetic notification application; 5) Adding a situation that allows applicants to apply for notification information changes, and clarifying the application process.

On Dec. 6, 2021, Indonesia Food and Drug Supervisory Agency (BPOM) issued a revised draft of the Procedure for Submission of Cosmetics Notification for public consultation. On Oct. 5, 2022, Indonesia issued and implemented the revised Procedure for Submission of Cosmetics Notification (hereafter referred to as the "Regulation"), replacing the 2020 version. ¹

The Regulation provides criteria and procedures for companies to refer to when applying for cosmetics notification in Indonesia. Notification applications submitted before Oct. 5, 2022, will still be processed in accordance with the 2020 version. Cosmetic notification numbers obtained before Oct. 5, 2022, are still valid until the expiration date.

The Regulation is divided into 7 chapters and 56 articles with 5 appendices, which stipulates the scope of notification applicants, the documents required for notification, notification procedures, cosmetic product categories, etc. The main amendments are as follows:

1. Refining the process and requirements for applying for the letter of recommendation as a notification applicant

Before applying for notification, companies that commission other companies to produce cosmetics (hereafter referred to as "commissioning manufacturers") or importers must apply to the local UPT BPOM for on-site inspection, so as to obtain the letter of recommendation as a notification applicant. If the commissioning manufacturer or the importer is also an Indonesian cosmetic company, the recommendation letter can be exempted.

The Regulation refines the requirements for importers and commissioning manufacturers. The newly added Appendix IV details the application process for the recommendation letter, on-site inspection items, templates for inspection result letter, and recommendation letter revocation statement, etc.