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According to the South Korea Cosmetic Policy Plan in 2021 1 released in February, the Korean authority planned to approve the online submission of the certificate documents for the entry notice of imported cosmetics, in an effort to help the overseas enterprises trade with Korea more smoothly amid Covid-19. Soon after, on April 9, 2021, KPTA (Korea Pharmaceutical Traders Association) officially announced to accept the online submission of the imported cosmetics’ certificates 2.
Each time before exporting cosmetics to S. Korea, the enterprise should submit an "entry notice of imported products (표준통관예정보고서)" to KPTA and get an approval. Most dossiers for applying the approval were required to submit by mail. (Find more at CosmePedia 3)
After April 9, except for the "TSE (BSE) related documents”, all documents can be sent to KPTA via online channel 4. The details are:
No | Dossier | Submission Method |
1 | Application letter for the approval of "entry notice of imported products" | Online submission |
2 | Certificate of the responsible cosmetic distributor registration (Copy) | By mail/ By email -> By mail/ By email/ Online submission |
3 | Certificate of business registration (Copy) | By mail/ By email -> By mail/ By email/ Online submission |
4 | Documents about Functional Cosmetics (only for functional cosmetics) (Copy) | By mail/ By email -> By mail/ By email/ Online submission |
5 | Manufacture certificate (A notarial certificate including the information of product name, ingredient name, ingredient specifications, etc.) (Original version) | By mail -> By mail/ Online submission |
6 | Sale certificate (A certificate issued by the export country government, evidencing the fact that the product has been sold in the relevant region.) (Original version) | By mail -> By mail/ Online submission |
7 | TSE (BSE) related documents (Certificates verifying the products are manufactured without raw materials divided from TSE (Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy) or BSE (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) infected animals) (Original version) | By mail |
Nevertheless, the authority also emphasized that for the below situations, the applicants should send the original documents via mails only:
1. When the products are exported to South Korea for the first time;
2. When one certificate is applicable to several products, or the certificate is with an embossed seal, or the seal is on the reverse side of the certificate document;
3. Other situations where additional proofs are required.
ChemLinked Note To help enterprises get out of the industry decline during the pandemic, South Korea brought out many preferential policies, such as contactless inspection, online education, exemption of unnecessary evaluation, etc. However, as the economy is picking up, the provision might be reinforced again. The Korean authority permitted the online submission though, the specific period for accepting online submission is not indicated. ChemLinked suggests enterprises pay close attention to the Korean government’s regulatory updates. |
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