As you may know, the United Kingdom submitted on 31 October 2017 the notification of its intention to withdraw from the European Union (Brexit).
This means that as from 1 november 2019, 00:00h (CET) (‘the withdrawal date’) the United Kingdom will be a ‘third country’.
Preparing for the withdrawal is not just a matter for EU and national authorities but also for private parties. In view of the uncertainties surrounding the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement we want to highlight one point: the EU rules in the field of cosmetic products will no longer apply to the United Kingdom.
This has in particular the following consequences for cosmetic products placed on the EU market as of the withdrawal date:
- RESPONSIBLE PERSON
According to the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, only cosmetic products for which a legal or natural person is designated within the EU as ‘responsible person’ shall be placed on the market.
As of the withdrawal date, responsible persons can no longer be established in the United Kingdom.
If you are working with an UK Responsible Person, don’t wait until the last moment to get ready, contact us.
- NOTIFICATION IN THE COSMETIC PRODUCT NOTIFICATION PORTAL
According to the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, prior to placing the cosmetic product on the market, the responsible person shall notify a list of information relating to the cosmetic product to the Commission, through the Cosmetic Product Notification Portal (CPNP).
As of the withdrawal date, prior to placing a cosmetic product on the EU-27 market, the new responsible person in the EU-27 will have to make product notifications in the CPNP.
As regards existing notifications made before by a responsible person established in the United Kingdom, the CPNP offers the possibility to transfer notifications to another responsible person. Later, the former UK-based responsible person will no longer have access to the CPNP.
- PRODUCT INFORMATION FILE (PIF)
According to the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, when a cosmetic product is placed on the market, the responsible person shall keep a product information file (PIF) for the cosmetic product.
As of the withdrawal date, the PIF has to be made available at the address of the responsible person in the EU-27.
- LABELLING
According to the Regulation (EC) No 1223/2009, the name and address of the responsible person shall be indicated on the label of cosmetic products. The country of origin shall be specified for imported cosmetic products.
As of the withdrawal date, cosmetic products manufactured in the United Kingdom and placed on the EU market will be a cosmetic product imported into the EU-27 from a third country.
This information and will be updated with further information, where necessary if the ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement finally takes out successfully. At the moment, is not the case.
Now, the spotlight is on The United Kingdom due to the last announcement of the Prime Minister, which allows, at first, to rule out a sudden break at the end of next month.
COSMESERVICE is very attentive to updates in cosmetic regulation. Because of that, we recommend you to choose us as your responsible person in Europe. If you have any doubt or concern, please contact us. We will be more than glad to help you.
Cosmeservice- EU Responsible Person