Foreign Brand
As a foreign brand owner, you appoint an Indian Authorised Agent who files for and holds the COS-1 in India on your behalf. Your EU, FDA, or home-country registration does not carry over to India; a separate COS-1 is required for every product line.
Your compliance journey
Confirm No Indian Entity Needed
You do not need to incorporate an Indian company; your Authorised Agent acts as the regulatory and legal representative in India under Cosmetics Rules 2020 Rule 13.
Execute the LOA with Apostille
Issue a Letter of Authorization to your Authorised Agent; the document must be notarised and apostilled under the Hague Convention before submission to CDSCO.
Provide GMP and Product Documentation
Supply a valid GMP certificate for your manufacturing site, product formula, and Second Schedule details as required under Annex A of Cosmetics Rules 2020.
Agent Files COS-1 via SUGAM
Your Authorised Agent submits the complete COS-1 application through the SUGAM portal; all correspondence with CDSCO goes through the agent.
Validate Labels for India
Labels must declare MRP, net quantity, importer (agent) address, country of origin, and ingredients in INC nomenclature per Cosmetics Rules 2020 and IS 4707.
Launch and Maintain Compliance
Your agent manages renewals, label updates, and any CDSCO queries; you remain responsible for supplying current manufacturing documentation when required.
Confirm No Indian Entity Needed
You do not need to incorporate an Indian company; your Authorised Agent acts as the regulatory and legal representative in India under Cosmetics Rules 2020 Rule 13.
Execute the LOA with Apostille
Issue a Letter of Authorization to your Authorised Agent; the document must be notarised and apostilled under the Hague Convention before submission to CDSCO.
Provide GMP and Product Documentation
Supply a valid GMP certificate for your manufacturing site, product formula, and Second Schedule details as required under Annex A of Cosmetics Rules 2020.
Agent Files COS-1 via SUGAM
Your Authorised Agent submits the complete COS-1 application through the SUGAM portal; all correspondence with CDSCO goes through the agent.
Validate Labels for India
Labels must declare MRP, net quantity, importer (agent) address, country of origin, and ingredients in INC nomenclature per Cosmetics Rules 2020 and IS 4707.
Launch and Maintain Compliance
Your agent manages renewals, label updates, and any CDSCO queries; you remain responsible for supplying current manufacturing documentation when required.
What you need
Avoid these pitfalls
Attempting to file a COS-1 application directly without appointing an Indian Authorised Agent, which is structurally invalid under Cosmetics Rules 2020 Rule 13 as no foreign entity can hold a COS-1 in its own name.
Printing the brand owner's foreign address as the importer address on the India label instead of the Authorised Agent's registered Indian address, violating Cosmetics Rules 2020 Second Schedule label requirements.
Submitting an LOA that is notarised but not apostilled for Hague Convention countries, rendering the document invalid at CDSCO intake.
Providing an expired or incorrectly scoped GMP certificate that does not cover the specific manufacturing site and product categories listed in the Second Schedule.
Assuming that EU Cosmetics Regulation or US FDA cosmetic registration constitutes any form of recognised approval in India; Cosmetics Rules 2020 require a standalone COS-1 with no equivalence pathway.
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Also on this site
Free resource
India Cosmetics Import Checklist 2025 — free download