Launching a Cosmetics Brand on Shopify in India
Starting a skincare or cosmetics brand in India looks simple from the outside: a good formula, attractive packaging and an online store. The part that trips founders up is regulation. Cosmetics are governed by the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, and the rules decide who may make the product, what goes on the label, and what you may claim. This guide covers those basics and how to carry them into a Shopify store.
Regulatory details are from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) cosmetics page, its guidance document on import registration and its FAQ on cosmetics, plus the Shopify Help Centre, all checked on 9 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your own case with your State Licensing Authority, CDSCO or a regulatory consultant.
Is your product a cosmetic or a drug?
Settle this first, because it decides which rules apply. CDSCO's FAQ quotes the legal definition from section 3(aaa) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act: a cosmetic is "any article intended to be rubbed, poured, sprinkled or sprayed on, or introduced into, or otherwise applied to, the human body or any part thereof for cleansing, beautifying, promoting attractiveness, or altering the appearance".
The key word is intended. A face wash sold to clean skin is a cosmetic. The same face wash sold as a treatment for a skin disease is making a drug claim. CDSCO is direct about this in its FAQ: "Products having drug claim do not come under the definition of cosmetic as per the Act and therefore cannot be considered for registration as cosmetic."
For a founder, this means the words on your product page, your Instagram captions and your packaging are part of the classification question. Write them with that in mind from day one.
Who needs a licence to make cosmetics in India?
If the product is made in India, manufacture is licensed by the states, not by CDSCO. CDSCO's FAQ says: "Manufacturing license for cosmetics are issued by respective State Licensing Authorities appointed by State Governments."
Under the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, the FAQ explains that a firm applies in Form COS-5 for a licence or Form COS-6 for a loan licence, to the State Licensing Authority. The licences themselves are issued in Form COS-8 and Form COS-9. Per rule 30, as quoted in the FAQ, they "remain valid in perpetuity" as long as the retention fee in the Third Schedule is paid before five years from the date of issue, unless suspended or cancelled.
Most new D2C brands do not own a factory. They work with a contract manufacturer. In that case, the manufacturer's licence and how your brand relates to it matters. Which route fits your arrangement, whether you rely on the manufacturer's licence, take a loan licence, or something else, is a question for your State Licensing Authority. We are not going to guess it for you, and you should not let anyone else guess it either.
| Your situation | Who regulates it | Form named by CDSCO |
|---|---|---|
| Manufacturing in India | State Licensing Authority | COS-5 (licence) or COS-6 (loan licence) application |
| Importing a cosmetic to sell in India | Central Licensing Authority, the Drugs Controller General (India) | COS-1 application for a COS-2 Registration Certificate |
| Importing a product already registered by someone else | Central Licensing Authority | COS-4 application for a COS-4A Import Registration Number |
| A new cosmetic with a novel ingredient | Central Licensing Authority, prior permission first | COS-12 application for COS-3 permission |
What if you import your products instead?
Imported cosmetics need registration before they enter India. CDSCO's guidance document quotes rule 12(1): "No cosmetic shall be imported into India unless the product is registered under the rules by the Central Licensing Authority". The application is made online in Form COS-1 on CDSCO's SUGAM portal, by the manufacturer, its authorised agent or importer in India, or its Indian subsidiary.
Registration covers more than the brand name. CDSCO says each cosmetic must be registered "along with pack size, variants and manufacturing premises". So a new shade or a new pack size is not automatically covered just because the product line is registered.
The fees are set in US dollars in the Third Schedule. According to CDSCO's guidance, they are one thousand US dollars per category of cosmetics, five hundred US dollars per manufacturing site and fifty US dollars per variant, paid through Bharatkosh. A Registration Certificate in Form COS-2 remains valid in perpetuity subject to the retention fee being paid before five years from issue.
If you import a product another company has already registered, CDSCO's FAQ says you apply in Form COS-4 for an Import Registration Number, which "shall remain valid for a period of three years from the date of its issue".
Photo: emmajanehw via Flickr, CC BY 2.0
What must a cosmetic label show?
Labelling is set by Chapter VI of the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, specifically rule 34. CDSCO's guidance document lists what the label must carry, including:
- The name of the cosmetic.
- The name and full address of the manufacturer. If the product was not made in a factory the manufacturer owns, the actual manufacturer's name and address, or "Made in" with the country name.
- A use before or expiry date, given as month and year.
- A distinctive batch or lot number.
- The manufacturing licence number, preceded by "M", "M. L. No" or "Mfg. Lic. No.".
- Net contents by weight for solids and by fluid measure for liquids.
- Where a hazard exists, directions for safe use and any warning.
- For imported cosmetics, the registration certificate number preceded by "RC", plus the importer's name and address.
- An ingredients list headed "INGREDIENTS".
The ingredients rule is specific. Ingredients present at more than one percent are listed in descending order of weight or volume, followed by those at one percent or less in any order. The guidance says the list need not appear on packs of 60 ml or less of liquid, or 30 g or less of solids and semi solids. Small packs also have relaxations on the manufacturer address and the net content statement, so check the exact wording before you design a sample size.
What claims can you not make on your product page?
Two rules work together here. First, the drug line covered above: a claim to treat or cure a condition can move the product out of the cosmetic category. Second, rule 36, which CDSCO quotes in its guidance: "No cosmetic may purport or claim to purport or convey any idea which is false or misleading to the intending user."
On an ecommerce site this applies to more than the label. Product titles, bullet points, before and after images, review highlights you pin, and the meta descriptions Google shows all convey ideas to the buyer. A practical rule we suggest: if a sentence on your product page would sound wrong printed on the pack, it does not belong on the page either.
Two other points from CDSCO's FAQ matter for brand messaging. Rule 39(7), as the FAQ quotes it, says "no person shall use any animal for testing of cosmetics", and the FAQ says cosmetics tested on animals are not allowed for import. If your marketing says cruelty free, make sure your supply chain documents support it.
What do Legal Metrology rules add for online sellers?
Cosmetics sold in packages are also pre-packaged commodities. In June 2017, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs announced amendments to the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, in force from 1 January 2018. The Press Information Bureau release stated that "Goods displayed by the seller on e-commerce platform shall contain declarations required under the Rules like name & Address of the manufacturer, packer and importer, name of the commodity, net content, retail sale price, consumer care complaint, dimention etc."
In plain terms, the details on your physical label should also be visible on the product page before the customer buys. These rules have been amended more than once since, so ask your compliance adviser for the current list rather than relying on an old checklist.
How should a Shopify product page carry all this?
Do not paste regulatory text into the product description by hand for every product. It drifts out of date, and one missed batch of edits leaves dozens of pages wrong. Use structured fields instead.
Shopify's Help Centre page on metafields explains that "Metafields allow you to extend an existing platform data model, such as products, customers, and orders with your own custom data." You create a metafield definition once in the admin, fill it for each product, and connect it to the product template. For themes that support dynamic sources, Shopify says most metafields can be connected through the theme editor without code. Our guide to metafields and metaobjects goes deeper.
A sensible set of product fields for a cosmetics brand:
| Field | Type | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Ingredients | Multi-line text | Matches the INGREDIENTS list on the label |
| Manufactured by | Single-line text or metaobject | Actual manufacturer name and address |
| Licence or RC number | Single-line text | Manufacturing licence or import registration number |
| Net quantity | Text with unit, or a volume or weight field | Matches the pack |
| Directions and warnings | Multi-line text | Safe use and caution statements |
| Country of origin | Single-line text | Needed for imported products |
| Consumer care | Metaobject shared across products | One place to update the contact details |
Using a metaobject for the manufacturer and consumer care details means that when your contract manufacturer or support number changes, you update one entry and every product page follows. That is the kind of setup that saves a lot of quiet risk later. The product page itself still has to sell, so our notes on product page design are worth reading alongside this.
How should you handle returns on opened products?
Hygiene is the honest reason most cosmetics brands do not accept returns of opened products, and customers generally understand that if it is stated clearly before purchase. The common mistake is burying it. State the rule on the product page and the cart, not just in the policy page footer.
Shopify lets you add a return policy, privacy policy, terms of service, shipping policy, legal notice and subscription policy from the admin. Shopify can generate templates, but its Help Centre is clear that "you're responsible for following your published policies." A generic template will not say anything about opened cosmetics, damaged seals or allergic reactions, so rewrite it for your product. Our guide to returns and exchanges for Indian stores covers the operational side, including how exchanges can protect revenue.
Cash on delivery deserves a thought too. Low-ticket beauty orders paid in cash can see refusals at the door. If that is a worry, read our piece on cutting COD return to origin losses before deciding your COD rules.
What order should you do things in before launch?
Based on everything above, this is the sequence we suggest to founders:
- Decide whether every product is a cosmetic, and write claims that stay inside that line.
- Confirm the licensing route with your contract manufacturer and State Licensing Authority, or start import registration if you are importing.
- Finalise the label with all rule 34 details, then design packaging around it, not the other way round.
- Register for GST and set up taxes in Shopify. Our GST setup guide walks through it.
- Build the product template with metafields so every page shows the same regulated details.
- Write return, shipping and privacy policies for cosmetics specifically.
- Activate payments. Our comparison of Razorpay and Cashfree helps here.
If you are still choosing who should build the store, we wrote a separate piece on picking a Shopify agency for beauty brands.
Want a second pair of eyes on your cosmetics store?
Free product page compliance review. Get in touch or email hello@exactwhy.com with the subject "Cosmetics Store Review" and your store URL or a link to your draft product pages. Tell us whether you manufacture in India or import, and which products you are launching first. We reply within 4 hours with a list of gaps between your labels and your product pages, and how to fix them in Shopify.
If you go ahead. We set up your product templates with ingredient, manufacturer, licence and warning fields, build the store on a theme suited to beauty products, write cosmetics specific policy pages for your legal adviser to approve, and connect your payment gateway, courier and GST settings so the store is ready for launch.