A pallet of creams, serums and perfumes can clear customs in a single morning and then sit unsold for weeks — not because of duty, but because nobody filed the safety notification the law demands. If you plan to import cosmetics into the UK, customs clearance is only half the job. The other half is product compliance, and the single most common mistake is assuming Great Britain still uses the EU’s CPNP portal. It does not.
CPNP vs SCPN: why the portal name matters for import cosmetics UK
CPNP — the Cosmetic Products Notification Portal — is the European Union system. Since Brexit, Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) runs its own service: Submit cosmetic product notifications (SCPN), administered by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). A notification you made on the EU’s CPNP does not carry over to GB. Before any cosmetic product is made available to GB consumers, the Responsible Person must submit the product details to OPSS through the SCPN service. You will need a GOV.UK One Login to access it.
Northern Ireland follows different rules under the Windsor Framework, so check your destination market carefully before you ship.
You need a UK-established Responsible Person
Every cosmetic product placed on the GB market must have a Responsible Person with a UK-established address. This can be the manufacturer, the importer, a distributor selling under its own brand, or an appointed representative. If you are importing from outside the UK, you either become the Responsible Person yourself or you formally designate a UK-established one. The Responsible Person carries the legal duty to keep notifications accurate and contact details current — both on the SCPN service and on the product itself.
The Product Information File and safety assessment
For each product, the Responsible Person must hold a Product Information File (PIF) in English. It contains the product description, the safety report, evidence of good manufacturing practice and proof of any claimed effect. The PIF must be kept for 10 years after the last batch was made available. The safety report itself must be written by a suitably qualified professional — for example in pharmacy, toxicology or medicine — and splits into Part A (safety information) and Part B (the assessment). No safety assessment, no lawful sale.
Labelling and restricted substances
GB labels must show the Responsible Person’s name and address, the country of origin where the product is imported, the nominal weight or volume, the date of minimum durability or period-after-opening, precautions, a batch number, the product function and the full ingredient list (with “(nano)” after any nanomaterial). Ingredient restrictions live in the Annexes: prohibited and restricted substances in Annex 3, and colourants, preservatives and UV filters limited to those listed in Annexes 4, 5 and 6. Substances classed as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic for reproduction are banned, save for narrowly approved exceptions.
The customs side of importing cosmetics
Compliance does not replace the customs declaration. You still need an EORI number, the correct commodity code (cosmetics generally fall under chapter 33 of the tariff), a customs value and an import declaration, plus import VAT. Get the classification wrong and you risk a held shipment or an underpayment notice. Many brands run the two workstreams in parallel — safety notification on one track, customs on the other — and lean on a specialist to keep them aligned. If you want the declaration handled cleanly, our import clearance service can take the customs entry off your plate while you manage the OPSS notification.
For the wider mechanics of valuation and commodity codes, see our guide to customs and HS codes when importing goods.
Import cosmetics UK: a practical checklist
- Confirm a UK-established Responsible Person is appointed.
- Build a Product Information File in English; commission the Part A/Part B safety report.
- Notify each product on the SCPN service via GOV.UK One Login (not CPNP).
- Check ingredients against Annexes 3–6; remove or reformulate banned substances.
- Finalise GB-compliant labelling, including origin and batch number.
- Register for an EORI, classify under chapter 33, and prepare the import declaration and VAT.
Mini-FAQ
Do I still use CPNP to import cosmetics to GB? No. Great Britain uses the Submit cosmetic product notifications (SCPN) service run by OPSS. CPNP is the EU portal and does not cover the GB market.
Who must be the Responsible Person? A person or company with a UK-established address — often the importer or an appointed representative.
What happens if I skip notification? Selling an un-notified cosmetic is an offence; penalties can include a fine and, in some cases, a short prison term. Confirm the current penalties on GOV.UK.
Sources (gov.uk): Making cosmetic products available to consumers in Great Britain; Submit a cosmetic product notification.
