Cosmetic Standards & Labelling in India (2026): BIS, IS 4707 & Legal Metrology, Explained Simply

Last updated: June 2026

The licence gets all the attention. But ask any regulatory consultant what actually gets products pulled from shelves, seized, or fined, and the answer is usually more mundane: a formula that breaches a standard, or a label missing a mandatory declaration.

Two completely separate things have to be right, and they're easy to confuse:

1. What's inside the bottle must meet India's BIS / IS standards.

2. What's on the bottle must carry every declaration required by the Cosmetics Rules, 2020 and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011.

Here's both, in plain English, current to 2026.

⚠️ Note: this is general information, not legal advice. Standards and labelling rules change (IS 4707 was revised in 2025; BIS certification rules are evolving). Always confirm the current position with a qualified consultant or your manufacturer before you print.

Part 1 — The product: meeting BIS / IS standards

The Ninth Schedule: a standard for (almost) every category

The Cosmetics Rules, 2020 don't leave quality to chance. The Ninth Schedule lists the BIS standards that apply to around 37 categories of cosmetics — skin creams, skin powders, hair oils, shampoos, soaps, lipsticks, foundations, and more. Your product has to conform to the relevant standard, and this applies equally to domestically made and imported cosmetics. (Useful to know: when BIS publishes a new standard for a category, it becomes mandatory six months after publication — so the goalposts move, and you have to keep up.)

Each category has its own IS number — for example, skin creams and hair dyes each have a dedicated standard governing composition, quality, and testing.

IS 4707: the ingredient rulebook you can't ignore

The single most important standard for a formulator is IS 4707, which governs what can and can't go into a cosmetic. As of 2026 it runs in three parts:

• Part 1 — classification of cosmetic raw materials and the list of permitted colours, dyes, and pigments.
• Part 2 — the list of substances generally not recognised as safe (GNRAS) and restricted ingredients (revised in 2025 — the fifth revision).
• Part 3 — a new 2025 standard listing preservatives allowed in cosmetics, with their restrictions.

Ingredients must be declared using their INCI names (the international naming system), and many carry maximum-percentage caps — salicylic acid, for instance, is capped at 2% in a cosmetic.

The hard limits — non-negotiable

Some rules are absolute:

• Mercury compounds — manufacture and import effectively prohibited (trace limit under 1 ppm).
• Lead and arsenic compounds — prohibited as colourants.
• Heavy-metal caps in permitted colours — broadly, arsenic ≤ 2 ppm, lead ≤ 20 ppm, other heavy metals ≤ 100 ppm.
• Hexachlorophene — prohibited except in soaps up to 1%, and then only with the printed warning "Contains Hexachlorophene – not to be used on babies."

"Conforming to a standard" vs "BIS certification" (the ISI mark)

These two get muddled constantly:

• Conforming to the IS standards in the Ninth Schedule is mandatory now, for every cosmetic sold in India.
• A separate BIS product certification — the right to carry the ISI mark under a licence — is currently mandatory only where a Quality Control Order (QCO) brings a category under compulsory certification.

As of 2026, cosmetics broadly are not yet under a blanket compulsory-certification QCO — but the government has signalled it's coming, with hair dye, sunscreen, and toiletries among the categories flagged first. The smart move is to align with BIS specs now so a future QCO doesn't disrupt you. (Confirm the current QCO status before you rely on this — it's actively evolving.)

If you're going third-party (most of you)

Here's the reassuring part: if a contract manufacturer makes your product, conformance to these standards is their job — it's baked into their GMP licence and processes. But two things stay on you: ask for the Certificate of Analysis (COA) and test reports for your batches, and remember it's your brand on the label, so the claims and declarations are your responsibility (next section).

Part 2 — The label: every declaration that must appear

A beautiful bottle with a non-compliant label is a liability. Two rulebooks govern what must be printed.

Under the Cosmetics Rules, 2020 (Rule 34)

Must appear on the label
Product name and brand
Name and full address of the manufacturer (or principal place of manufacture)
Net contents (weight, volume, or number of units)
List of ingredients, in descending order of quantity (INCI names)
Batch number
Manufacturing licence number
Date of manufacture and use-before / expiry date
Directions for use, plus any warnings or cautions (e.g. "For external use only")
For imports: import registration ("RC") number and "Made in (country)"

Under the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011

Because a cosmetic is a pre-packaged commodity, it also needs the standard consumer declarations:

• Name and address of the manufacturer / packer / importer
• The common/generic name of the commodity
• Net quantity
• Month and year of manufacture / packing / import
• MRP — the retail sale price, inclusive of all taxes
• Consumer-care contact details
• Country of origin (for imported products)

Claims — keep them clean

Two quick rules that catch brands out:

• No false or misleading claims (Rule 36). Be careful with "natural," "organic," "dermatologically tested," and similar — be ready to back them up.
• Animal testing is banned in India (Rule 39(7)), so a cruelty-free claim is optional — but if you make it, don't misuse a certification body's logo (like PETA's) unless you actually hold that certification.

The part that's really a packaging decision

Here's where compliance and packaging meet — and where smart size choices genuinely help you. The Cosmetics Rules give small containers some relief:

• For containers of ≤ 60 ml (liquids) or ≤ 30 g (solids/semi-solids), the manufacturer's address can be shortened to the principal place of manufacture plus PIN code.
• Batch number can be omitted on very small packs — ≤ 10 g (solid/semi-solid) or ≤ 25 ml (liquid).

But relaxations or not, every mandatory declaration above still has to physically fit on your packaging — legibly — while leaving room for the branding that actually sells the product. That's not a trivial design constraint. The bottle or jar you choose, its label real estate, and how you decorate it directly determine whether you can be both compliant and beautiful.

How RENTRASPA helps

This is exactly where RENTRASPA comes in. We're a wholesaler-importer of premium cosmetic glass packaging — bottles, jars, vials, droppers, pumps, and closures — held as ready stock in India and shipped from Chennai. Your manufacturer keeps the formula compliant; your label partner sets the artwork; we give you the right glass to carry all of it well:

• The right sizes — including small formats that qualify for the label relaxations above, and larger ones with the surface area to fit every declaration comfortably.
• MOQ from one — buy a few pieces to mock up your label and check that every mandatory line fits before you commit to a full run.
• In-stock dispatch within 3 working days, with printing, painting, and hot-stamping from 1,000 pieces to put your compliant label and your brand on the glass, beautifully.

Get the formula right, get the label right — and let RENTRASPA make sure the packaging carries both with the premium feel your brand deserves.

Browse the RENTRASPA cosmetic glass range →Order samples →Talk to us about your packaging →

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RENTRASPA — Premium Cosmetic Packaging. Imported cosmetic glass, ready stock in India, dispatched nationwide. Order from one. This article is general information, not legal or regulatory advice; always confirm current standards and labelling requirements with a qualified consultant.