Exporting Cosmetics to Singapore: HSA Notification, Labels and Import

Who notifies: the company responsible in Singapore

The notification is filed by the person responsible for placing the product on the market: the company in Singapore that causes the product to be available for sale, which may be an importer, manufacturer, distributor or retailer. HSA's guidance says it must be a company registered with the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA). A foreign brand therefore works through a Singapore importer, distributor or subsidiary.

Each company that supplies the product notifies it, even if another company in Singapore has already notified the same product from the same manufacturer. A notification gives no exclusivity, and a change of company because distribution rights change cannot be made by amendment: the new company files a new notification. Agree in the distribution contract who notifies and what happens when you change partners.

Since 1 February 2023, wholesalers and retailers must also not supply a cosmetic that has not been notified. If they find one, they must stop supplying it and take reasonable steps to recall it.

Filing in PRISM: fees, acknowledgement and yearly re-notification

The Singapore company needs a Unique Entity Number (UEN) from ACRA, a Corppass account and a CRIS (Client Registration and Identification Service) account, which authorises its staff or service providers to use PRISM. Foreign companies with Corppass accounts for foreign entities cannot open a CRIS account. The form asks for company, manufacturer and product details (brand, product name, product type and variants); each variant, such as each lipstick shade or shampoo scent, is notified, but different pack sizes are not.

Fees in force since 1 July 2024 are S$28 per product for products used around the eyes or on the lips, oral and dental care products and hair dyes containing diamine compounds, and S$13 for other cosmetics, for the single product or each of its first 3 variants; each further variant costs S$8. The acknowledgement is generated automatically on submission and you may sell at once. It is not an approval: HSA does not evaluate cosmetics before sale.

A notification is valid for one year; to keep selling, re-notify every year, for the same fee. Company name or address (same UEN), applicant and manufacturer details can be amended in PRISM. A new brand name, product name, product type or distribution company needs a new notification, and HSA's guideline also requires one for a change of formulation. Cancel notifications for products you stop selling; fees are not refunded.

Safety file, records, adverse events and recalls

The company responsible answers for the safety and quality of the product and must submit safety and technical information when HSA asks. HSA points companies to the ASEAN guidelines for the Product Information File (PIF): four parts (administrative documents and product summary, raw material quality, finished product quality, safety and efficacy data) kept at the address on the label for at least 3 years after the product was last on the market, and supplied within 15 to 60 days of a request. Most of it comes from you or your manufacturer.

The ASEAN contaminant limits apply: mercury 1 ppm, lead 20 ppm, arsenic 5 ppm and cadmium 5 ppm, with microbial limits of 500 cfu/g for products for children under 3, the eye area and mucous membranes and 1,000 cfu/g for others. Singapore does not license cosmetic manufacturers; HSA's GMP certificate is optional and meant for local makers who export.

The company keeps records of supply for two years. It informs HSA of a serious adverse effect causing death or a life-threatening condition within 7 days of becoming aware of it, with a detailed report within 8 days after that, and reports one causing hospitalisation or significant disability within 15 days. HSA's guidance, revised in draft in April 2026, asks companies to tell HSA of a planned recall, with the reasons, at least 24 hours before it starts (weekends and public holidays excluded).

Ingredients: the ASEAN annexes as adopted by HSA

Singapore's ingredient lists sit in the Third Schedule of the regulations and were aligned with the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive annexes by the amendments in force on 1 February 2023. HSA tells companies to check every ingredient against the annexes it publishes. The current HSA file is marked updated June 2026.

The ASEAN changes released on 30 June 2026 added bifonazole, clotrimazole, thiabendazole and tioconazole to the prohibited list, set limits for kojic acid, changed the entry for colourant CI 45430 and removed chlorophene and 2-chloroacetamide from the permitted preservatives. Check HSA's annex file for the date each change applies in Singapore, and reformulate in time. Supplying a product with a prohibited substance is a serious offence.

• Annex II: prohibited substances
• Annex III: restricted substances, with limits and label warnings
• Annex IV: permitted colourants
• Annex VI: permitted preservatives
• Annex VII: permitted UV filters
• ASEAN Guidelines on Limits of Contaminants for Cosmetics (version 3, 2019)

English labels and claims

Label particulars must be in English. Other languages may be added but should say the same as the English text. The outer pack, or the container if there is none, shows the items below. On a small container, at least the product name and batch number must appear; the rest can go on the outer pack, a leaflet or a tag. The list does not include a notification number.

Claims must fit the definition of a cosmetic and be backed by scientific evidence, in line with the ASEAN Cosmetic Claim Guideline (Appendix III). A cosmetic may not claim to modify a physiological process, such as reversing hair loss, or to prevent or treat a disease; products such as acne treatments fall outside the cosmetic definition and are regulated as other health products. Advertising must also meet the Singapore Code of Advertising Practice, administered by the Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore (ASAS).

• Product name and function
• Instructions for use
• Full ingredient list, in descending order of weight
• Country of manufacture
• Name and address in Singapore of the company responsible
• Contents by weight or volume
• Manufacturer's batch number
• Manufacturing or expiry date; expiry date required if durability is under 30 months
• Special precautions and warnings

Import clearance, GST and Singapore as a re-export hub

Cosmetics are not on HSA's list of goods controlled at import, so no HSA licence or HSA product code is needed in the permit. The importer needs a UEN and an activated Customs account (no fee), and its declaring agent obtains an import permit in TradeNet before the goods arrive. Singapore charges customs duty only on liquor, tobacco, motor vehicles and petroleum products; cosmetics pay GST, 9% since 1 January 2024, on the CIF value. Keep trade documents for 5 years, and use the same product names on the invoice, packing list and notification; Triplicate's free commercial invoice and packing list generator can help.

Singapore is a common hub for ASEAN distribution. HSA's guideline states that its cosmetic rules do not apply to products imported solely for re-export. Goods can be stored in a free trade zone under an SFZ permit without paying GST and leave under a re-export permit; export permits are due before export.

An HSA notification covers Singapore only: every other ASEAN country needs its own notification, usually filed by a local company. If buyers in third countries ask for a Certificate of Free Sale, Singapore Customs issues one to certify that the product is sold locally, so the product must be notified and on sale in Singapore first.