Borderline case: Cosmetics from Pakistan breach Indian mkt, raise eyebrows

Drugs regulator says beauty creams from across the border are not registered, and contain excessive, toxic heavy metals

India’s drug regulatory authority, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has issued a public health warning against the use of two “unauthorised” made-in-Pakistan cosmetics: Goree beauty cream and Chandni whitening cream.

 

In a public notice, dated September 8, CDSCO said these cosmetics had not been issued a “registration certificate for import by the competent authority for sale in India”. It also warned that these products contain “excessive heavy metals beyond the specified limits, which may pose health risk to the consumers, including toxic effects”.

 

Goree beauty cream is manufactured by Goree Cosmetics, and Chandni whitening cream by SJ Enterprises, both based in Lahore.

 

The alert follows CDSCO’s earlier direction to the state drug regulatory and port authorities to intensify surveillance, and prevent the sale and entry of products that do not have mandatory registration certificates. “It has come to notice that imported cosmetics are being sold in the domestic market without a valid registration certificate,” a July 2026 circular signed by Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) Rajev Raghuvanshi had stated.

 

Last year, after Operation Sindoor, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade had also prohibited any direct or indirect import or transit of goods originating from Pakistan until further orders.

 

Despite these orders, such cosmetic products, it turns out, were available on several online marketplaces, including Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Tata 1mg, and Snapdeal. On these platforms, the products were attributed as “Made in India”, and in some cases, the details of manufacturer, seller, or packer were not spelled out.

 

While queries emailed to Flipkart, Meesho, Tata 1mg, and Snapdeal did not elicit a response till the time of going to print, an Amazon spokesperson said: “Amazon.in operates as an online marketplace where independent, third-party sellers list and sell their products.” The spokesperson added that the platform requires sellers to list products, which comply with applicable Indian laws and Amazon policies. “We remove non-compliant product listings upon directions from relevant regulatory authorities,” the spokesperson said.

 

The Goree beauty cream on Amazon (it was later taken down) mentioned India as the country of origin. Its manufacturer and packer was listed as Neha Organic. When contacted, an Amazon executive said the company concerned had given incorrect information and was, therefore, being delisted from the platform. It was removed within a few hours.

 

A person aware of the developments at Flipkart said the ecommerce platform had flagged this company and was examining whether the products were non-compliant. The person added that at Flipkart, delisting non-complaint products is a constant process and if any company or its products are found to be violating rules and guidelines, they are removed from the platform.

 

An executive at Meesho, meanwhile, said while the company had undergone a delisting exercise, it might have bypassed the system by mentioning the country of origin as India. This person added that the platform was in the process of removing the product, which it did soon after.

 

CDSCO has warned establishments and individuals concerned not to sell, distribute or advertise these two products. It has also asked all regulatory enforcement units to ensure that such unauthorised cosmetics are not sold in their jurisdiction.

 

Regulatory experts, meanwhile, flagged “gaps” in the enforcement mechanism at ecommerce platforms.

 

“Many companies from Pakistan might be using distribution networks to reroute their products to India from friendlier countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Nepal,” said Rishi Agrawal, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) at TeamLease RegTech, a compliance management software company.

 

A retired drug inspector added, on the condition of anonymity, that while the country of origin and import need to be mentioned on the manifest of import consignments, many may circumvent the rules to show, say, UAE as the place of origin by making small changes to the product there.  

 

CDSCO’s alert has advised consumers against buying these products, and if they have bought them, to not use them. “Violations observed in the label can be reported to the respective state drugs controller for the products manufactured in India and the DCGI for the imported cosmetics products,” the alert added.

 

Agrawal of TeamLease RegTech said the central and state drug regulators need to have a list of pharma and cosmetics distributors and retailers within their jurisdictions to share regulatory notifications and ensure their implementation. “There remains an information asymmetry, where important regulatory messages do not get through the last rung of distributors,” he said. “Strong action should also be taken against  retailers and ecommerce platforms that still listed unauthorised products,” he added.

 

Borderline case

 

• CDSCO issues health alerts against two Pakistan-made cosmetics: Goree beauty cream & Chandni whitening cream
• Alert says products don’t have import registration certificate, contain heavy metals 
• Products were available on ecom platforms in India; taken down by some on Monday
• Experts say such products might be getting rerouted to India via friendly nations