[Taiwan Cosmetic Law Overhaul] 8 Key Points at a Glance!

Prepared by our regulatory-affairs team

Taiwan’s new Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Administration Act has fully replaced the almost 50-year-old Cosmetic Hygiene Administration Regulation. All clauses and practical requirements below are extracted from the Official Gazette and public documents issued by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Health & Welfare (MOHW), enabling cross-strait industry players and consumers to compare rules quickly.

Major changes under the new law

 

1. 1. Wider definition of “cosmetic product”: non-medicated toothpastes and mouthwashes are now regulated as cosmetics.

1. 1. “Medicated cosmetics” renamed “cosmetics for specific purposes”; pre-market licensing is scrapped and replaced by online notification + a Product Information File (PIF).

1. 1. A new online notification platform gives every cosmetic product a traceable life-cycle code.

1. 1. Each product must have a PIF reviewed and signed off by a Safety Assessor (SA) to confirm safety.

1. 1. Manufacturing sites must comply with Cosmetic Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) to ensure quality.

1. 1. Every factory must station a qualified professional (licensed pharmacist or cosmetic technologist) to supervise production.

1. 1. Criminal penalties removed; administrative fines drastically increased plus internal whistle-blower rewards to deter violators.

1. 1. New tools: mandatory adverse-event reporting, border inspection, mandatory ad correction & product recall orders.

Detailed comparison

Conclusion

Taiwan’s cosmetic rules are now aligned with EU and ASEAN regimes, shifting from “pre-market approval” to “post-market surveillance + industry self-discipline”. For brands based in mainland China or overseas, securing a GMP facility code and a product notification certificate is now the minimum prerequisite for listing products in Taiwan’s retail and e-commerce channels.

We have nearly ten years of Taiwan regulatory experience. Whether your product is food or cosmetic, we handle notification, labelling, formula review, PIF compilation, safety assessment reports (signed by Taiwan-qualified assessors), compliance affairs and import/export.

— Source: MOHW Food & Drug Administration “Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Administration Act”; Ministry of Economic Affairs Industrial Development Bureau “Cosmetic Manufacturing Factory Standards”; latest official Q&A, July 2025.