How Pakistan is peddling ‘toxic’ beauty products into India

India’s drug regulator, CDSCO, has flagged two Pakistan-made beauty products, Goree Beauty Cream and Chandni Whitening Cream, and issued a public health alert after finding them being sold in the country without the required import registration. Tests also found excessive levels of heavy metals in both creams

India's drug regulatory body, the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), has raised alarm over two Pakistani-made cosmetic products that were being sold in the country despite lacking the approvals required for imported cosmetics.

CDSCO issued a public health alert on September 8 against Goree Beauty Cream and Chandni Whitening Cream, warning consumers not to buy or use them.

The action followed after it was found that both products contained heavy metals above specified limits. CDSCO also said the creams did not have the registration certificate required for their import and sale in India, according to Moneycontrol.

The case has raised another question: if these products were not authorised for sale and imports of Pakistani goods are prohibited, how did they reach Indian consumers?

What did the regulator find?

CDSCO identified the two products as unauthorised cosmetics and said they had not received the mandatory import registration.

Business Standard reported that the regulator's September 8 notice said the products contained “excessive heavy metals beyond the specified limits, which may pose health risk to the consumers, including toxic effects”.

The products are Goree Beauty Cream, manufactured by Goree Cosmetics, and Chandni Whitening Cream, manufactured by SJ Enterprises. Both companies are based in Lahore.

CDSCO has asked consumers not to purchase the products and to stop using them if they have already bought them. Traders, establishments and individuals have also been told not to sell, distribute or advertise them.

What are the rules for imported cosmetics?

Imported cosmetics cannot simply be brought into India and sold without regulatory clearance.

Moneycontrol reported on September 15 that under the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, imported cosmetics must be registered with the Central Licensing Authority before being brought into the country. Domestic cosmetics, meanwhile, require a licence from the relevant state licensing authority.

The latest alert came after a July 2026 direction from Drugs Controller General of India Rajeev Raghuvanshi to state drug regulators and CDSCO offices to increase surveillance.

The July circular noted that imported cosmetics were being sold domestically without valid registration certificates, according to Business Standard.

There is another layer to the issue. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) prohibited the direct or indirect import or transit of goods originating in or exported from Pakistan on May 2, 2025, until further orders.

Yet the two creams were found listed on several Indian e-commerce platforms.

Business Standard reported that Goree Beauty Cream and Chandni Whitening Cream appeared on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho, Tata 1mg and Snapdeal. Some listings reportedly described the products as “Made in India”, while information about the manufacturer, seller or packer was not always available.

A Goree Beauty Cream listing on Amazon, which was later removed, identified India as the country of origin and named Neha Organic as the manufacturer and packer.

An Amazon spokesperson told Business Standard, “Amazon.in operates as an online marketplace where independent, third-party sellers list and sell their products.”

The spokesperson added that sellers are required to comply with Indian laws and Amazon's policies, and said, “We remove non-compliant product listings upon directions from relevant regulatory authorities.”

How could Pakistani products enter the market?

One possibility raised by regulatory experts is that products could be routed through third countries.

Rishi Agrawal, co-founder and CEO of TeamLease RegTech, told Business Standard that Pakistani products could potentially reach India through countries such as the UAE or Nepal.

“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,” Agrawal said.

A retired drug inspector, speaking anonymously to Business Standard, suggested that import documentation could potentially be manipulated to show another country as the origin after limited processing there.

What happened to the online listings?

Some platforms moved to remove the products after the issue came to light.

Amazon removed the Goree listing after determining that the country-of-origin information provided by the company was incorrect.

A person familiar with developments at Flipkart said that the platform had flagged the company and was examining whether the products breached its rules.

A Meesho executive said the product may have bypassed an earlier delisting exercise because India had been entered as its country of origin. The product was subsequently removed.

CDSCO appeal to consumers?

The regulator has advised consumers to examine cosmetic packaging carefully, including the manufacturer's details, batch number, manufacturing and expiry dates, and the registration number required for imported products.

CDSCO has also instructed enforcement authorities to ensure the two unauthorised products are not sold in their jurisdictions.

Agrawal told Business Standard that drug regulators should maintain lists of cosmetics and pharmaceutical distributors and retailers so that regulatory warnings reach businesses throughout the supply chain.

“There remains an information asymmetry, where important regulatory messages do not get through the last rung of distributors,” he said.

He also called for strong action against retailers and e-commerce platforms that continue to list unauthorised products.