Taiwan Cosmetics Product Registration: PIF and GMP Rules

Taiwan cosmetics product registration has three parts. The Taiwanese manufacturer or importer registers each product on the TFDA’s platform before it is supplied, builds a product information file (PIF) evaluated by a safety assessor, and makes sure the manufacturing site meets GMP.

Since 1 July 2024, Taiwan no longer separates “specific-purpose” cosmetics such as sunscreens and hair dyes from other cosmetics, and the PIF and GMP requirements have applied to all products since 1 July 2026.

The legal basis is Taiwan’s Cosmetic Hygiene and Safety Act¹.

Step 1: Identify the Taiwanese importer who registers

Article 4 requires manufacturers and importers of announced types of cosmetics, above a set scale, to complete product registration and set up a product information file before supplying, selling, giving away, displaying or offering products for trial.

The registrant is the Taiwanese manufacturer or importer, so a Korean brand works through a Taiwanese importer, and the Korean side supplies the data for registration and the PIF.

Step 2: Understand the end of specific-purpose cosmetics

Specific-purpose cosmetics such as sunscreens, hair dyes and perms used to need an inspection and registration permit before manufacture or import.

Article 5(7) of the Act stopped that permit regime five years after the 2018 amendments took effect, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) announced that from 1 July 2024 cosmetics would no longer be split into general and specific-purpose categories (MOHW announcement²).

A Korean sunscreen sold in Taiwan today therefore goes through product registration and a PIF rather than a separate permit.

Step 3: Register on the cosmetics product registration platform

According to the MOHW, product registration gives regulators a view of which products are on the market, and consumers can look up product information on the cosmetics product registration platform³.

Registration covers details such as the product name, ingredients, manufacturing site and importer, so the Korean supplier must provide accurate ingredient and manufacturer data. For Hangul ingredient lists, see INCI names for Korean ingredients.

A registration is valid for three years and must be renewed within the three months before it expires⁴. Ingredient rules change too: nine substances including PFAS have been banned since 1 January 2025⁵, and a revised table of restricted ingredients announced on 6 November 2025 takes effect on 1 October 2027⁶.

Step 4: Build the PIF and appoint a safety assessor

The MOHW requires manufacturers and importers to build a product information file and appoint a safety data signatory who assesses safety from raw materials to finished product.

A PIF is not a certification or pre-market approval but a set of evidence on safety, quality and efficacy. It was phased in by product type from July 2024 and has applied to all cosmetics since 1 July 2026, except solid handmade soap made at sites exempt from factory registration (MOHW announcement of 26 June 2024⁷).

The PIF needs the formula, stability and microbiological tests, the safety assessment and manufacturing information, so the Korean manufacturer’s cooperation is essential. See our product information file guide.

Step 5: Confirm the manufacturing site meets GMP

Article 8 requires manufacturing sites for announced types of cosmetics to follow Taiwan’s cosmetic GMP rules, and applies the same requirement to overseas sites.

An MOHW announcement of 28 June 2024⁸ sets three phases: sites making former specific-purpose products such as sunscreens, hair dyes and perms from 1 July 2024; baby, lip and eye products and similar items from 1 July 2025; and all other cosmetics manufacturing sites from 1 July 2026, except makers of solid handmade soap exempt from factory registration. Ask Korean suppliers early for GMP evidence; see CGMP vs ISO 22716.

Animal testing rules

Under Article 6 of the same Act, since 9 November 2019 cosmetics businesses may not use animals in safety assessments of cosmetics or their ingredients carried out in Taiwan, except in limited cases approved by the central authority, and products that break the rule may not be sold. See our Korea animal testing ban guide for the comparison.

Summary

• The registrant is the Taiwanese manufacturer or importer.
• No specific-purpose category since 1 July 2024; one system for all cosmetics.
• Register before supply, with a PIF and a safety assessor.
• PIF and GMP apply in full from 1 July 2026.

SEONGWOO GLOBAL supplies Korean skincare to overseas buyers from Seoul. Taiwanese importers can contact us through the pages below.

Related articles: Product information file · Korea animal testing ban · Sunscreen regulation by country

Related pages: Brands · FAQ · Contact us

Notes

1. Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice, 化粧品衛生安全管理法, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

2. Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, 113年7月1日迎接全化粧品時代 開啟管理嶄新扉頁, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

3. Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, 113年7月1日起 化粧品不分類 迎接管理新時代, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

4. Taiwan’s Ministry of Justice, 化粧品產品登錄辦法, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

5. Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, 114年1月1日起 化粧品禁止使用成分及嬰兒食品標示管理新制, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

6. Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, 修正「化粧品成分使用限制表」，並自中華民國一百十六年十月一日生效, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

7. Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, 訂定「應建立產品資訊檔案之化粧品種類及實施日期」, verified 2026-10-25. ↩

8. Taiwan Food and Drug Administration, 訂定「化粧品製造場所應符合化粧品優良製造準則之化粧品種類」, verified 2026-10-25. ↩