Cosmetics and cleaning products need an Andean sanitary notification held by an Ecuadorian company — or recognition of one from Colombia or Peru. Here are the regimes, the holder rules, the label, the taxes including ICE on perfume, and what Paraguayan producers should know.
Cosmetics and household cleaning products enter Ecuador under Andean Community law, not purely national rules. Instead of a full sanitary registration, each product needs a notificación sanitaria obligatoria (NSO, mandatory sanitary notification) filed with ARCSA, Ecuador’s health regulator. The NSO is a declaration rather than an approval: the holder files the formula, the label and the technical data, receives a code, and answers for compliance afterwards in the market. It lasts seven years.
The Andean framework has a practical advantage: a product already notified in Colombia or Peru can be recognised in Ecuador on the strength of that first code. Products from Paraguay or elsewhere start from scratch. This article covers the regimes, who can hold an NSO, the label, the taxes — including ICE on perfumes — and the Paraguayan angle. The general tax stack is in our guide to importing into Ecuador in 2026.
| Product | Regime | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Cosmetics: make-up, skin and hair care, perfumes, deodorants, toothpaste | Notificación sanitaria obligatoria (NSO), valid 7 years | Andean Decision 833 |
| Household hygiene: detergents, dishwashing and laundry products, cleaners, disinfectants for household use | NSO, valid 7 years | Andean Decision 706 |
| Absorbent personal hygiene: nappies, sanitary towels, tampons | NSO, valid 7 years | Andean Decision 706 |
| Air fresheners | NSO | Andean Decision 826 |
| Hygiene products for industrial use | ARCSA notificación sanitaria (national regime) | ARCSA regulations |
| Household insecticides and pesticides | ARCSA notificación sanitaria for domestic-use pesticides | ARCSA regulations |
The borderline cases cause most delays. A sunscreen is a cosmetic; a product claiming to treat acne or dandruff may be a medicine; an antibacterial hand gel can fall under different rules depending on its claims. Industrial cleaning chemicals sold to companies are not household hygiene products. If classification is unclear, ARCSA issues a certificate stating whether a product needs a notification or registration, for US$37.18, in about fifteen working days.
Law and practice: Andean Decisions 833 (cosmetics, in force 1 March 2021), 706 (household hygiene and absorbent products) and 826 (air fresheners); SGCAN Resolution 1370 (NSO forms for hygiene products).
Under Decision 833, the NSO holder must have its legal domicile in the country where the notification or recognition is filed. In Ecuador, that means an Ecuadorian company or resident with a tax number (RUC): the importer, a distributor or the brand’s own subsidiary. Other importers can join an existing NSO for the same product, take on the same obligations and add their details to the label. If you depend on a distributor, agree in writing who holds the code and what happens to it if the relationship ends; the code belongs to the holder.
Formula
Composition with INCI names; ingredients must respect the Andean lists of prohibited and restricted substances.
Technical file
Specifications of the finished product and support for any claims made on the label.
Manufacturer documents
Where the holder is not the manufacturer, the documents linking them, apostilled.
Label
The label or label artwork; if only artwork is filed, the final label is submitted once sales start.
Fee
Paid through the VUE; ARCSA’s schedule distinguishes foreign from Ecuadorian products.
Changes
Formula, name, holder or manufacturer changes are notified before the modified product is sold.
For Ecuadorian-made household hygiene products, ARCSA’s 2026 schedule runs from US$96.09 for a micro company to US$565.21 for a large one, and renewal costs 20% of that; holders with ARCSA-certified good manufacturing practice pay nothing to renew. ARCSA’s cosmetics NSO page lists the same scale for national products. Recognising the NSO code of a foreign-made cosmetic already notified in another Andean country costs US$904.34. Renewal must be requested up to 60 days before expiry, and the code stays the same. Filings for all these products go through the VUE in ECUAPASS, with up to two rounds of corrections.
Law and practice: Decision 833, arts. 7, 9, 11, 18 and 19; Decision 706, art. 18; Resolution ARCSA-DE-2021-016-AKRG, arts. 53–54; Resolution ARCSA-DE-006-2017-CFMR.
A cosmetic that already has an NSO code in another Andean country — Colombia, Peru or Bolivia — does not need a new notification in Ecuador. The holder in Ecuador requests recognition of the first country’s code, files a certified copy or electronic record of it with the documents submitted there, and pays the fee. Later changes must be reported both to the first country and to Ecuador.
For brands planning several Andean markets, the order matters. Notifying first in the country with the largest market or the fastest regulator, then recognising in Ecuador, saves a full technical review. The catch is the domicile rule: each country needs its own local holder, so the Ecuadorian importer or subsidiary is still required.
Law and practice: Decision 833, art. 19.
Cosmetic labels must meet the Andean technical regulation on cosmetic labelling applied under Decision 833, and ARCSA requires the information in Spanish. A Spanish sticker on imported packs is the usual solution. Household hygiene products follow the labelling rules of Decision 706 and its implementing resolutions.
Product identity
Name and function, unless obvious from the presentation.
Holder and importer
Name and country of the NSO holder; an importer joining the NSO adds its own details.
Contents
Net content in SI units; batch number.
Ingredients
INCI list for cosmetics; active ingredients and hazard information for cleaning products.
NSO code
The code assigned by ARCSA or the recognised code.
Precautions
Warnings and instructions for use, especially for children’s products, hair dyes and cleaning products.
Cosmetics and cleaning products are outside the food traffic-light label, and there are no front-of-pack warnings. Marketing claims are checked against the technical file; a cosmetic label claiming therapeutic effects can push the product into the medicines regime.
Finished cosmetics and household products fall into the consumer-goods part of Ecuador’s tariff, where its higher ad valorem rates sit. Perfumes (3303), make-up and skin care (3304), shampoos and other hair preparations (3305), toothpaste (3306.10), deodorants and shaving products (3307), soap (3401) and detergents put up for retail sale (3402.20) all pay 20%; dental floss pays 25%. Inputs are another matter: essential oils, fragrance mixtures and most surfactants enter at 0%. Imports then pay the 0.5% FODINFA levy, 15% VAT on CIF plus duty and FODINFA, and 5% ISD when the importer pays the foreign supplier. Finished cosmetics are not on the reduced 2.5% ISD list, which targets raw materials and inputs.
Perfumes and toilet waters (perfumes y aguas de tocador) are also subject to the special consumption tax (ICE). For products sold through direct-selling networks, the ICE base is a reference price that the SRI sets by marking up the ex-customs price by 150% to 300% depending on the unit price band; the 2026 bands were set in December 2025. Outside direct sales, the SRI computes the ad valorem base for imported goods as the ex-customs price (customs value plus duties and levies) increased by 30%. Ask your adviser to model the ICE before pricing perfume. Other cosmetics and cleaning products carry no ICE, so the stack for them is simple:
| CIF US$100,000 of make-up, shampoo or soap (20% duty, no ICE) | Non-agreement origin | Paraguayan origin, full ACE 59 preference |
|---|---|---|
| Duty 20% | 20,000 | 0 |
| FODINFA 0.5% | 500 | 500 |
| VAT 15% on CIF + duty + FODINFA | 18,075 | 15,075 |
| Total at clearance | 38,575 | 15,575 |
| ISD 5% on paying the supplier | 5,000 | 5,000 |
| Total including ISD | 43,575 | 20,575 |
| Pure cost for a VAT-registered importer (duty, FODINFA, ISD) | 25,500 | 5,500 |
For perfume, add the ICE to the duty and FODINFA before VAT is computed, because VAT is charged on CIF plus duty, FODINFA and ICE. The gap between the two columns — about 20 points of landed cost — is the commercial case for ACE 59 in this group.
| Ex-customs price per unit | Mark-up for the ICE reference price (direct sales, 2026) |
|---|---|
| Up to US$1.50 | 150% |
| US$1.51–3.00 | 180% |
| US$3.01–6.00 | 240% |
| Over US$6.00 | 300% |
Law and practice: National tariff, chapters 33–34 (as published by E-Aduana); SRI Resolution NAC-DGERCGC25-00000045 (reference prices for perfumes in direct sales, 2026); LRTI art. 82; SRI ICE page (import base); Executive Decree 272 (ISD rates 2026).
Paraguayan cosmetics and cleaning products enter Ecuador under ACE 59, which grants preferences on about 98% of tariff lines; with a certificate of origin, many lines enter duty-free, but check for partial preferences. The preference does nothing for the sanitary side. Paraguay is not an Andean Community member, so there is no recognition route: every product needs a full NSO in Ecuador, held by an Ecuadorian company, with Paraguayan manufacturer documents apostilled.
Classify first
Cosmetic, hygiene product, medicine or industrial chemical.
Pick the holder
Your own SAS or a distributor; the code belongs to the holder.
Prepare the file
Formula with INCI names, specifications, apostilled authorisations.
Spanish label
With the NSO code and importer details.
Paraguay’s exports to Ecuador are dominated by pharmaceuticals, and some producers in that sector also make cosmetics and hygiene products. A pharmaceutical exporter that already works with ARCSA has a head start: the same local partner, the same apostille routine and the same VUE account.
Law and practice: ALADI fact sheet for ACE 59; see our ACE 59 guide.
Decision 833, 706 or 826, or a national ARCSA regime.
New NSO, or recognition of a Colombian or Peruvian code.
Ecuadorian entity with a RUC and VUE access.
NSO code, holder and importer, ingredients, warnings.
Duty, FODINFA, VAT, ISD — and ICE for perfume.
ACE 59 certificate for Paraguayan goods.
Andean Decision 833 (cosmetics) · Andean Decision 706 (household hygiene) · Andean Decision 826 (air fresheners) · SGCAN Resolution 1370 (NSO forms) · ARCSA — NSO renewal for household hygiene products · Ecuador national tariff, chapter 33 (E-Aduana) · ARCSA — recognition of a foreign cosmetic NSO · ARCSA — certificate of requirement · NMS Law — ICE 2026 resolutions · SRI — Impuesto a los Consumos Especiales
They need a notificación sanitaria obligatoria (NSO) with ARCSA under Andean Decision 833, valid seven years and renewable.
A person or company legally domiciled in Ecuador — usually the importer, a distributor or the brand’s local subsidiary.
Yes, through recognition: the Ecuadorian holder files the first country’s code and documents and pays the fee, without a new technical review.
Yes. Household hygiene and absorbent personal hygiene products need an NSO under Andean Decision 706; air fresheners under Decision 826.
Only on perfumes and toilet waters. For direct-selling channels the SRI sets the tax base by marking up the ex-customs price by 150–300%.
20% on perfumes, make-up, skin and hair care, toothpaste, deodorants, soap and retail detergents from non-agreement origins; most cosmetic inputs such as essential oils and surfactants pay 0%.
Yes. Paraguay is not an Andean member, so recognition is not available; ACE 59 can reduce the duty only.
The code belongs to the holder. If the distributor holds it, agree in advance on transfer or cancellation.
Tariff, FODINFA, VAT, ISD and ACE 59 in one guide.
Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Ecuador compared.
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