The Canadian government has launched a year-long pilot programme to streamline the process for importing cosmetics and drugs into the country.

The Advance Notice of Importation Process programme, which is now in operation until March 11, 2016, will make it easier for manufactures to import cosmetics and drugs.

Up until now, importers have been required to submit an Advance Notice of Importation Form to obtain approval for each import from government department, Health Canada. However, under the new pilot programme, importers will only need to provide one Advance Notice of Importation Form to gain approval for multiple imports within a three-month period.

However, the import of cosmetics and drugs is still only permitted if the product has been approved for sale by Health Canada—the new program does not allow the import of drugs with pending Canadian marketing authorization. Furthermore, the import exemption does not waive any other regulatory requirements for marketing cosmetics or drugs in Canada. For instance, while drugs with non-compliant labels may be imported into Canada for relabelling or modification and any such relabelling or modification must be performed at a facility approved for such activity under a Drug Establishment License.