Daijiworld Media Network - New Delhi
New Delhi, Sep 22: The Centre has made it mandatory for packaged soaps, shampoos, toothpastes, cosmetics and toiletries to display colour-coded symbols indicating whether the products are of vegetarian or non-vegetarian origin.
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution notified the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Fourth Amendment Rules, 2026, on September 21. The amendment requires products of vegetarian origin to carry a green dot, while products of non-vegetarian origin must carry a red or brown dot.
The symbol must be displayed at the top of the principal display panel of the package. The new rules came into force immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette.
The amended rules specifically cover soap, shampoo, toothpaste, other cosmetics and toiletries. The government has inserted the new requirement under Rule 6(4A)(d) of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, while simultaneously omitting the earlier Rule 6(8), under which a similar labelling requirement had existed since 2014.
The issue had been under judicial consideration. In February 2026, the Delhi High Court was hearing a challenge filed by Reckitt Benckiser (India) Ltd against the requirement. The company had questioned whether the Legal Metrology authorities had the jurisdiction to prescribe the symbols for cosmetics and toiletries, arguing that such products are also regulated under the Drugs and Cosmetics framework.
The court directed the Director of Legal Metrology and the Drug Controller General of India to hold a joint consultation and arrive at a comprehensive position on the implementation of the red, brown and green symbols on various products.
The court proceedings also referred to earlier deliberations of the Drugs Technical Advisory Board. The board had considered a proposal to make the symbols mandatory for soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and other cosmetics and toiletries. According to the court record, the board had expressed concerns over the absence of a clear system for certifying vegetarian and non-vegetarian ingredients in cosmetics and had earlier favoured leaving such labelling voluntary.
The latest amendment changes the legal position by expressly placing the labelling requirement in the Legal Metrology rules. The government notification states that the amendment takes effect from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette.
Apart from the vegetarian or non-vegetarian symbol, cosmetic and toiletry packages are subject to several other mandatory declarations. These include the name of the product, the name and complete address of the manufacturing premises and, in the case of imported products, the name and address of the importer or authorised agent.
Packages must also carry the net quantity in metric units, batch number, manufacturing licence number, manufacturing date and use-before or expiry information, where applicable. The maximum retail price inclusive of taxes, directions for safe use and applicable warnings or precautions are also required under the relevant regulations.
There are also requirements concerning ingredient declarations. Ingredients present at more than 1 per cent are generally required to be listed in descending order of weight or volume, while ingredients present at 1 per cent or less may be listed thereafter in any order under the applicable cosmetic labelling framework.
The latest notification brings the long-pending vegetarian and non-vegetarian identification requirement for personal-care products back into clear statutory focus, with manufacturers now required to comply with the amended Legal Metrology rules.