Can block a launchUnited Kingdom

In Britain a label breach is a criminal matter

The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 make it an offence to contravene the labelling and product-claims articles of the assimilated Cosmetics Regulation, and a person convicted on indictment is liable to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or to both.

The pack copy sign-off that sits with a marketing manager in most companies is, in this market, a decision with a custodial sentence attached to it, which is an argument for who reviews artwork rather than an argument about wording.

Exceptions and limits

ExceptionA compliance window has to run out first
Proceedings may not be commenced against a responsible person or a distributor for contravening Schedule 4 where the enforcement authority has required them to take measures under Article 25(1) or 26 and the time period for compliance specified in the notice has not yet expired.
The claim above does not hold for this subset. Confidence 91 of 100.
Wrong if Regulation 12(4) is repealed, or a court holds that proceedings may be brought during the notice period.
4 Proceedings must not be commenced against a responsible person or a distributor under paragraph (1) where— a an enforcement authority has required the responsible person or the distributor to take measures under Articles 25(1) or 26 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation in terms of the non-compliance; and b any time period for compliance specified by the enforcement authority in the notice served under regulation 8 when requesting those measures has not expired.
Cite as omr:gb:a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence#a-compliance-window-has-to-run-out-first
ThresholdTwo tiers, and the paperwork one is lighter
Breaches of the product information file, notification, nanomaterial notification, public access and substance information articles carry only summary conviction, a fine at level 5 on the standard scale or up to three months’ imprisonment, while the safety, labelling and claims articles carry the higher tier that reaches indictment.
The claim above holds only on one side of this boundary. Confidence 91 of 100.
Wrong if Regulation 13(2) is amended to bring Articles 11, 13, 16, 21 or 24 into the indictable tier, or the two tiers are merged.
2 A person guilty of an offence under regulation 12(1) by breaching a requirement of Articles 11, 13, 16, 21 or 24 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or to imprisonment not exceeding three months, or to both.
Cite as omr:gb:a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence#two-tiers-and-the-paperwork-one-is-lighter

94 of a possible 97Tier A, primary document or measured outcome. Nothing at this tier is allowed past 97, however good it looks.

Verified August 6, 2026Rechecked every 365 days, next by August 6, 2027.

Constraint

Held since July 11, 2013A rule, law or policy that limits what you may do or say. The earliest date we are willing to say this held. It may well have been true before that; we do not backdate a record past the evidence we have read. Supported, version 1.

This entry is wrong if

Regulation 13(1) is amended to remove imprisonment, or Articles 19 and 20 are taken out of Schedule 4, or the 2013 Regulations are revoked and replaced by a civil penalty regime.

Written before the record was published, not after. If you can show this, send it to hello@tryorbt.com and the correction goes on the record with the entry.

Evidence

Tier Aregulation
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk): The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1478), as revised to 31 December 2020
Offences 12 1 It is an offence for a person to contravene a provision of the EU Cosmetics Regulation set out in Schedule 4.
Read 2026-08-06 · Open government · page hash 072367bc011d
Tier Aregulation
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk): The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1478), as revised to 31 December 2020
Penalties 13 1 A person guilty of an offence under regulation 12(1) by breaching Articles 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 14, 15, 18, 19, 20, or 23 of the EU Cosmetics Regulation shall be liable— a on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or to imprisonment not exceeding three months, or to both; b on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding £20,000 or to imprisonment not exceeding twelve months, or to both.
Read 2026-08-06 · Open government · page hash 072367bc011d
Tier Aregulation
The National Archives (legislation.gov.uk): The Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/1478), as revised to 31 December 2020
Article 19 Labelling requirements Article 20 Requirements relating to product claims
From the Schedule 4 table, which pairs each article with its subject matter. Quoted because the claim depends on labelling and claims being inside the criminal list rather than merely inside the Regulation.
Read 2026-08-06 · Open government · page hash 072367bc011d

History

v1createdAugust 5, 2026
Initial entry from primary legislation, read 2026-08-06. Located through the legislation.gov.uk Atom search feed and read from the site's documented XML data view at the dated revision, rather than from the styled page.
v1createdon a caveatAugust 5, 2026
Initial entry from primary legislation, read 2026-08-06. Located through the legislation.gov.uk Atom search feed and read from the site's documented XML data view at the dated revision, rather than from the styled page.
v1createdon a caveatAugust 5, 2026
Initial entry from primary legislation, read 2026-08-06. Located through the legislation.gov.uk Atom search feed and read from the site's documented XML data view at the dated revision, rather than from the styled page.

Append-only. Nothing in this list is edited or removed once written, including the entries that record our own mistakes. Every change to every record is on the corrections page, and the same log is in entries.json under revisions.

gb
uk
labelling
claims
enforcement
criminal
compliance
market-entry

Cite this entry

“In Britain a label breach is a criminal matter”, The Orbt Market Index 0.1.0, entry omr:gb:a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence, retrieved September 9, 2026, https://tryorbt.com/markets/entry/gb--a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence. Dataset: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22679129

Orbt, "In Britain a label breach is a criminal matter," Orbt Market Index, entry omr:gb:a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence, verified August 6, 2026, https://tryorbt.com/markets/entry/gb--a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence.

@misc{orbt-gb-a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence,
  title        = {In Britain a label breach is a criminal matter},
  author       = {{Orbt}},
  year         = {2026},
  doi          = {10.5281/zenodo.22679129},
  note         = {The Orbt Market Index 0.1.0 (dataset DOI 10.5281/zenodo.22679129), entry omr:gb:a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence. Verified 2026-08-06},
  howpublished = {\url{https://tryorbt.com/markets/entry/gb--a-labelling-breach-is-a-criminal-offence}},
  license      = {Orbt Index Public Licence. Free to quote and cite; not to redistribute}
}

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