Fact-check
Is Chandni Whitening Cream banned in India?
Last checked 10 October 2026
In effect yes: CDSCO's public health alert of 8 Sep 2026 names Chandni Whitening Cream, made in Pakistan, as an unauthorised cosmetic with no import registration and heavy metals beyond the specified limits, and directs all enforcement units to stop its sale; imports from Pakistan have been barred since May 2025.
- Classification
- Regulatory notice or advisory
- Decided by
- CDSCO (cosmetics division)
- Reference
- CDSCO public health alert, File COS-11012/07/2026, 8 Sep 2026
- Latest action
- 21 September 2026
- Last checked
- 10 October 2026
Photo: Woman applying cream to hand.jpg by Moose Photos (CC0). All photo credits.
DGFT Notification 06/2025-26: prohibition on import or transit of goods originating in or exported from Pakistan (para 2.20A, FTP 2023)
Scope. A record here does not by itself mean a product or company is unsafe or banned today. Regulatory actions can apply to one batch, one formulation, one period or one state. Always check the linked government document for the current position, and tell us if something is out of date. How we label records.
Below: Blacklisted's explanationWe organise and explain what the document says. The document above is the authority.
Key facts
- Alert
- CDSCO, 8 Sep 2026: unauthorised, no import registration, heavy metals beyond limits
- Direction
- All Regulatory Enforcement Units and state drug controllers to stop sale
- Import
- Barred since 2 May 2025 with all goods from Pakistan
- Still on sale?
- Press found it in Ahmedabad markets on 21 Sep 2026
Where the claim comes from
CDSCO's 8 Sep 2026 alert, reported nationally the next day.
Chandni Whitening Cream appears alongside Goree Beauty Cream in CDSCO's public health alert of 8 Sep 2026. Both are labelled 'Made in Pakistan'; neither holds an import registration certificate under Rule 12 of the Cosmetics Rules 2020; and samples of both contained heavy metals beyond the limits. CDSCO directed every Regulatory Enforcement Unit and state drug controller to stop their sale and asked the public to report sellers.
Unlike Goree, Chandni does not appear in the earlier Kerala or Maharashtra lab lists, so the CDSCO alert is the first official finding on record for it. The legal position is the same: an unregistered imported cosmetic cannot be sold in India, and imports from Pakistan have been barred outright since 2 May 2025. Reports from Ahmedabad two weeks after the alert found the cream still on sale.
What this means for you
Stop using it
The alert cites heavy metals above the limits. Mercury and lead in creams are absorbed through the skin over months of use.
Report what you find
CDSCO asks the public to report Indian-made cosmetics to the State Drugs Controller and imported ones to the Drugs Controller General of India at cosmetics@cdsco.nic.in. Keep the pack and the bill.
Look for a registration number
A lawfully imported cosmetic carries a CDSCO import registration number on the pack. Chandni has none.
This is a record of official orders, not medical advice. Do not stop a prescribed medicine without asking your doctor or pharmacist.
Common questions
Which metals were found?
The alert says 'heavy metals beyond the specified limits' without naming them. For whitening creams the usual finding is mercury, sometimes with lead.
Official sources and primary records
- Public health alert: Goree Beauty Cream and Chandni Whitening Cream (File COS-11012/07/2026)RegulatorCDSCO · 8 September 2026
- CDSCO flags Pakistan whitening creams over excessive heavy metalsNewsOutlook India · 9 September 2026
- Banned Pakistani skin whitening creams being sold in Ahmedabad despite CDSCO warningNewsDeshGujarat · 21 September 2026
- DGFT Notification 06/2025-26: prohibition on import or transit of goods originating in or exported from Pakistan (para 2.20A, FTP 2023)GazetteDirectorate General of Foreign Trade · 2 May 2025