Tariffs on Personal Products to Be Reduced

The Health, Economy and Finance Ministries have agreed on a plan that will significantly reduce tariffs on makeup, personal care and beauty products. The new regulations have been presented to the Knesset, which will soon vote on legislation to enact the tariff reductions.

The plan includes standards of regulation to ensure that the products are safe, similar to regulations currently in use in Europe. The market for these products in Israel is NIS 8.6 billion annually, and the plan is expected to significantly reduce the costs of some products. In addition, reducing the tariffs will help Israel export its own products to Europe, the ministries said.

Currently, imports of personal products is based on the acquisition of permits by importers, a lengthy bureaucratic process that many consumer groups have blamed for the high price of such products in Israel. Adopting the European standards will allow for a significant cut in the bureaucratic approval process, they said.