How to Import Sanitary Pads to Saudi Arabia and the UAE

The route a sanitary pad takes into Saudi Arabia is not decided by the product category. It is decided by what the pack claims. The Saudi Food and Drug Authority's product classification guidance lists feminine hygiene products (sanitary pads) among the examples of general hygiene products that are not medical devices — and then, on the same page, lists sanitary pads claiming pain relief by physical means among the examples that are medical devices.

That single distinction changes the file, the authority, the party who holds the registration, and the timeline. This guide sets out both routes, what each requires, and what our factory can hand over to support your file.

What Decides the Route: The Claim, Not the Product

The same pad can sit on either side of that line. A comfort or absorbency claim stays on the hygiene side; a pain-relief, treatment or prevention claim moves the product into device territory. Agree the claim wording before artwork is approved, because the authority will use the claim to classify the product — and changing the claim after the print run requires a new file, not an amendment.

Ordinary Pads in Saudi Arabia: A General Hygiene Product

SFDA's guidance is explicit that general hygiene products are not medical devices, because the medical device definition does not apply. Feminine hygiene products (sanitary pads) are named in that list. For an ordinary pad with no medical claim, that means:

• No SFDA medical device filing is required. There is no device marketing authorisation to obtain for the product as a hygiene item.
• The product is handled as a consumer product for conformity and import purposes, against the Saudi standards that apply to it, through SASO's conformity systems.
• Confirm the applicable requirement before you ship. Which standard applies, and whether a conformity certificate is needed for a given SKU, are questions for SASO and your Saudi importer — the classification guidance tells you the product is not a device; it does not by itself set out the full import file.

One note on terminology: SABER is the platform through which SASO conformity certificates are issued — a product certificate of conformity for the model, and a shipment certificate per consignment. It is the route for products covered by a Saudi technical regulation. Do not assume a pad is covered, and do not assume it is exempt — confirm the position for your product with SASO or a conformity body before the first container.

When a Pad Becomes a Device: The Medical-Claim Route

The same guidance that excludes ordinary pads from the device definition includes, among its medical-device examples, sanitary pads claiming pain relief by physical means. If your product makes that kind of claim, the consumer route no longer applies. The Saudi device route then involves:

• A Saudi authorised representative. A licensed entity in the Kingdom that files and holds the registration; the manufacturer does not apply in its own name.
• A marketing authorisation. The product-level authorisation that a customs file is checked against.
• Establishment registration. The manufacturing site and the importing entity are registered, not only the product.
• A technical file built to ISO 13485. That is the system baseline for this route; ISO 9001 alone does not satisfy it.

In the UAE, ordinary pads are not medical devices and no MOHAP device registration is required. If a pad carries a medical claim, do not assume the same is true — put the classification question to MOHAP and to your UAE importer before the product is positioned.

Timelines on this route are not fixed. A complete file moves faster than an incomplete one, and the authority sets the pace, not the supplier. Ask your authorised representative for a realistic schedule for your file rather than planning to a published average.

The UAE: A Consumer Hygiene Product

In the UAE, an ordinary sanitary pad is a consumer hygiene product. It is not a medical device, and the ordinary route does not involve MOHAP device registration.

• The product standard exists. GSO 751:2010 is the Gulf standard for sanitary pads, published by the Gulf Standardization Organization. A published product standard is the reference point for the specification and for the tests a laboratory will run.
• A product standard is not, by itself, a mandatory technical regulation. Standards set out what a conforming product looks like; technical regulations are what create a mandatory conformity route and the marks that go with it. Which of the two applies to a given SKU is what the certification body will tell you.
• Do not assume that the G-Mark is required. The G-Mark applies to products covered by an applicable Gulf technical regulation, and the categories that are clearly and publicly listed for it are narrow — toys and low-voltage electrical equipment among them. We have not found an official basis for requiring the G-Mark on ordinary sanitary pads. If a supplier tells you a pad must carry one, ask which technical regulation it falls under, and get that in writing.
• Confirm the UAE route for your SKU with MoIAT, or with the certification body that will issue the document, before artwork is signed off.

Halal is commonly a listing condition rather than an import document. Gulf distributors and retail chains often ask for a halal certificate before they will list a product, so it is worth confirming the requirement with your buyer early on — but treat it as a commercial requirement agreed between you rather than a document the authority demands at the border, and check the scope of any certificate against the SKU you intend to import, because certificates are issued for a defined range rather than an entire catalogue. Our halal-certified sanitary pads note sets out what to check.

Arabic labelling is expected in the UAE and in Saudi Arabia. What exactly is required on the pack is set nationally, so the checklist below is a working list, not a legal text.

Arabic Labelling: The Checklist

Two things are worth settling early rather than at the port. The importer block — how it must appear, and whether a printed pack or an applied label is acceptable — is a question for your importer and the authority; get the answer in writing before plates are cut. And machine-translated Arabic is a false economy: English absorbency terms and the distinction between wings and liners do not always map one-to-one into Arabic, and artwork that does not match the filing wording is the kind of discrepancy that stops a consignment. Have a reviewer with regulatory Arabic expertise check the layout.

Our part is the layout: artwork can be set with reserved fields for a registration number and the importer's details before plates are cut, so a number that arrives later does not mean new plates.

What the Factory Hands Over

Start with what the file needs from a manufacturer, because that is what we can actually supply:

• the product specification and the construction you are buying, stated precisely enough to be tested against;
• test reports on that exact construction, from a laboratory acceptable to your route;
• the label layout in Arabic and English, with reserved fields for the numbers you will add;
• quality system documentation — the documents we hold, each with its scope and validity dates clearly stated;
• batch records and traceability data behind the shipment.

The certificate itself sits with an entity licensed in the destination market — your Saudi authorised representative, or your UAE importer or free-zone company — because the registration belongs to the party that places the product on the market, not to the manufacturer. That is how both systems are built. What a factory supplies is the technical file the registration is built on: the specification, the test reports, the label layout, the quality-system documentation and the batch records behind the shipment.

A useful test when comparing suppliers: if one claims to hold Saudi registration for a product made in China, ask which licence number it sits on and whose name is behind it — the number belongs to the holder, and the holder can be checked.

We manufacture sanitary pads, panty liners, tampons and adult incontinence products in our own plant in Jiangmen, Guangdong. What we can issue is confirmed in writing with the quotation, for the construction and market you buy.

Duty and VAT

Most Chapter 96 hygiene lines enter the GCC at 5% customs duty on the CIF value under the common tariff. VAT is national, not GCC-wide, and the two markets in this guide do not share a rate: the UAE applies 5%, Saudi Arabia 15%, both on CIF plus duty — so the charges compound rather than simply add. Confirm the duty treatment and the rate in force with your customs broker at the time of entry. A rate read in an article is not a rate you can budget from.

Duty is charged on CIF, so freight and insurance sit inside the taxable base. An FOB comparison between two suppliers tells you nothing about landed cost until freight, duty and VAT are in the same column — and the cost of the file (tests, certificates, a representative's retainer, label reprints) belongs in the same budget, because it is part of what the first container costs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a sanitary pad a medical device in Saudi Arabia?

Not by default. SFDA's product classification guidance lists feminine hygiene products (sanitary pads) among general hygiene products that are not medical devices, because the medical device definition does not apply. A pad that makes a specific medical-purpose claim — the guidance's own example is sanitary pads claiming pain relief by physical means — is on the other side of the line and is regulated as a medical device. The claim, not the product category, decides it.

Does a sanitary pad need SABER?

SABER is the platform through which SASO issues conformity certificates for products covered by a Saudi technical regulation — a product certificate for the model and a shipment certificate per consignment. Whether a given pad falls under a technical regulation is the question to put to SASO or a conformity body. Do not assume the product is covered, and do not assume it is exempt: get the position for your SKU in writing before the first container. If the pad carries a medical claim and is treated as a device, the SFDA route applies instead, and a SABER certificate does not replace it.

Does a sanitary pad need the G-Mark in the UAE?

Do not assume that it does. The G-Mark applies to products covered by an applicable Gulf technical regulation, and the categories that are clearly and publicly listed for it are narrow — toys and low-voltage electrical equipment among them. We have not found an official basis for requiring the G-Mark on ordinary sanitary pads. If a supplier or agent tells you a pad must carry one, ask which technical regulation it falls under and get that reference in writing. Confirm the route for your SKU with MoIAT or the certification body that will issue the document.

Is a halal certificate required to import sanitary pads into the Gulf?

It is commonly a listing condition rather than a border document. Distributors and retail chains in the Gulf frequently ask for a halal certificate before they will take a product, so it is worth confirming the requirement with your buyer early — but treat it as a commercial condition agreed between you and the buyer, not a document the authority demands at the border. Check the scope of any certificate against the SKU you intend to import: certificates are issued for a defined range, not an entire catalogue. Our halal-certified sanitary pads note sets out what to check.

What is GSO 751:2010?

GSO 751:2010 is the Gulf standard for sanitary pads, published by the Gulf Standardization Organization. It is the reference point for the product specification and for the tests a laboratory will run. It is a product standard, not by itself a mandatory technical regulation — standards describe what a conforming product looks like, while technical regulations create a mandatory conformity route and the marks that go with it. Which of the two applies to your SKU is what the certification body will tell you.

What VAT applies to sanitary pads in Saudi Arabia and the UAE?

There is no single Gulf VAT rate. At the time of writing the UAE applies 5% and Saudi Arabia 15%, both calculated on CIF plus customs duty, so the two charges compound rather than simply add. Customs duty on most Chapter 96 hygiene lines under the common tariff is 5% on CIF. Rates move, and a rate read in an article is not a rate you can budget from — confirm the duty treatment and the rate in force with your customs broker at the time of entry.

How to Start

1. Fix the claim first. Ordinary hygiene wording or a medical claim — that decision sets the route in both markets, and it has to be made before artwork.
2. Confirm the route for your SKU with the authority or its appointed body: SASO for a Saudi consumer product, SFDA for a Saudi device claim, MoIAT for the UAE. Ask for the answer in writing.
3. Confirm who holds the document — a Saudi representative, or a UAE importer or free-zone entity — before anything is filed.
4. Fix the range you will sell: sizes, absorbency grades, pack counts. Additions after registration are amendments, and amendments still take time.
5. Collect the factory file, then test, then file, then produce. The laboratory report is issued on the samples we send; the production order follows the file, not the other way round.

Send us the following details, and our first reply will include a usable quote: destination country and channel; the claim you intend to make; the sizes and absorbency grades you plan to list; pack count and format; private label or OEM; and your target launch window. Tell us the market first — the documents follow the destination, not the product.

Next step: request free samples to test the construction, or use our OEM/ODM service if the specification needs developing.

Sources and Review

Classification decisions referenced in this guide:

• SFDA, Products Classification Guidance, section on general hygiene products — lists feminine hygiene products (sanitary pads) among non-medical devices, and sanitary pads claiming pain relief by physical means among medical devices. SFDA
• GSO 751:2010, the Gulf standard for sanitary pads, in the GSO standards store
• UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), for the UAE conformity route and any applicable mark. MoIAT
• Saudi Standards, Metrology and Quality Organization (SASO), for the consumer-product conformity route. SASO

Related reading on this site: Middle East market hub · Middle East market guide · Labelling requirements by country · Sanitary pad certifications guide · Halal-certified sanitary pads · Sanitary pad wholesale in Dubai and the UAE · HS code and import duty · Certifications

Last reviewed: 2026-10-30. Classification guidance, tariffs and labelling requirements change; confirm the current position with the authority named for your route before you commit to a launch date.