A Woolwich-based cosmetics wholesaler and its director have been ordered to pay fines, costs and victim surcharges of almost £23,000 for selling unapproved perfume following visits from the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
On 17 September, Mr Patel, owner of Shure Enterprises (UK) Ltd, pled guilty to offenses under the Cosmetic Product Enforcement Regulations 2013 for selling cosmetics which weren’t correctly labelled with the name and address of a responsible person.
Following multiple visits from for the council’s Trading Standards team as well as in-person advice, Mr Patel failed to check 889 perfumes were correctly labelled, meaning there was no evidence the products had been tested correctly or met industry safety standards. Therefore, the products were not approved for sale in the UK.
Cllr Rachel Taggart-Ryan, Cabinet Member for Community Safety and Enforcement said: “Our priority is to ensure everyone in Greenwich is safer, and feels safer, so it is important we act against businesses who do not follow trading safety standards.
“Our Trading Standards team work tirelessly to support businesses to comply with trading regulations. Unfortunately, in this case the advice provided was not followed which led to a hefty fine which could have been avoided.
“We will continue to work alongside the police and other partners to tackle illegal activity and support law-abiding businesses.”
Mr Patel was personally fined £3,856 with costs of £1,000 and a victim surcharge of £1,538 – totalling £6,394. His company, Shure Enterprises (UK) Ltd was fined £9,000, costs of £3,915 and a victim surcharge of £3,600 – totalling £16,515. Mr Patel agreed to pay the fine within 28 days.
If you suspect the sale of illegal goods in the borough, contact the council by calling 020 8921 8157 or email tradingstandards@royalgreenwich.gov.uk.
If you want to provide this information anonymously visit londontradingstandards.org.uk/report-consumer-crime.
