Private label supplements for Colombia

Colombia

INVIMA registration of dietary supplements in Colombia

Pharma Manufacture manufactures in Mārupe, Latvia, from 150 units of a ready-made tablet or capsule formula, from 4 weeks, and supplies the manufacturer’s documents to the Colombian company that brings the product to market. The EU trade agreement with Colombia, Peru and Ecuador has applied in Colombia since 1 August 2013, and EU origin is proven with an EUR.1 or an origin statement.

In Colombia a food supplement is a suplemento dietario, and the application for its registro sanitario is filed with INVIMA, the national food and medicines regulator.

Decree 3249 of 2006, issued by the Ministry of Social Protection (now the Ministry of Health and Social Protection), covers the manufacture, sale, packaging, labelling, registro sanitario, quality control and surveillance of suplementos dietarios, national and imported alike.

The origin statement can also be made after export, if it is presented to Colombian customs within two years of import.

Steps

Steps to your first shipment to Colombia

1. Before the order, the Colombian applicant confirms with INVIMA which manufacturing (BPM) certificate and which certificate from the exporting country it will accept (Colombian importer; before the file is built).
2. The holder (titular) gives the importer a written authorisation to apply in its own name, use the brand and/or sell the product (brand owner).
3. The certificate from Latvia is apostilled and officially translated into Spanish; it must have been issued within the last year unless it states its own validity (issued in Latvia; apostille from a sworn notary).
4. The importer applies for the registro sanitario at INVIMA (Colombian importer; 15 working days for the decision, plus up to 2 months to answer one request for more documents and another 15 working days).
5. Pharma Manufacture makes the batch with the Spanish label agreed with the importer (from 4 weeks, about 8 weeks for a typical run).
6. EU origin is proven with an EUR.1 or an origin statement, and the importer clears the goods at Cartagena or Buenaventura (importer and broker).

Terms from article 12 of the original text of Decree 3249 of 2006, checked 30 October 2026; later amendments were not compared.

What you pay. INVIMA charges the registro sanitario fee from its tariff schedule; the 2026 amount could not be retrieved on 30 October 2026, and if the applicant misses the 2-month deadline for extra documents, the file is closed without a refund. If INVIMA accepts the LTRK certificate of free sale, it costs EUR 50 + VAT or EUR 100 + VAT in Latvia, plus EUR 30 for an apostille at a sworn notary; the official translation is priced by the translator. Duty depends on the tariff line under the EU agreement. The Pharma Manufacture quote covers the product under your brand, made to the agreed formula and volume; help with the label artwork is part of the service, and every batch leaves with a Certificate of Analysis. Prices are sent on request.

Documents

Our certificates and the BPM question

Pharma Manufacture holds GMP-FS-01, HACCP-01 and ISO 22000:2018 MSC-22-1384, issued by BM Certification SIA, an accredited certification body in Riga. Their scope is the manufacturing and packaging of food supplements in tablets, capsules and powders. Every batch leaves with a Certificate of Analysis from our laboratory, and signed PDF copies of the certificates are sent for the applicant’s file.

For an imported supplement, Decree 3249 of 2006 asks for a certificate from the health authority of the exporting country stating that the product is authorised for human consumption. Documents issued abroad carry an apostille or consular legalisation, come with an official translation if they are not in Spanish and must have been issued within the last year, unless they state their own validity.

In Latvia, certificates of free sale are issued to exporters by the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK), EUR 50 + VAT for members and EUR 100 + VAT for others, but LTRK is a chamber of commerce, not a health authority. Latvian law allows the Food and Veterinary Service (PVD) to confirm compliance at the request of a food business that exports (Law on the Supervision of the Handling of Food, Section 21(2)(5)); a ready form of such a statement for supplements was not found on 30 October 2026. Which Latvian document INVIMA accepts is confirmed by the applicant before the file is built. An apostille on a Latvian public document is issued by any sworn notary for EUR 30, as an e-apostille.

Under Decree 3249 of 2006 the list of claims allowed on a suplemento dietario is drawn up by the Ministry of Health and INVIMA. A claim allowed in the EU under Regulation 432/2012 is therefore checked against the Colombian list.

Logistics

How to import supplements into Colombia: ports and Incoterms

The factory in Mārupe is two minutes from Riga International Airport and close to the Free Port of Riga, so air and sea freight both start next to the plant; the buyer’s forwarder chooses the mode. Sea freight for Colombia arrives at Cartagena on the Caribbean or Buenaventura on the Pacific.

The importer of record is on the Colombian side, so the terms leave import clearance there: FCA, goods handed to your forwarder in Latvia, or DAP, goods delivered to your port or warehouse for your side to clear. Under DDP the seller would clear import, a step the local rules give to the importer.

Production takes from 4 weeks, about 8 weeks for a typical run from confirmed order and brief to despatch. The Colombian authorisation and transit come on top of that.

Working with us

Supplement maquila for Colombia: what the buyer gets

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about supplements for Colombia

Which INVIMA registration does a dietary supplement need?

A registro sanitario, applied for at INVIMA under Decree 3249 of 2006, which gives INVIMA 15 working days to decide. The original text of the decree sets its validity at 10 years, renewable for the same period; the applicant confirms the current term with INVIMA.

Who applies for the registration of an imported supplement?

The importer, with a written authorisation from the holder (titular) to apply for the registration in its own name, use the brand and/or sell the product, as Decree 3249 of 2006 requires for imported products. Pharma Manufacture provides the manufacturer’s documents for that file.

How do you import supplements into Colombia?

The Colombian importer applies for the registro sanitario at INVIMA with the holder’s written authorisation, and the EU origin of each shipment is proven with an EUR.1 or an origin declaration. Pharma Manufacture manufactures in Latvia and supplies the batch documents; sea freight arrives at Cartagena or Buenaventura.

Which documents does Pharma Manufacture provide for Colombia?

Pharma Manufacture provides the invoice, the Certificate of Analysis of each batch and copies of the GMP-FS-01, HACCP-01 and ISO 22000 certificates. Certificates from Latvian authorities are agreed for each product.

Does your GMP certificate count as BPM in Colombia?

The Colombian regulator decides. GMP-FS-01 is issued by an accredited certification body, not by a health authority, so the applicant confirms with the regulator which documents it accepts before filing.

Can I use EU health claims on a label for Colombia?

Not automatically. Under Decree 3249 of 2006 the list of allowed claims is drawn up by the Ministry of Health and INVIMA, so each claim allowed under EU Regulation 432/2012 is checked against that list. The mandatory label information is in Spanish.

How is EU origin proven for Colombian customs?

With an EUR.1 or an origin statement. An approved exporter can make the statement for any value; any exporter can do it for shipments up to €6,000. Your broker confirms the duty rate.

What is the minimum order for Colombia?

Pharma Manufacture starts from 150 units for a ready-made formula in tablets or capsules and from 80,000 for powder sachets. Each product goes through its own file, so plan the SKUs before the file is built.

How long from order to despatch?

From 4 weeks, about 8 weeks for a typical run from confirmed order and brief. The Colombian authorisation and sea transit come on top of that time.

Sources

• European Commission, Access2Markets, “EU-Colombia-Peru-Ecuador trade agreement”, trade.ec.europa.eu, checked 30 October 2026.
• Ministerio de Salud y Protección Social, Decreto 3249 de 2006, original text of 18 September 2006 (PDF), minsalud.gov.co, checked 30 October 2026.
• Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LTRK), “Free Sales (brīvās tirdzniecības sertifikātu izsniegšana)”, ltrk.lv, checked 30 October 2026.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, “Latvijā izsniegtu dokumentu izmantošana ārvalstīs” (updated 12 June 2026), mfa.gov.lv, checked 30 October 2026.
• Latvian Council of Sworn Notaries, notary tariffs from 16 April 2026, latvijasnotars.lv, checked 30 October 2026.
• Saeima of Latvia, Law on the Supervision of the Handling of Food (Pārtikas aprites uzraudzības likums), Section 21(2)(5), likumi.lv, checked 30 October 2026.