October the 8th, 2025 – A strict new EU law which is in force across the entire European Union also now applies to Croatia. Hefty fines are implied, so make sure you’re well acquainted with it.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, as of September the 1st, 2025, the European Union has banned the use of the compound trimethylbenzoyl diphenyl phosphine oxide (TPO) in cosmetic products, including in popular gel nail polishes. TPO is an ingredient classified as a reproductive toxicant of category 1B, and its use has been completely removed from all EU legislation.
The Croatian State Inspectorate confirmed that since the ban came into force, it has been regularly conducting inspections, primarily at Croatia’s borders to track down any bringing in of TPO.
So far, no shipments containing the controversial ingredient have been found, but this strict new EU which now fully applies to Croatia should be kept in the very forefront of the minds of all travellers. In the event that the inspection of declarations during the inspection of imported shipments determines the presence of TPO, the border sanitary inspector would prohibit the entire import, the Inspectorate has warned.
In addition to imports, the working plan provides for the supervision of the internal market – distributors, shops and professional users, primarily beauty salons. It has been emphasised that any further placing of harmful TPO on the market, and any form of use of products containing TPO, is now strictly prohibited.
This means that products with this ingredient must no longer be available for sale in retail or for use on clients in beauty salons. “Sanctions can be imposed on both distributors and salon owners, but not on the clients themselves who come in for treatments which implies the use of TPO,” explained the Inspectorate, according to tportal.
Hefty fines are foreseen for non-compliance with these new and extremely stringent regulations: for legal entities, those fines range from 6,630 to 13,260 euros, and for natural persons, they range from 663 to 1,989 euros.
To clearly recap, TPO, i.e. diphenyl (2,4,6-trimethylbenzoyl) phosphine oxide, which is often used as a photoinitiator when painting nails with gel polish using UV and LED lamps, has been officially banned throughout the entire European Union, including in Croatia, since September the 1st, 2025.
