Food Licensing and Registration System provides the Food License also known as FSSAI License, which authorizes to sell food under the Company/Brand name for which license is being obtained. As per Section 31(1) of FSS Act 2006 Food Licensing is mandatory for Food Business Operators in India.

FSSAI is the short form of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, and it is responsible for providing license to business owners who are in the field of Food operations and sale.  FSSAI License is essential for all types of food business operators such as food product manufacturers, food traders, and food store operators.

FSSAI is the apex body which was incorporated by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India is answerable for preparing and launching the standards for selling, storing and packing of food items in India. Additionally, this license works as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Moreover, there are two types of food licenses according to the size or scale of the business, they are FSSAI Registration and FSSAI License. And FSSAI License is again divided into two parts.

FSSAI License

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Types of Food Safety License

All types of food-related businesses must apply for a food license. And the type of Food License which you need to get depends on the various factors like turnover of the food business, the scale of the food business and the kind of operations or activities you are indulged in. Basically, there are two types of FSSAI License / FSSAI registration.

• Basic FSSAI Registration (Turnover < 12 lakhs)

Basic FSSAI Registration is needed by petty food business owners. The turnover of such food- related business should not exceed more than Rs. 12 lakhs per annum such as a petty retailer, itinerant vendor hawker or temporary stall holders.

• FSSAI State License (Turnover > 12 lakhs upto 20 Crores)

FSSAI State License is a license issued to a business that has a turnover of between Rs. 12 Lakhs to Rs. 20 Crores. Furthermore, the turnover limit is the same for an FSSAI State Manufacturing license or an FSSAI State trading license.

• Central FSSAI License (Turnover > 20 Crores)

Central FSSAI License registration is a license issued to the food businesses which hold a turnover more than Rs. 20 Crore. Some of the FBOs that come under this category are Manufacturing, Trading and Storage units and so on.

Why does a Food Business need a Food License?

 The point of getting a food license is to ensure that the food items or products traded and sold by Food Business Operators are up to the quality standards as per FSSAI. The aim of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India is to reduce the chances of inferior food products, food adulteration and to improve the activity of food manufacturers by granting them a FSSAI food license for food business or service.

 Documents Required For FSSAI Registration

•  Authorized person address proof
• Passport size photo
• Business name and address
• FSSAI declaration form
• Rent agreement for the proof of possession of the premise
• MOA, Partnership deed, AOA, etc. are required as per the type of entity
• List of food items or food products involved

Documents Required For FSSAI State License

• Rental Agreement of Business Premises.
• ID Proof of the Concerned Person (Aadhaar Card / Driving License / Passport / Voter ID)
• If any Government Registration Certificates ( Company Incorporation Certificate / Firm Registration / Partnership Deed / Pan card / GST Registration Number / Shop and Establishment Registration / Trade License)
• If the applicant is private limited company or partnership firm then they should provide MOA & AOA or Partnership deed copy respectively
• For applying State License any One of the following certificate is compulsory ( Trade license, Shop and Establishment Registration, Panchayath License, Corporation License , Municipality License )
• Nature of Business.
• FSSAI declaration form

Documents Needed For Central FSSAI License

1. Duly filled Form – B must be correctly and appropriately completed and signed by the directors/ partners/ proprietor/ Executive member of society
2. List of Partners/Proprietor/Executive Members of Society with complete address and contact details.
3. Constitution of company MOA and AOA / Partnership Deed
4. Analysis report as per the nature and business activity of the company
5. Food and safety management system and certificate
6. Declaration regarding food safety management system(FSMS) on the letterhead of the firm or company
7. Proof of Income determining the annual turnover of food business operator
8. Nomination of the person appointed by the company in Form No.IX and the copy of Board Resolution
9. Self Declaration by Director
10. NOC from the local authority
11. Affidavit on Non-Judicial Stamp paper
12. List of food category desired to be manufactured
13. Any other documents which may be a demand by authority on the basis of the requirement of the business.

Additional Documents Needed For Manufacturers

If you are applying for Manufacturing /Repacker category please arrange below other documents.

1. Manufacturing unit photos
2. Blueprint plan/layout plan of the processing unit installed capacity and horsepower used.
3. Machinery details use for production in your company letterhead (Capacity & Horse Power details)
4. Product details in company Letter head.
5. In case if your business in to mineral water plant then water test report compulsory.

Stepwise Procedure To Obtain The FSSAI License

• Basic Registration

After the ensuring availability of all your documents, next step is the creation of login, and in this stage your login ID is created, then to submit duly filled Form A for approval along with attachments and the prescribed fees. Your license will be granted by the concerned within 30 days, as per the location of your business.

• State License

After the ensuring availability of all your documents, next step is the creation of login, and in this stage your login ID is created. To obtain a State License, an additional document called the ‘Declaration’ is required to be submitted with the specified Form. Then, along with the documents, Form B has to be filed to complete the process. The license will be granted within a period of 30 days.

However, if your application has any error or any other issue, you have to edit it, and the application must be submitted within thirty days. Or else, your application will get declined, and has to be initiated again.

• Central License

The procedure to receive a Central License is the same as the procedure of obtaining a State License. The only difference is the type of food business operated by the FBO. And the time taken for the granting process of the Central License is approximately within 45 days.

If the food business is involved in export or import of food items, then the operator needs an IEC, means, Import Export Code regardless of the turnover of the business. Likewise, if the food business is involved in the transportation of food items, then a Central license is required.

Penalty for selling food without a license

 All Food business operators apart from the exempted group as per Section 31 (2) of the FSS Act need to get a food license depending on their eligibility criteria to run their food related business. Food Business Operators who are not obtaining a FSSAI licence is liable for fine or penalty as prescribed below:

• Quality of food not in-abidance as per the Act: up to Rs. 2 Lakhs, Rs. 25000 for petty manufacturers
• For misbranded food products: up to Rs. 3 Lakhs
• For substandard or low quality food products: up to Rs. 5 Lakhs
• For false promotion or misleading advertisement or false description : up to Rs. 10 Lakhs
• For not pertinent matters in the food product: up to Rs. 1 Lakh
• For failing to follow with the food safety officer’s directions: up to Rs. 2 Lakhs
• For using unhygienic methods of processing or preparing or manufacturing food items: up to Rs. 1 Lakh

Renewal of FSSAI License

 All the food businesses operators should follow the rules and regulations defined in the  FSSAI Act 2006 . It is mandatory to renew FSSAI license within the prescribed time period. It is essential to obtain food certificates whether your food business is processing units or manufacturing units or distributing units or food packaging units or trading units in every 1-5 years based on the registration done earlier.

14 Digit FSSAI License Number

 The FSSAI number is a 14 digit number that gives all the record  to the FSSAI authorities. This number is partitioned into 5 sections.

• First Digit – reflects whether the business is registered or not.
• Second & Third Digit – are for state code.
• Fourth & Fifth Digit – the year in which the business was enrolled or enlisted.
• Sixth, Seventh & Eight digit – the quantity of enrolling master is reflected.
• Nine – Fourteen – Are the maker’s permit number.

Conclusion: For medium and large scale FBO businesses, it is mandatory to obtain an FSSAI license. Medium scale FBOs such as manufacturing units, marketers, transporters, traders and so on must also apply to the state government. Large scale FBOs such as manufacturers, exporters, importers and so on must apply to the central government.

To know about FSSAI Registration and Licencing cost you can contact our expert team, just share your query on connectus@chhotacfo.com

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