FSSAI registration in West Bengal is vitally crucial for food-related businesses. The prime food regulator FSSAI is responsible for granting this registration. The said authority exercises its power under Food Safety and Standards Authority Act, 2006. It is responsible for drafting and underpinning norms for food-related business. The said Act aims to ensure legal fencing around the food sector by compelling FBOs to follow the underlying standards. In this write-up, we shall explore the legalities around the FSSAI Registration in West Bengal in detail.
What are the core objectives of the FSSAI?
Being a prime regulator of the country, the FSSAI endeavors to instill transparency within the food sector. Apart from that, it aims to serve the following objective;
- To safeguard the interest of the masses.
- To ensure the public gets access to safe and clean food
- To strengthen the supply chain of food through systematic management
- To penalize those convicted of breaching norms under the FSS Act, 2006
FSSAI Registration in West Bengal: Eligibility Criteria under FSS Act, 2006
Obtaining FSSAI Registration in West Bengal is obligatory for food-related businesses. It is nothing but a 14 digit number that serves as a unique identification number for the licensee.
- The following entities are obligated to secure FSSAI Registration or License mandatorily.
- Retail outlets, petty retailers, Bakery Shop, confectionery etc
- Temporary stalls or food establishments that deal with the supply chain of food.
- Hawkers
- Petty milkmen, Dairy facilities, milk chilling facilities, and the milk vendors
- Vegetable oil processing establishments
- Slaughterhouse
- Meat and Fish processing facilities
- Food manufacturers, processors, packagers
- Novel and Proprietary food articles
- Cold storage
- Establishment dealing with food transportation via specialized vehicles equipped with refrigeration units. Apart from that, food wagons and milk tankers are also liable to get this license.
- Supplier, wholesaler, marketer, and distributor of food articles
- Hotels, Restaurants, and Bars
- Establishments like Banquet hall and marriage home
- Home-based food services
- Establishment dealing with cross-border trading of food articles
- Cloud kitchens
Penalties for breaching provisions cited under the FSS Act, 2006
Carrying out food-related activities without a valid FSSAI license could be detrimental to any business because it is a punishable offence. In such a case, the regulatory authority can slap a penalty of Rs 5 lakhs on the defaulter or for them to confront jail terms or both.
Further, the said Act has stringent penal provisions for the false advertisement of food products. In such a case, the authority may compel the defaulter to pay a penalty of Rs 10 lakhs.
Types of Food Licenses in India
FSSAI grants three types of food registration to the FBOs in India. The section below reflects the same.
Basic FSSAI registration
Small business owners and petty food businesses with a turnover of less than 12 lakhs rupees are required to get this registration.
FSSAI State license
FSSAI State license applies to businesses having an annual turnover of 12 lakhs-20 crores
FSSAI Central License
It applies to food business operators whose annual income is above the maximum ceiling limit, i.e. Rs 20 crores
Standard documents required for FSSAI registration in West Bengal
- Photographs of the applicant
- Identification proof such as Voter ID, PAN card, Passport, DL, Aadhar Card, etc.
- Health NOC, NOC by Municipality or Panchayat
- Supporting documentation, if any.
FSSAI state and central license: Necessary documentations
- Passport Photo
- Photo Id Proof
- List Of Food products
- Address Proof
- Business registration or incorporation certificate
- Facility layout Plan
- NOC From Municipality
- List Of Partners/ Directors
- Board resolution (in case of company is incorporated under the Companies Act, 2013)
- List of equipment present in the plant
- Water Test Report issued by the competent authority
- MOA And AOA
- Incorporation Certificate
- Import Export Code
Procedure to applying for FSSAI registration in West Bengal
- Visit FOSCOS[1]– a web-based portal of FSSAI
- Login to the portal or Create a new account
- On the home page, select the new application option from the service section
- Enter the Business name followed by the state
- Select license type as per the annual turnover criteria
- This will open another form where given information needs to be filled in by the applicant
- Business Type
- Business certificate Number
- Plant location
- Number of employees
- List of equipment
- Detail about water and power source
- Products being manufactured at the unit
- Current bank account detail
- Upload the requested documents in the standard file format
- Tap on the Submit button
- Submit the application fee.
Conclusion
Running a food-related business without FSSAI registration in West Bengal could run any business into trouble. In these cases, the defaulting company shall be subjected to hefty penalties, which may include jail terms as well.
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