The Food Safety Standards Authority of India plays a vital role in protecting the interest of the masses. It aims to underpin norms concerning food safety and management so that end-users have access to safer products. FSSAI regulates every food business operator that falls under the FSS Act 2006[1]. According to this legislation, every FBO must secure an applicable FSSAI license without fail. Any negligence in this regard shall be treated as an offence and hence required penalties would be imposed. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get FSSAI license in India.
Who falls under the FSS Act 2006?
Before you know how to get FSSAI license in India, it’s important to know who is required to get this legal permit. Here’s the list of who falls under the ambit of the FSS Act 2006 and is required to get this license.
- Petty retailers, Bakeries, Confectioneries, etc.
- Food stalls (temporary or fixed) dealing with food preparation, selling, and distribution
- Hawkers dealing with the retailing of freshly prepared food
- Dairy units, Milk vendors, and chilling milk units
- Slaughtering house
- Fish and meat processing
- All food production facilities include repacking food.
- Vege oil processing facilities
- Cold/refrigerated storage facility
- Proprietary food and Novel food
- Businesses dealing with food transportation have special vehicles such as wagons/insulated refrigerated vans, food wagons, milk tankers, food trunks
- Wholesalers, distributors, suppliers, and marketers of food-related articles
- Hotels, eating houses, and pubs
- Canteen, tea cafe, and mid-day meal facility
- Food vending facilities
- Dhaba, PG facilitating food, a marriage home with food catering arrangements, food stalls, home-based canteen
- Exporters and importers of food-related articles and ingredients
- Online food suppliers and cloud kitchens
Types of License/Permit Under the FSS Act
FSSAI registration is accorded based on the type(s) of business, annual income, and production threshold. Business owners must be aware of these registrations before knowing how to get FSSAI license/registration.
FSSAI Registration
Food business operators with annual income less than Rs 12 lakh should necessarily obtain FSSAI registration. Generally, small businesses like petty food retailers fall under this registration. Form A is the application form for FSSAI registration.
FSSAI State License
Food businesses with annual turnover ranging from Rs 12 lac- Rs 20 crore fall under this license. This license mainly covers FBOs like small to moderate-sized production facilities, storage, marketers, retailers, distributor, etc. Form B serves as an application for FSSAI State License.
FSSAI Central License
Food businesses with an annual turnover above Rs 20 crore should mandatorily secure FSSAI Central License. Applicants can apply for this license via form B. FSSAI Central License serves as a mandate form FBOs like 100% Export Oriented Units, importers, large manufacturers, and operators in airports, seaports, etc. Use Form B to apply for this license.
Benefits of Securing FSSAI License
Obtaining a Food license can lend the following benefits to business owners:
- Ensure legal fencing for the business owners
- Build credibility over time
- Allow customers to choose genuine products
- Cut down marketing expenses to promote product quality
- It helps create an explicit framework for ensuring optimal product quality
- Businesses qualify for loans easily
- FSSAI logo serves as a promoter of product quality as it is widely acknowledged nationwide.
- FSSAI license enables business operators to underpin world-class hygiene and quality framework.
Validity of FSSAI License / Registration
The FSSAI License / Registration comes with a flexible validity tenure, i.e. 1 to 5 years. The FBOs can use any of these timelines as per their requirements. However, it’s worth noting that the higher the validity tenure, the higher the fee. The renewal of the food license should be completed before 30 days of the license’s expiration.
Applicable Fee Structure for FBOs
| Sl.No | Details | Fee |
| 1 | Manufacturing License | INR 2000 to 7500/year |
| 2 | Registration Certificate | INR 100/ year |
| 3 | Modification of License & Certificate | INR 1000 for the license and INR 100 for the registration |
| 4 | Renewal of License & Certificate | Identical to New license/Registration |
Documents mandatory for FSSAI Registration/License
It’s important to arrange the mandatory document before knowing the online process of how to get FSSAI license. Here is the list of documents
- Applicant’s photos
- Applicant verification proof such as AADHAAR, PAN, Voter ID, etc
- Proof of business place
- Certificate of Food Safety Management System (FSMS)
- Medical fitness paper of all workers
- Details of the person-in-charge taking care of production
- Water test report accorded by the certified agency
- Form IX (Nomination of the applicant)
Online process of how to get FSSAI license
Here is the step-by-step process of how to get FSSAI license online:
- Visit the FoSCoS portal- FSSAI’s official portal
- Create your account and login
- From the dashboard, click “Apply for a new license.”
- Enter State of operation>annual turnover limit
- An e-form shall open on your screen.
- Fill in legit information in the form regarding personal and business details
- Enter current bank account details
- Upload the mandatory documents as mentioned above
- Head to the payment gateway for the fee submission
- Note the application tracking number for future reference
Conclusion
That is all about how to get FSSAI license online. Take note that compliance requirements, paperwork, and registration norms will vary as per business types, the scope of operation, production capacity, and annual turnover. Make sure to take a good at the eligibility norms before reaching out to authorities for registration.
Read our Article:An Elaborative Study: Food Safety and Management Systems
