{"id":20936,"date":"2020-12-02T14:29:50","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T08:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/?p=20936"},"modified":"2020-12-02T14:30:12","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T09:00:12","slug":"starting-a-grocery-store-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/starting-a-grocery-store-in-india\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything you Must know about Starting a Grocery Store in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">The retail industry includes supermarkets\nthat are engaged in the process of selling consumer goods and services to\ncustomers in order to receive profit. A grocery store comes under the domain of\nthe retail industry as they sell a variety of food as well as non-food goods. Grocery\nstores are the most admired type of retail business in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No matter what is the condition of\nthe economy in a particular region, grocery is an important part of one\u2019s daily\nlife. In this Blog we are going to discuss about the FSSAI Registration for Grocery\nStore in India and the steps you need to keep in mind before starting a grocery\nstore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now as the ultimate significance of grocery stores in India has been recognized, there are a few steps that you need to keep in mind before starting a grocery store so you do not run into a legal predicament. Running a grocery store is similar as running a large industry when it comes in complying with the law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_82_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title ez-toc-toggle\" style=\"cursor:pointer\">Page Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/starting-a-grocery-store-in-india\/#Important_Things_to_keep_in_mind_before_Starting_a_Grocery_Store_in_India\" >Important Things to keep in mind before Starting a\nGrocery Store in India<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/starting-a-grocery-store-in-india\/#Licensing_and_Registration_for_Starting_a_Grocery_Store\" >Licensing and Registration for Starting a Grocery\nStore<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/starting-a-grocery-store-in-india\/#Is_there_any_Legal_Compliance_to_follow_for_Starting_Home_Delivery_Services_by_Grocery_Stores\" >Is there any Legal Compliance to follow for Starting\nHome Delivery Services by Grocery Stores?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/starting-a-grocery-store-in-india\/#Conclusion\" >Conclusion<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Important_Things_to_keep_in_mind_before_Starting_a_Grocery_Store_in_India\"><\/span>Important Things to keep in mind before Starting a\nGrocery Store in India<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The steps you need to keep in mind before establishing a grocery store in India are as follows-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/steps-you-need-to-keep-in-mind-before-establishing-a-grocery-store-in-India.png\" alt=\"Starting a Grocery Store in India\" class=\"wp-image-20937\" width=\"506\" height=\"288\" srcset=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/steps-you-need-to-keep-in-mind-before-establishing-a-grocery-store-in-India.png 1000w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/steps-you-need-to-keep-in-mind-before-establishing-a-grocery-store-in-India-300x171.png 300w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/steps-you-need-to-keep-in-mind-before-establishing-a-grocery-store-in-India-768x438.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 506px) 100vw, 506px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Business Structure <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Business structure refers to the kind of\nownership the business possesses. It is very important for the grocery store owner\nto formulate a wise decision regarding the business structure as it will determine\nthe growth of the store in long term.<\/li><li>Sole proprietorship&nbsp;is the simplest\nbusiness structure to establish a grocery store and it is a popular choice\namong those who wants to establish a grocery store in India. Opting for this type\nof business structure will signify less legal compliances so making it easy for\nthe owner of the grocery store to handle the store on his own.<\/li><li>Registration of the grocery store as sole\nproprietorship firm at the nearest Municipal Office. There is no extra cost implicated\nand only opening of current account is required to register grocery store with\nthe bank. Commercial tax rates will not be charged on the grocery store in case\nof sole proprietorship firm.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Contract of lease<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One needs to adhere all the\nimplications to manage a shop to start a grocery store. The owner has to\nprepare an agreement of lease with the landlord. Proceeding without entering\ninto contract with the landlord is inviting trouble from the legal department.\nThis type of contract is administered by the Rent Control Act passed by different\nstates. A lease contract for a grocery store in India is basically different\nfrom that made for a residential house.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It must contain the following clauses-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Working hours on the property<\/li><li>Terms and conditions of renewal<\/li><li>Right to sublease<\/li><li>Name &amp; Address of both tenant &amp; &nbsp;landlord<\/li><li>Consequences of breach of contract<\/li><li>Code compliance<\/li><li>Base rent, deposit, maintenance charges<\/li><li>Amount of payment<\/li><li>Alteration of structures<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Licensing_and_Registration_for_Starting_a_Grocery_Store\"><\/span>Licensing and Registration for Starting a Grocery\nStore<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The various License &amp; Registrations required for starting a grocery store are as given below, which are as follows:-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"368\" src=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Licensing-and-Registration-for-Starting-a-Grocery-Store.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20938\" srcset=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Licensing-and-Registration-for-Starting-a-Grocery-Store.png 1000w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Licensing-and-Registration-for-Starting-a-Grocery-Store-300x110.png 300w, https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/Licensing-and-Registration-for-Starting-a-Grocery-Store-768x283.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Trade License<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A trader is bound by law to get\nhold of a trade license before commencing their trade and as the owner of a\ngrocery store in India you need to obtain Trade license to make sure that your\nstore is abided by all principles, regulations and ethical &amp; safety norms.\nThe authorization should be approved by the local municipal authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are 3 types of businesses and\ntrade for which a trade license is mandatory, they are as follows-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Any business that is dealing with hotels,\nbakeries, restaurants, grocery stores, canteens &amp; food stalls.<\/li><li>Any trade that uses motives like factories, manufacturing\nindustry, power looms, flour mills etc.<\/li><li>Any trade that is offensive &amp; dangerous such\nas sale of timber wood and firewood etc.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Legal Procedure of Trade License<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Each state has their legal rules\nrelated to trade license. The Municipal Authority provides the Trade License. Some\nstates provide a 30-days time after commencement of trade to obtain from the\nmunicipal authority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The process isn\u2019t monotonous one as\nit takes around 8 days to obtain a license but the process can be longer if the\ndocuments are faulty. The license can be revoked or canceled if the seller\nviolates any conditions laid down in the trade license.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Documents Required for Obtaining Trade License<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pan Card;<\/li><li>Bank statement related to establishment of the\ntrade;<\/li><li>Certificate of establishment;<\/li><li>Address proof in the form of electricity bill,\nwater bill or sale deed;<\/li><li>Photograph, ID proof &amp; &nbsp;Address Proof of the owner or partners;<\/li><li>Front facing photo of the trading business with\nthe products.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>A trader should make sure to renew the <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/trade-license\"><strong>trade license<\/strong><\/a> from the period of 1st January to 31st March of a financial year. The provision of trade license are also provided in The Shop and Establishment Act, certain rules and work conditions should be abided by the seller to obtain a Trade license-<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Allowable working hours have been specified in\nthe act and this limit should not be exceeded by any trade.<\/li><li>Opening and closing hours, holidays, policies\nrelated to overtime, non-working days are dealt with by the act. A trade should\nnot exploit its workers by breaching any of the above mentioned provisions.<\/li><li>Employment and termination circumstances.<\/li><li>Policy related to maternity leave and paid leave\nshould be there.<\/li><li>Employment of women should be regulated properly\nat the workplace.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Shops and Establishment Act, 1953<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>As an owner of a Grocery shop, the first thing to do is to register the shop under\u00a0\u2018The Shops and Establishment Act, 1953\u2019.<\/li><li>This act describes \u2018shops\u2019 as any premise where goods are sold by retailer or wholesaler and where services are rendered to customers. <\/li><li>The owner of a shop should submit an application with the required legal fee to the Inspector of the local area.<\/li><li>The approved time for submission of the application and the legal fee will differ from state to state.<\/li><li>The application includes the owner\u2019s name, number of employees, shop address and other required details. The chief commissioner after being satisfying with the application will issue a certificate of registration.<\/li><li>The shop owner is required to considerably display the certificate at their shop and should guarantee periodic review of the certificate.<\/li><li>The shop owner can make certain amendments to the certificate by informing the inspector within 15 days of the change.<\/li><li>The relation between the inspector and the shop owner doesn\u2019t end with the institution of the shop and its registration. The owner has the obligation to notify the inspector of the closing of the shop within an approved time to get the certificate cancelled.<\/li><li>To ensure the registration of shops in the country, the Indian Government has facilitated online <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/shop-establishment-license\"><strong>Shops and Establishment registration<\/strong><\/a>. The owner of grocery store for any state can easily find an online registration portal by visiting the webpage of their local municipal corporation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">FSSAI licensing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A large amount of the items sold at\ngrocery stores is the fit for human consumption. Any business in India which deals\nwith food products is required to be registered under Food Safety and Standard\nAuthority of India (FSSAI).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>FSSAI during the classification require\nvarious legal compliances to be followed for starting a grocery store, the\nnon-compliance of which will lead to penalty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Below are a few factors necessary\nto the process of licensing under FSSAI<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The Food Business Operator needs to realize the \u2018capacity\u2019 of the shop or the food business to apply for a specific category of <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/fssai-license\"><strong>FSSAI license<\/strong><\/a>. The turnover is the determiner for the kind of license granted to a Food Business Operator by FSSAI.<\/li><li>If any food business has its division in more than one state then it is required to get hold of a\u00a0\u2018<em><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/central-fssai-license\"><strong>Central FSSAI License<\/strong><\/a><\/em><strong><em>\u2019<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0for its head office. A Food Business Operator with an annual turnover of INR 20 Crores is eligible for a central license.<\/li><li>If a food business such as Grocery store operator has an annual turnover of INR 12 to 20 Crores, then it is required to obtain a\u00a0<strong><em>\u2018<\/em><\/strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/fssai-state-license\"><strong>State FSSAI License<\/strong><\/a><\/em><strong><em>\u2019<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0License once obtained under FSSAI is valid for 1 to 5 years &amp; after expiry renewal is mandatory.<\/li><li>Though, one category of Food Business Operators exempted from this obligation is \u2018<strong><em>Petty Food Manufacturers\u2019 <\/em><\/strong>that has an annual turnover of less than INR 12 Lakhs.<\/li><li>Petty food manufacturers are small-scale producer with a capacity of 100 Kg of production of food materials in a day or are temporary vendor. They are required to register themselves by filling <strong><em>Form A<\/em><\/strong> under <strong><em>Schedule II<\/em><\/strong> of FSSAI and do not need to obtain a license.<\/li><li>A food business operator can obtain a central license by applying on\u00a0<em><strong>http:\/\/www.fssai.gov.in<\/strong><\/em><sup><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fssai.gov.in\/\"><strong>[1]<\/strong><\/a><\/sup>. After applying you are required to send a copy of the required documents with the prescribed legal fee to the Central Licensing officer within 15 days of filing of the application.<\/li><li><strong><em>Form B<\/em><\/strong> in the <strong><em>Scheduled II<\/em><\/strong> is to be filed to acquire a <strong><em>State License<\/em><\/strong> and should be submitted to the nearest selected officer with the necessary documents and approved fee.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Taxation norms<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Goods and Services Tax has altered the taxation norms for grocery stores all over India. Every business owner is required to pay tax and register themselves under GST. Starting a grocery store after <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/gst-registration\"><strong>GST registration<\/strong><\/a> will get a\u00a0<strong><em>GSTIN,<\/em><\/strong> a <strong><em>15 digit code<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0that is a unique number to identify GST number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Registration is obligatory when the business crosses a precise annual turnover. If the annual turnover of a grocery store is lesser than INR 20 lakhs, it can register itself under GST laws but an annual turnover more than INR 20 Lakhs; it is mandatory to obtain GST registration. Due to the appearance of GST, businesses avoid dealings with unregistered companies as the whole thing is acknowledged and that will result in reverse taxation. Under GST returns a shopkeepers needs to <a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/gst-return-filing\"><strong>file GST Return<\/strong><\/a> for 3 monthly returns and 1 annual return.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Is_there_any_Legal_Compliance_to_follow_for_Starting_Home_Delivery_Services_by_Grocery_Stores\"><\/span>Is there any Legal Compliance to follow for Starting\nHome Delivery Services by Grocery Stores?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you consider starting a home\ndelivery service for groceries from your store to nearby customers, then it will\nmake shopping convenient for the customers and will also increase your profits ultimately.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Here are a few things to keep in mind before staring home delivery service-<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A motorbike used for delivery purpose cannot be\nregistered privately. A privately registered vehicle cannot be used for\ncommercial purpose;<\/li><li>RTO has the right to seize any private motorbike\nused for commercial purpose;<\/li><li>No regulations relating to use of bicycles for\npurpose of home delivery by grocery stores is given.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Conclusion\"><\/span>Conclusion<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Importance of acquiring licenses cannot be overlooked in any business and starting a grocery store is no different. The legal process isn\u2019t as burdensome as other business owners have it. For the small scale industry on which a grocery store works you should know the law and gather its benefits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"text-left\"><b>Read our article<\/b>:<mark style=\"background: #fffd03 !important;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/fssai-rolled-out-sops-for-the-refund-of-erroneous-payments-for-licenses-or-registration\/\">\nFSSAI Rolled out SOPs for the Refund of Erroneous Payments for Licenses or Registration<\/a><\/mark><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The retail industry includes supermarkets that are engaged in the process of selling consumer goods and services to customers in order to receive profit. A grocery store comes under the domain of the retail industry as they sell a variety of food as well as non-food goods. Grocery stores are the most admired type of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":20941,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[150],"tags":[1272],"acf":{"service_id":"318"},"authorName":"Sakshi Srivastava","authorImageUrl":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/IMG-20180130-WA0007.jpg","authorDescription":"Sakshi has pursued B.B.A.LL.B.(IPR Hons.). She is an avid reader and is keen to gather and share her knowledge on the subjects relating to IPR, Company Law and GST. Priorly she has worked as a legal researcher and vide her articles she aims at improving the core knowledge of the subjects to the masses.","postViews":55108,"readingTime":7,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20936"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20936"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20936\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20949,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20936\/revisions\/20949"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20941"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20936"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20936"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/corpbiz.io\/learning\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20936"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}