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FSSAI Registration for Essential Food Products

By Mayashree Acharya

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Updated on: Dec 10th, 2021

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7 min read

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Under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, the government of India has the power to control the distribution, production, and supply of essential products. They include essential food products such as fruits, vegetables, dairy products, cooking oils, cereals, eggs, and other edible items. 

The government decides the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of the essential food products to benefit the consumers for getting the goods at fair prices. However, the distributors, manufacturers, suppliers, traders, transporters, wholesalers and retailers of the essential food products should follow the regulations of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Essential Commodities Act. 

All Food Business Operators (FBOs) of essential food products must mandatorily obtain an FSSAI registration/license to carry out their food-related activities, including storing, distributing, transporting the essential food products. It is mandatory legal compliance to obtain FSSAI registration for essential food products, and the FBOs will have to pay the penalty if they carry on the food business without FSSAI registration. 

Eligibility Criteria for an FSSAI Registration of Essential Food Products

There are different types of FSSAI registration. The FBOs must obtain the FSSAI registration for carrying out activities related to essential food products based on their turnover and capacity limit. The different types of FSSAI registration are given below. 

FSSAI Basic Registration 

The FBOs who must obtain an FSSAI Basic Registration are as follows:

  • Wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, distributors, cold storage facilitators and marketers of essential food products having a turnover of up to Rs.12 lakhs per annum. 
  • Transporters of essential food products having a single vehicle and turnover of up to Rs.12 lakhs per annum.
  • Manufacturers of essential food products other than dairy products with a production capacity of up to 100 kgs/litres per day.
  • Manufacturers of dairy units, including milk produce of up to 500 litres per day. 
  • Vegetable oil processing units having a turnover of up to Rs.12 lakhs per annum. 

FSSAI State License 

The FBOs who need to obtain an FSSAI State License are as follows:

  • Wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, distributors and marketers of essential food products having a turnover of up to Rs.20 crore per annum. 
  • Transporters of essential food products having up to 100 vehicles and turnover of up to Rs.30 crore per annum.
  • Manufacturers of essential food products other than dairy products that have a production capacity of up to 2MT per day.
  • Manufacturers of dairy units, including milk having a production of up to 50,000 litres of milk per day. 
  • All Manufacturing units of grains, cereals, pulses milling units, irrespective of the production limit, must obtain FSSAI State License.
  • Vegetable oil processing units that have a production of up to 2MT per day.
  • Cold storage facilitators having a storage capacity of up to 10,000MT.

FSSAI Central License 

The FBOs who need to obtain an FSSAI Central License are as follows:

  • Wholesalers, retailers, suppliers, distributors and marketers of essential food products having a turnover of more than Rs.20 crore per annum. 
  • Transporters of essential food products having more than 100 vehicles and turnover of more than Rs.30 crore per annum.
  • Manufacturers of essential food products other than dairy products that have a production capacity of more than 2MT per day.
  • Manufacturers of dairy units, including milk having a production of more than 50,000 litres of milk per day. 
  • All importers and exporters, irrespective of the turnover limit, must obtain FSSAI Central License.
  • Vegetable oil processing units that have a production of more than 2MT per day.
  • Cold storage facilitators having a storage capacity of more than 10,000MT.

Process to Obtain an FSSAI Registration for Essential Food Products

  • Visit the official FoSCoS website
  • Select the ‘Apply/License Registration’ tab on the homepage.
  • Select the state (where the FBO has registered office) from the drop-down menu.
  • Click on the ‘Manufacturer’, ‘Trade/Retail’ or ‘Food Services’ option and select the applicable tab from the list displayed below.
  • Select the applicable annual turnover or production capacity limit of the FBO and click on the ‘Proceed’ button.
  • Next, click on the ‘Apply for Registration’ or Apply for Central License’ or ‘Apply for State License’ or ‘button.
  • Fill in all the details on the registration form and click on the ‘Save & Next’ button. 
  • Upload the documents and click on the ‘Save & Next’ button.
  • Make the necessary payment by selecting the payment option on the form and submit it.
  • The FSSAI authorities will check the form and documents. They may even inspect the food premises if required.
  • The FSSAI will grant the FSSAI certificate when it is satisfied that the FBO meets all the required criteria. The FBOs can download the FSSAI registration certificate from the FoSCoS portal.

The FBOs can also apply for the FSSAI registration/license offline by getting the registration form from the Commissioner of Food Safety and submitting the filled form with the required documents to the Food Safety Department/Office. The authorities will check the application and issue the FSSAI registration certificate.

Documents Required for an FSSAI License of Essential Food Products

The documents that the FBOs need to submit for obtaining an FSSAI Basic Registration are as follows:

  • ID proof of the FBO.
  • Certificate of incorporation or business constitution certificate. 
  • Proof of possession of food business premises, i.e. sale deed, NOC from the owner of the rented premises, rental agreement, etc. 
  • Food safety management system plan.
  • List of food products.

The documents that the FBOs need to submit for obtaining an FSSAI State/Central License are as follows:

  • ID proof of the FBO.
  • Proof of office address of the FBO.
  • Import/Export Code (IEC).
  • List of all the directors and their details with ID proof.
  • Business constitution certificate or certificate of incorporation. 
  • Memorandum of association and articles of association.
  • List of food products.
  • Plan of the processing units.
  • Name and list of equipment and machinery used.
  • Analysis report of water to be used in the manufacturing process. 
  • NOC (No Objection Certificate) from the municipality.
  • Sources of raw materials for milk, meat, etc
  • Food safety management system plan or certificate.
  • Certificate obtained under Coop Act, 1861 or Multi-State Coop Act, 2002.

Disclaimer: The materials provided herein are solely for information purposes. No attorney-client relationship is created when you access or use the site or the materials. The information presented on this site does not constitute legal or professional advice and should not be relied upon for such purposes or used as a substitute for legal advice from an attorney licensed in your state.

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