FSSAI Registration And Licensing Process

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an independent organization incorporated under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (Act), which works to maintain food quality and ensure safety for every consumer. Obtaining a license from this autonomous body is mandatory for food-related companies in India. To focus on its registration and licensing process, this article attempts to enumerate all requirements of an entity for business in India. With this, the writer will sum up this article by mentioning other relevant points (if any).

Registration with FSSAI

All kinds of petty Food Business Operators (FBO) having turnover under Rs. 12 Lacs has to take registration if:

• Dealing with 500lt. of milk per day, or
• Slaughtering capacity of two large/ten small animals or fifty poultry birds per day, or
• Production capacity of 100 kg/lt. per day; other than milk or meat.

For registration of FBO, its business and personal Identity proofs with Form A and an annual fee of Rs. 100/-. Along with this other supporting documents can also be required, like approval from the municipality or health department.

License from FSSAI

Moving ahead, when an FBO turnover is from Rs. 2 Lakhs but within Rs. 20 crores, then the requirement of a State License is mandatory. Whenever turnover exceeds the said limit then, the requirement of Central License is applicable. Validity of license can be one or five years; thus, renewal can be within 30 days before the expiry of license as a late fee of Rs. 100/- per day is applicable. Every applicant has to submit Form B with all supporting Id proofs and details of their food products. The annual fee is also required with Form B, which can vary between Rs. 100 upto Rs. 7500.

Procedure for obtaining Registration or License Certificates

Welcoming the digital era, FSSAI has provided an online platform, i.e., Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal. Whereby, all FBOs can fill Form A or B along with the above-stated documents & fees for obtaining registration or license certificates.

Within 7 days of application, the department issues a certificate after scrutinizing the application or providing the reason for rejection in writing. The e-certificate can be downloaded by login into the FOSCO portal. All FBOs are required to display the issued certificate at the business premises as it indicates their goodwill and standards followed for maintaining hygiene and quality standards.

Note: FBOs can also apply for certificates offline by visiting the nearby office of the Food & Safety department.

Non-compliance with FSSAI regulations

Like the IT or GST/Customs department, FSSAI officers can conduct inspections visiting the FBOs business area and check the level of compliances being followed or not. Based on the compliance checklist, the safety officer provides marks like; Compliance [C], Non-Compliance [NC], Partial Compliance [PC], or even Not Observed/Applicable [NA].

The safety officer can issue an Improvement Notice based on the conducted inspection. After giving an opportunity of being heard, the safety officer can even cancel the certificate if any FBO fails to comply with the improvement notice.

Note: Non-compliance may consequent in a penalty which can be anywhere between Rs. 25,000/- to Rs. 2 Lacs.

Aggrieved FBOs can file an appeal to the State/Central Commissioner of Food Safety or even before the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal. If it does not work, then the aggrieved party can even knock on the doors of the High Court or Supreme Court.

Conclusion

Along with the above discussion, the writer wants to convey one cardinal point: all FBOs should follow FSSAI’s regulations and procedures to minimize the chances of being penalized. This framework is laid down for building goodwill of all the business persons, which is necessary for obtaining funds from any investors. Further, the FSSAI logo on food items promotes consumer awareness and reflects the authenticity of the product.