FSSAI License and Registration is required for any food business operator who manufactures, stores, transports, or distributes food. The requirement of FSSAI Registration / License is determined based on Nature of business, Turnover, Production Capacity of the Food Business Operator (FBO). A Food Business Operator (FBO)’s premise shall have only one FSSAI License or Registration on which any number of kind of businesses (KoB) can be endorsed. After filing of application for FSSAI License, and approval of the same, the Food Business operator will get FSSAI License which consists of 14 digit number that needs to be printed on food packaged products.
Legal Framework
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a legal authority that offers a food license to all food business operators (FBO) in India.
As per Section 31(1) Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, every Food Business Operator in the country must be licensed under the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
Criteria / Eligibility to obtain Food Registration or Food License:
The requirement of FSSAI Registration / License is determined based on Nature of business, Turnover, Production Capacity of the Food Business Operator (FBO). Click here to know more about fee structure and type of registration required for the nature of business you engaged in.
Types of FSSAI License:
As per “FSS (Licensing & Registration) Regulations, 2011, Licenses and Registrations are granted to FBOs in a 3 tier system i.e. Registration, State license, and Central License.
FSSAI Registration:
FSSAI Registration is mandatory for petty food manufacturers or the FBO having a turnover of less than Rs.12 Lakhs unless the FBO is covered under compulsory licensing. Application Fee for FSSAI Registration is fixed at Rs 100 per year.
FSSAI-State License:
The Food Business Operator, having an annual turnover of more than Rs.12 lakh but not exceeding Rs.20 crore, is considered a medium-sized business and must obtain a FSSAI State License. Application Fee for FSSAI License varies from Rs 2000 to Rs 5000 per year based on kind of business.
FSSAI-Central License:
The Food Business Operator, having an annual turnover of more than Rs.20 crore is considered a large-sized business and must obtain an FSSAI FSSAI Central License. Application Fee for FSSAI License varies from Rs 2000 to Rs 7500 per year based on kind of business.
Eligible FBO’s:
The Food Business Operators (FBOs) carrying on the following kinds of the food business must have FSSAI License/Registration:
1. Petty Food Business Operators
2. Dairy Units including Milk Chilling Unit
3. Vegetable Oil Processing Units
4. Slaughtering House
5. Meat Processing
6. Manufacturing/Processing Unit
7. Proprietary Food
8. Food or Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals etc.
9. Radiation processing of food
10. Substances added to Food
11. Storage – Cold/Refrigerated Cold/refrigerated
12. Storage – Atmospheric Controlled + Cold Controlled Atmosphere
13. Storage Without Atmospheric Controlled + Cold
14. Transporter
15. Wholesaler
16. Distributor
17. Retailer
18. Hotel / Restaurants
19. Club/Canteen
20. Caterer
21. Food Vending Agencies
22. Importers
23. Exporters
24. Food Business Activities at premises of Airport/Seaport
25. Mid-day Meal Caterer
26. E-Commerce and Others
Validity of FSSAI License:
The FSSAI License / Registration will be issued for 1 to 5 years, as chosen by the Food Business Operator.
Renewal of FSSAI License:
For renewal of existing Food license, FBO has to submit renewal application not earlier than 180 days but not less than 30 days prior to expiry date.
Renewal fee is same as fresh license.
Amendment of FSSAI License:
Food license can be amended for the following purposes with payment of nominal Fee:
1. Change of Premise address, Phone number etc.
2. Inclusion / exclusion of food products.
3. Change in Production capacity.
4. Change of Nominee (Person responsible for complying conditions of license)
FSSAI Annual Returns:
Food Business Operators like Manufacturers including Repacker and Relabeller, Importer and Manufacturer Exporter need to file annual returns by 31st March of every year for the food business activities conducted during the previous financial year. Last date without penalty is May 31st. Penalty for non-submission is Rs 100 per day w.e.f June 1st. Maximum penalty is 5 times the Annual License fee.
How Best Exim will assist you in FSSAI Services:
New Registration – FSSAI Registration / State License / Central License
Modification/Amendment of FSSAI License
Renewal of FSSAI License
Surrender of FSSAI License
| Kind of Business | Criteria | License/Registration | Fee Per Annum |
| Petty Food Business Operators e.g Gol gappa stall, snacks stall, Tea Stall, Samosa, Bread pakoda, retail shops | Annual Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs | Registration | Rs. 100 |
| Temporary or fixed stall or food premise involved in preparation, storage, distribution and sale of food products | |||
| Hawker (Selling packaged or freshly prepared food by travelling (usually on foot or movable carts) from one location to other) | |||
| Dairy Units including Milk Chilling Units | More than 50,000 Liters of Milk per day More than 2500 MT of Milk Solid Per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| 10001 – 50,000 Ltrs of Milk per day 501 MT – 2500 MT of Milk Solids per annum | State License | Rs. 5000 | |
| 501 – 10,000 Ltrs of Milk per day 2.5 MT – 500 MT of Milk Solids per annum | State License | Rs. 3000 | |
| Upto 500 Ltrs of Milk per day Upto 2.5 MT of Milk Solids per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Vegetable Oil Processing Units Vegetable oil processing means processing of vegetables to produce vegetable oils by the process of solvent extraction/expeller and refining including oil expeller units. | More than 2 MT per day | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| 1-2 MT per day | State License | Rs. 5000 | |
| Below 1 MT per day | State License | Rs. 3000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs.12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Slaughtering House Slaughtering means a process of transporting, stunning, butchering, dressing, processing, storing & distribution of live animals/poultry birds. Meat shop, Chicken Shop, Mutton Shop Lamb Meat etc. | Large Animals: More than 50 Small Animals: More than 150 Poultry Birds: More than 1000 | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Large Animals: 3 to 50 Small Animals: 11 to 150 Poultry Birds: 51 to 1000 | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Large Animals: 2 Small Animals: 10 Poultry Birds: 50 | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Meat Processing (Meat processing means further processing of slaughtered animals/poultry birds into meat & meat products, packaging, storing & transportation of meat & meat products. Fish processing means handling, processing of fish, manufacturing of fish products, packing, storing, distribution & transportation of fish and fish products). | More than 500 Kg Meat per day or More than 150 MT Meat per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Upto 500 Kg Meat per day or Upto 150 MT Meat per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| All Food Manufacturing/ Processing units other than Dairy Units, Vegetable Oil, Meat Processing and Slaughtering Houses Manufacturing/Processing Unit Means a person/entity which owns or operates an establishment that manufactures or processes a food product. This term includes, but is not limited to contract manufacturers, contract packers and other entities that manufactures or processes a food product. Manufacturing or processing Means each step in conversion of raw material derived from livestock and agricultural produce into products for intermediate or final consumption. The process includes procurement, receipt, preparation, Manufacturing/processing, packaging, storage, distribution & transportation of food products. Repacking Means packing of food product into different sizes with labeling after doing minimal processing as required like sorting, grading, sieving etc. from wholesale packages. The food product is not manipulated & the composition or formulation is not affected or changed. | Production Capacity: More than 2 MT per day No Grains, Cereals or Pulses Milling Units | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Production Capacity: 101 Kgs/Ltrs – 1 MT per Day All Grains, Cereals, Pulses Milling units without any limit on Production Capacity. | State License | Rs. 3000 | |
| Production Capacity: 1MT – 2 MT per Day | State License | Rs. 5000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum Or Production capacity upto 100 Kgs/Ltrs per day | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Proprietary Food | No restriction on production capacity | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Food or Health Supplements and Nutraceuticals etc. As per Food Safety and Standards (Food or Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Foods for Special Dietary Uses, Foods for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Foods, and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016] | No restriction on production capacity | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Non-specified food “Non-specified food” means any food other than proprietary food or food ingredients, including additives, processing aids and enzymes for which standards have not been specified in any regulation made under the Act. (They needed to apply for product approval under Food Safety and Standards (Approval of non-specified food and food ingredients) Regulations at FSSAI-HQ separately before applying for license. | No restriction on production capacity | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Radiation processing of food (Radiation processing of food or food irradiation is a physical process in which food commodities, bulk or pre-packaged are exposed to controlled doses of energy of ionizing radiation such as gamma rays or X-rays to achieve different technological objectives). | No restriction on production capacity | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Substances added to Food (Substances added to Food means Food Additives, Enzymes and their preparations, Source, Flavouring agents and their preparations, Processing Aids, Nutrients and their preparations, Microorganisms and Microbial Preparations & Functional Ingredients added to food as specified under Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations). | Production Capacity: More than 2 MT per Day | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Production Capacity: Up to 2 MT per Day | State License | Rs. 5000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Storage – Cold/Refrigerated Cold//Refrigerated (Storage is an activity where refrigerated/ frozen food products in packed or unpacked condition is stored for further distribution in refrigeration/ freezing storage facilities). | Storage Capacity of More than 10,000 MT | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Storage Capacity Upto 10,000 MT | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Storage – Atmospheric Controlled + Cold Controlled Atmosphere (Storage is an activity where food products in packed or unpacked condition is stored for further distribution in controlled atmosphere storage facilities. A controlled atmosphere, generally used for storage of dry commodities & agricultural produce in which the concentrations of oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen, as well as the temperature and humidity of a storage room are regulated). | Storage Capacity of More than 1,000 MT | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Storage Capacity Upto 1,000 MT | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Storage Without Atmospheric Controlled + Cold (Storage is an activity where food products in packed or unpacked condition is stored for further distribution in storage facilities, also called warehouses, godowns, etc). | Storage Capacity of More than 50,000 MT | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Storage Capacity Upto 50,000 MT | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Transporter (having a number of specialized vehicles like insulated refrigerated van/wagon, milk tankers etc.) (Transportation is an activity of transporting food products (both packed and bulk) from one location to another in vehicles/containers including specialized vehicles like insulated refrigerated van/ wagon, oil/milk tankers etc. Food Trucks are also covered in this category). | More than 100 Vehicles and Turnover more than Rs. 30 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Upto 100 Vehicles and Turnover upto Rs. 30 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Single Vehicle and Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Wholesaler (Wholesale is an activity in the distribution channel where food product is procured in bulk and then sold to resellers/retailers rather than to consumers). | Turnover more than Rs. 30 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 30 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Distributor (Distribution is an activity in the distribution channel where food product is distributed from the original place of manufacture to the person who makes the final delivery or sale of the food product to the ultimate consumer). | Turnover more than Rs. 20 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 20 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Retailer (Retail is an activity where food products is procured from a manufacturer, distributor or wholesaler and sold to the ultimate end user. E.g. Retail Shop/ Fish/ Meat/Poultry shop/ seller/Sweet Shop/Snacks/Confectionery or Bakery Shop). | Turnover more than Rs. 20 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 20 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Hotel (Hotel is a commercial establishment providing lodging, meals, and other guest services. In general, to be called a hotel, an establishment must have a minimum of six letting bedrooms, at least three of which must have attached (ensuite) private bathroom facilities). | Five Star and Above | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Three Star and Four Star | State License | Rs. 5000 | |
| One Star, Two Star or Hotel without Star Rating by Ministry of Tourism (HRACC) | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Restaurant (Restaurant is a type of food service operation which prepares, serves food and drinks to customers in exchange for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services, and some offer only take-out and delivery). | Turnover more than Rs. 20 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 20 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Club/Canteen (Canteen or Cafeteria is a dining area in an institution/ establishment serving food (being prepared in the premises or procured from other location or source) to individuals associated with or visiting the institution). | Turnover More than Rs 12 Lacs per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Caterer (Food Service Establishment involved in preparation, storage, serving and /or transport of food for consumption of a group at a venue of ceremony/celebration /ritual/institution). | Turnover More than Rs 20 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 20 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Food Vending Agencies (Sale of packaged/fresh food from a temporary or fixed stall/cart/ machine by an individual or by automation). | More than 100 Vending Machines and/or located in two or more States/UTs | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Upto 100 Vending Machines in only one State/UT | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum or Upto 12 Vending Machines in only one State/UT | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Boarding houses serving food (A building providing food and lodging for paying guest). | Turnover more than Rs. 12 Lacs per annum Turnover upto Rs 12 Lacs per annum | State License Registration | Rs. 2000 Rs. 100 |
| Banquet halls with food catering arrangements (A specified area such as hall which is used for the purpose of hosting parties/ ceremonies involved in preparation and serving of food to customers for consumption). | |||
| Home Based Canteens/ Dabba Wallas (An individual or establishment involved in distribution of packed meals (usually packed lunch) from food service establishments such as home based caterer or restaurants to customers). | |||
| Permanent/ Temporary stall Holder (A stand/booth/compartment/small covered area being used for preparation and /or sale of freshly prepared or packaged food for consumption. This structure maybe temporary or permanent (fixed). | |||
| Food stalls/ Arrangements in religious gatherings/ fairs etc (A stand/booth/compartment/small covered area being used for preparation and /or sale or distribution of freshly prepared or packaged food being offered as Prasad in a religious institution). | |||
| Importers (Importers importing food items including food ingredients and additives for commercial use Import is an activity where articles of trade from a foreign source is brought into a domestic market in the course of trade). | Importing any type of food product with no limit on the capacity | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Food Business Activities at premises of Central Govt Agencies such as Storage, Wholesale, Distribution, Retail etc (Documents for License as per the business activity – Storage, Wholesale, Distribution, Retail) | No limit on Capacity or Turnover | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Departmental Canteens at the premises of Central Govt. Institutions (Food Service Establishment involved in preparation and serving of food for consumption of a group of individuals working or visiting central government agencies). | Turnover More than Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Central License | Rs. 2000 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Central Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Food Business Activities at premises of Airport/Seaport such as Storage, Wholesale, Distribution, Retail etc (Food Service Establishment involved in preparation and serving of food at airports/seaports Documents for License as per the business activity – Storage, Wholesale, Distribution, Retail) | No limit on Capacity or Turnover | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Mid day Meal Caterer (The Midday Meal Scheme is a school meal programme of the Government of India designed to better the nutritional standing of school-age children nationwide. The programme supplies free lunches on working days for children in primary and upper primary classes in government, government aided, local body, Education Guarantee Scheme, and alternate innovative education centres, Madarsa and Maqtabs supported under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, and National Child Labour Project schools run by the ministry of labour. Caterer preparing and transporting food to institutions under Midday meal scheme). | Turnover More than Rs 20 Crores per annum | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 20 Crores per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 | |
| Mid Day Meal Canteen (Canteens serving food under mid day meal scheme in Schools). | Turnover More than Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | State License | Rs. 2000 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| Exporter | No limit on Capacity or Turnover | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Caterers/Restaurants/Canteens/Hawkers/Petty Retailers at the premises of Railway Stations or under the control of Indian Railways | Turnover More than Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Central License | Rs. 2000 |
| Turnover upto Rs. 12 Lacs per annum | Central Registration | Rs. 100 | |
| E-Commerce (E-commerce also known as electronic commerce or internet commerce, refers to the buying and selling of goods or services using the internet, and the transfer of money and data to execute these transactions. E commerce is often used to refer to the sale of physical products online, but it can also describe any kind of commercial transaction that is facilitated through the internet). | No limit on Capacity or Turnover | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
| Head Office/Registered Office (Food Business Operators having food business activities in two or more States/UTs have to declare one Head Office/Registered Office). | No limit on Capacity or Turnover | Central License | Rs. 7500 |
