The food business operator whose turnover is more than 20 Crores and is engaged in e-commerce, interstate trade or export/import of food items is required to obtain the FSSAI Central License. Call us for a free consultation.
We are a professional consulting firm specialising in company registration, taxation, accounting, payroll, compliance, and intellectual property rights (IPR) services to assist new and existing businesses in India. We provide our professional services at a reasonable fee, explaining the eligibility, process, and documents required for setting up and maintaining a business. We also prepare and file necessary applications with relevant government agencies such as the Registrar of Companies (ROC) and the Income Tax Department. We do not directly provide government documents or represent ourselves as a government agency.
Required if the turnover is less than 12 lac in a Financial Year & the business is within the state
₹ 2,999/-Government Fee on ActualWhen turnover is more than 12 Lac & upto 20 Crores for retailer/ 30 Crores for wholesalers
₹ 8,499/-Government Fee on ActualFor all cases where turnover exceeds limits prescribed for state License or involved in export.
₹ 11,999/-Government Fee on Actual
The FSSAI Central License is the highest category of licence granted under Food Safety And Standards Act, 2006. It is required by the FBO which are operating the food business at a large scale or their annual turnover is above 20 crores per annum. Central licence is granted by Central Licensing authority. FSSAI Central licence contains a 14 digit number which starts with 100XXXXXXXXXXX.
The Food Business in India is highly regulated under the rules and regulations issued for this purpose under the FSSAI. The first step is to ensure that your food business has the correct license or registration. Several factors determine the requirement of FSSAI Registration, State License or Central License. We have discussed in detail the applicability of FSSAI on several aspects on a dedicated page. Please click the following to read more on applicability. Information on FSSAI Applicability
The general rule is that the FSSAI Central license is required by large FBO or by those specifically included irrespective of the turnover, such as E-Commerce. Following are the most common businesses that require FSSAI Central License.
The process starts with the eligibility check of the applicant FBO. In this, the experts at setindiabiz will discuss the nature of the proposed business plan in detail and help you find your eligibility as per your proposed requirements.
Once it is determined that you need a Central FSSAI Licence for the food business, the setindiabiz team will provide you with a list of documents. We will also draft necessary statutory documents based on the documents received from you for signature.
The online filing will be made by filing Form-B at the online portal of FoSCoS. In this course, we will interact with you for OTP. After filling in the complete information in Form B, the document is uploaded in the document section.
Once the application is filled and the documents are uploaded in the document section, the licence fee payment is made, and a reference number is generated, and a notification will be sent to FBO via SMS and mail.
The applicant can track the application status online through the reference number. Usually, licencing authorities grant a licence within 60 days of the filing of the application. In simple words, after scrutiny of the document and information provided in Form B, the state licencing authority wants to inspect the premises; they need to complete the inspection and thereby either grant the licence or raise a clarification within 60 days from the date of applying.
The applicant must file the reply to clarification within 30 days from the date of raising the clarification. If not, the licencing authority will refuse the application, and the applicant is to file a new application. There is no process of refunding the government fee. The Setindiabiz team will coordinate with you at the time of such clarification to resolve the same.
On approval of the application, the state licence is issued, and the applicant needs to display it at a conspicuous place at the food unit. Central licence is granted by Central Licensing authority. FSSAI Central licence contains a 14 digit number which starts with 100XXXXXXXXXXX.
The documents required for the grant of FSSAI License are prescribed differently for Non-Manufacturing FBO and for Manufacturing FBO. In the table below, we have categories for the list of documents required. Based on the nature of business, additional documents are needed, and the same is provided separately.
Company Documents
Documents of Directors & Nominee
Proof of Address of Food Business
Note : A nominee is a person responsible for the compliances of Food laws, their rules, and regulations, for the Food Business.
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) of Vending water to be used as an ingredient in food in a Food Establishments, Club/Canteen or any. The report must be from a recognized public health laboratory. It is required to confirm the potability of water used in food. The water analysis report is to bear the date of collecting the sample and the name of the staff of Lab who collected the sample (It is applicable where water is used as an ingredient)
Recall Plan & Import Export Code (IEC). IEC certificate is a document issued by the Director-General Of Foreign Trade(DGFT).
Import Export Code certificate and Declaration that the applicant shall sell the products meant for export in the domestic market. Further, the export products must meet the standards of importing countries.
Recall Plan
List of Vehicle Registration Numbers
NOC from Manufacturers
Source or procurement plan for milk
Source of Raw Material and NOC from Municipal Corporation /local bod
NOC from Municipal Corporation/local body
Product Product Specification of each product mentioning the ingredients as per applicable Schedule of health supplement products and Nutraceutical in the prescribed format.
Composition of each product as per the prescribed format
Product Approval from FSSAI Hq for each product
Pesticide residues report of water for units engaged in manufacturing packaged drinking water, packaged Mineral water and carbonated water. The report must be from a recognized public health laboratory. It is required to confirm the potability of water used in food. The pesticide residue report is to bear the date of collecting the sample, the name of Lab staff who collected the sample and Source of raw water and the treatment plan.
The Licensing Authority issues the FSSAI Central License within 60 days of applying a complete application by an FBO. It includes time taken in scrutinization of application and inspection of premises by the concerned authority.
Commencement of Business : The licencing authority for food business shall not prohibit the food business operator from commencing its food business where the licencing authority is unable to grant Food licence within 60 days from the date of making a complete application and
The above provision of commencement of Food business without grant of licence is to curb the delay tactics of the concerned Licensing Authority without any valid reason.
A Food Central license granted under these Regulations shall be valid for a period of 1 to 5 years as opted by the Food Business Operator at the time of making an application unless cancelled or suspended. The validity period of the licence is counted from the date of issue of the License. It can be renewed for a further period of five years, subject to the remittance of the fee applicable for the period.
It is on the FBO to decide the tenure for which they require the central license. The Government Fee for FSSAI Central License shall be Rs 7500 for each year.
FBO shall make an application to renew a license granted under these Regulations not later than 30 days before the expiry date indicated in the License. An applicant can file a renewal application 120 days in advance. The License shall continue to be in force till the disposal of the renewal application. Further, the licencing authorities must decide the renewal within 30 days of the expiry of the licence.
The designated officers may order an inspection before renewal if considered necessary for reasons to be recorded in writing. No inspection is required if the Food Business Operator has a valid certificate from an agency accredited by the Food Authority, an accredited food safety auditor, or any other organization notified by FSSAI.
If the renewal application is not made within the validity period, the licence shall expire, & the Food Business Operator shall stop all business activity at the premises. The Food Business Operator will have to apply for a new license if it wants to restart it.
Professional Fee : We offer our services for the grant of the Central License at a very reasonable fee of Rs. 11,999/- Only. There would be a GST@18% on this amount. The scope of our services is comprehensive advisory, preparation and filing of application with the FSSAI office and to do the regular follow-up.
Government Fee : The government fee payable for FSSAI Central License is Rs. 7500/- for each year, and it is the same for all kinds of applicants. As the license may be obtained for up to five years, the government fee is calculated in multiples of the number of years. For example, if the license is for one year, the government fee shall be Rs. 7500/-. Similarly, the fee payable for 3 Years license shall be Rs. 22,500/- ( Rs. 7500 X 3 Years). Below is the table of different government fees payable for state license based on the business activities.
A food licence is mandatory before the start of the food business. A food business operator carrying on food business without a valid licence may be levied a fine up to Rs 10 lacs or an imprisonment of six months. Still, in some cases where the grievous injury is caused due to unsafe food provided by the FBO, the imprisonment could exceed up to 6 years. Further, If the FBO is found guilty under this Act, all the directors /Partners/Manager/Secretary of the FBO shall also be liable to be proceeded and punished under this Act. Thus, the FBO must procure the required Registration or licence before starting the food business and comply with the conditions imposed therein.
Every FSSAI Licensed FBOs involved in Manufacturing and Importing of Food Products including those engaged in manufacturing of Milk and Milk Products shall furnish online periodic annual returns with effect from FY 2020-21 as per notification dated 18th Dec 2020.
The returns shall be submitted online on Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) not beyond 31st May for each year. Every licensee shall file a separate return for each License, i.e. for each food unit. It is immaterial that the same Food Business Operator holds more than one License. Any delay in filing return beyond 31st May of each year shall attract a penalty of Rs 100 per day of delay.
