FSSAI Registration & Food Licence

Overview

About FSSAI

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which consolidates various acts & orders that have hitherto handled food-related issues in various Ministries and Departments. FSSAI has been created for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption.

Statutory framework

Highlights of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

Various central Acts have been repealed from 5th August 2011 after the commencement of FSS Act, 2006, including:

Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.
Fruit Products Order, 1955.
Meat Food Products Order, 1973.
Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947.
Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order, 1988.
Solvent Extracted Oil, De-Oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control) Order, 1967.
Milk and Milk Products Order, 1992, etc.

The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards, by moving from multi-level, multi-departmental control to a single line of command. To this effect, the Act establishes an independent statutory Authority — the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India — with head office in Delhi. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the State Food Safety Authorities shall enforce various provisions of the Act.

FSSAI has been mandated by the FSS Act, 2006 for performing the following functions:

Framing of regulations to lay down the standards and guidelines in relation to articles of food and specifying appropriate systems of enforcing various standards thus notified.
Laying down mechanisms and guidelines for accreditation of certification bodies engaged in certification of food safety management systems for food businesses.
Laying down procedure and guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.
To provide scientific advice and technical support to Central Government and State Governments in the matters of framing the policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing on food safety and nutrition.
Collect and collate data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of various contaminants in food products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of rapid alert system.
Creating an information network across the country so that the public, consumers, Panchayats etc. receive rapid, reliable and objective information about food safety and issues of concern.
Provide training programmes for persons who are involved or intend to get involved in food businesses.
Contribute to the development of international technical standards for food, sanitary and phytosanitary standards.
Promote general awareness about food safety and food standards.

Types of licensing

FSSAI licensing & registration

As per Section 31(1) of the FSS Act, 2006, every Food Business Operator in the country is required to be licensed under the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India. The licensing and registration procedure and requirements are regulated by the Food Safety & Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011. The Food Licensing and Registration System (FLRS) is an online system launched by FSSAI to facilitate FBOs in India to apply for license / registration certificate and help them track their applications during processing.

FAQ

FSSAI Licensing and Registration

1. What are the different categories of license?

As per the FSS (Licensing & Registration) Regulations, 2011, Licenses and Registrations are granted to FBOs in a 3-tier system, viz.:

Registration
State License
Central License

List of FBOs falling under different categories:

Registration	Central Licensing	State Licensing
Manufactures or sells any article of food himself or a petty retailer, hawker, itinerant vendor or temporary stall holder; or distributes foods including in any religious or social gathering except a caterer. Such other food businesses including small scale or cottage or such other industries relating to food business or tiny food businesses with an annual turnover not exceeding Rs. 12 lakhs and / or whose: Production capacity of food (other than milk and milk products and meat and meat products) does not exceed 100 kg / ltr per day; or Procurement or handling and collection of milk is up to 500 litres of milk per day; or Slaughtering capacity is 2 large animals or 10 small animals or 50 poultry birds per day or less.	Dairy units including milk chilling units equipped to handle or process more than 50,000 litres of liquid milk per day or 2,500 MT of milk solid per annum. Vegetable oil processing units and units producing vegetable oil by the process of solvent extraction and refineries including oil expeller unit having installed capacity more than 2 MT per day. All slaughter houses equipped to slaughter more than 50 large animals or 150 or more small animals including sheep and goats, or 1,000 or more poultry birds per day. Meat processing units equipped to handle or process more than 500 kg of meat per day or 150 MT per annum. All food processing units other than mentioned under (I) to (IV) including relabellers and repackers having installed capacity more than 2 MT / day, except grains, cereals and pulses milling units. 100% Export Oriented Units. All Importers importing food items including food ingredients and additives for commercial use. All food business operators manufacturing / processing / importing any proprietary food for which NOC has been given by FSSAI. Registered / Head office of FBOs operating in two or more states. Food catering services in establishments and units under Central Government Agencies like Railways, Air and airport, Seaport, Defence, etc. Hotels with 5-star and above accreditation. All E-commerce food businesses.	All FBOs except mentioned in Column 1 and 2. All grains, cereals and pulses milling units.

2. What are the criteria for registration?

Registrations are granted to small or petty FBOs whose annual turnover does not exceed Rs. 12 lakhs. Registrations are granted by the Registering Authority who may be a Designated Officer / Food Safety Officer or any official in Panchayat, Municipal Corporation or any other local body or Panchayat in an area, notified by the State Food Safety Commissioner.

Documents required while applying for a Registration:

Application in Schedule-1.
Fees @ Rs. 100/- per annum.
Address proof (Government documents like Voter ID card).
Photograph of applicant.

Registration Card should be exhibited at a prominent place of business premises.

3. What is the eligibility criteria for State License?

Food Businesses with Annual Turnover between Rs. 12 lakh and Rs. 20 crore.
All grain, cereal and pulses milling units irrespective of turnover.

4. What is the eligibility criteria for Central License?

Food Businesses with Annual Turnover more than Rs. 20 crore.
Operating business in two or more states.
Food business covered under Schedule 1 of FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011.

Licensing process

How we help

Our team assists Food Business Operators across all three categories — Registration, State License and Central License — with end-to-end application support on the FLRS portal, document preparation, compliance set-up, and ongoing renewal management.

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FSSAI