FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (FAQs)
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is an autonomous body established under the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India. The FSSAI has been established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 which is a consolidating statute related to food safety and regulation in India.
Whoever is planning to commence a food business in India whether it is a food processing or manufacturing or distribution or restaurant need to have FSSAI registration/license irrespective of the turnover.
There are three types of FSSAI Food licenses, the type of license to be obtained depends on the annual turnover of the business.
FSSAI Basic registration : All food businesses with an annual turnover of Rs.12 lakhs
FSSAI State License : All food businesses with an annual turnover between Rs.12 lakhs to Rs.20 crores.
FSSAI Central License : All food businesses whose annual turnover exceeds Rs.20 crores.
The statutory food license issued by FSSAI is valid for a maximum time period of 5 years. It is always advisable to renew it before the expiry of current license to avoid hassles in operations of your business.
Food license can be renewed 30 days before the expiry of FSSAI license. You need to provide your current license number to re-file the FSSAI Form A and FSSAI Form B .
You need to obtain a Central license for your registered office or head office and state license for each individual state.
Designated FSSAI Officer of FSSAI issues an improvement notice to the business operator if it is found that the business operator is not complying with the regulations of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Yes, if the food business operator failed to comply with the improvement notice the Designated Officer (DO) can suspend the food license.
If any food business operator himself or by any person on his behalf, manufactures, sells, stores or distributes or imports any item of food without license, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months and also with a fine which may extend to five lakh rupees. Hence, the entrepreneurs will have to obtain the license before starting a food business.