FSSAI Central License

Package Start @ ₹11,999/-

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.
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Our Professional Fee For FSSAI Registration of License

Fssai Registration
Required if the turnover is less than 12 lac in a Financial Year & the business is within the state

₹ 2,999/-

Government Fee on Actual
Fssai State License
When turnover is more than 12 Lac & upto 20 Crores for retailer/ 30 Crores for wholesalers

₹8,499/-

Government Fee on Actual
Fssai Central License
For all cases where turnover exceeds limits prescribed for state License or involved in export.

₹ 11,999/-

Government Fee on Actual

Overview of FSSAI Central License

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

Applicability of Central FSSAI License

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.
Most Common FBO requiring Central License
Turnover Criteria: The large FBO has an annual turnover of more than 20 crores, excluding the transporters. In a transporter case, the yearly turnover limit to seek a central licence is 30 crores.
E-Commerce Operator: All E-Commerce operators, for example, Flipkart or amazon, need to take Central License. It does not mean that the merchants selling through such platforms also need a central license.
Exporter or Importer & EOU Units: The FBO operates through 100 % Export Oriented Units and those involved in the export and import of food items, including food ingredients and additives for commercial use.
Multi State Operators: Food Business Operators operating in two or more states must take appropriate FSSAI Registration or License in all the states and a Central License at the Head Office.
Other FBO Requiring FSSAI Central License
  1. All food processing units other than dairy units, vegetable oil, meat processing units & slaughter houses including relabellers & repackers having installed capacity more than 2 MT/day except grains, cereals & pulses milling units
  2. Hotel rated Five Star & above by the Ministry of Tourism (HRACC)
  3. Dairy units including milk chilling units equipped to handle or process more than 50,000 litres of liquid milk/day or 2500 MT of milk solid per annum
  4. Vegetable oil processing units & units producing vegetable oil by the process of solvent extraction & refineries including oil expeller units having installed capacity more than 2 MT per day.
  5. All slaughterhouses that are equipped to slaughter more than 50 large animals or 150 or more small animals including sheep & goats or 1000 or more poultry birds per day.
  6. Meat processing units equipped to handle or process more than 500 kg of meat per day or 150 MT per annum.
  7. Food catering services in establishments & units under Central government Agencies like Railways, Air & airport, Seaport, Defence etc.
  8. All food business operators manufacturing any article of food containing ingredients or substances or using technologies or processes or combination thereof whose safety has not been established through these regulations or which do not have a history of safe use or food containing ingredients which are being introduced for the first time into the country.
eligibility for fssai state license

Step Wise Process for Grant of FSSAI State License

  • Eligibility Check

    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.

  • Documentation & Drafting

    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.

  • Online Application Filing

    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.

  • Payment of Government Fee

    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.

  • Track status of FSSAI Application

    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.

  • Reply to Clarification

    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.

  • Grant of Registration

    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.

List of Documents for Central FSSAI License

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.

List of Documents for FSSAI Registration By

Non Manufacturing / Non Producing FBO
A. Company Documents
  1. Certificate of Incorporation
  2. MOA & AOA
  3. PAN Card
  4. List of Directors
  5. Board Resolution
  6. Form IX: Nomination Form
  7. List of Food Products
B. Documents of Directors & Nominee
  1. Government Issued Photo Identity Card
  2. Address Proof
  3. Email ID & Mobile Mo (For OTP)
  4. Educational Qualification
C. Proof of Address of Food Business.
  1. Sale Deed/ Rent agreement, and
  2. Electricity Bill Not Older than two months
Note: A nominee is a person responsible for the compliances of Food laws, their rules, and regulations, for the Food Business.
Manufacturing or Producing FBO
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
  1. The processing unit's blueprint/layout plan shows the metres/square metres and operation-wise area allocation dimensions.
  2. Photograph of Manufacturing/Production unit.
  3. List of Machinery and Equipment and along with the number, installed capacity and horsepower used.
  4. Water test Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) from a recognized/ public health laboratory to confirm the portability indicating the name of an authorized representative of Lab who collected the sample and date of collecting the sample(Not applicable if water is not being used as an ingredient)
  5. Recall Plan
Non Manufacturing / Non Producing FBO
A. LLP Documents
  1. Certificate of Incorporation
  2. LLP Agreement
  3. PAN Card
  4. List of Partners
  5. Partners Resolution
  6. Form IX: Nomination Form
  7. List of Food Products
B. Documents of Partners & Nominee
  1. Government Issued Photo Identity Card
  2. Address Proof
  3. Email ID & Mobile Mo (For OTP)
  4. Educational Qualification
C. Proof of Address of Food Business.
  1. Sale Deed/ Rent agreement, and
  2. Electricity Bill Not Older than two months
Note: A nominee is a person responsible for the compliances of Food laws, their rules, and regulations, for the Food Business.
Manufacturing or Producing FBO
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
  1. The processing unit's blueprint/layout plan shows the metres/square metres and operation-wise area allocation dimensions.
  2. Photograph of Manufacturing/Production unit.
  3. List of Machinery and Equipment and along with the number, installed capacity and horsepower used.
  4. Water test Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) from a recognized/ public health laboratory to confirm the portability indicating the name of an authorized representative of Lab who collected the sample and date of collecting the sample(Not applicable if water is not being used as an ingredient)
  5. Recall Plan
Non Manufacturing / Non Producing FBO
A. Partnership Firms Documents
  1. Registration Certificate
  2. Partnership Agreement
  3. PAN Card
  4. List of Partners
  5. Partners Resolution
  6. Form IX: Nomination Form
  7. List of Food Products
B. Documents of Partners & Nominee
  1. Government Issued Photo Identity Card
  2. Address Proof
  3. Email ID & Mobile Mo (For OTP)
  4. Educational Qualification
C. Proof of Address of Food Business.
  1. Sale Deed/ Rent agreement, and
  2. Electricity Bill Not Older than two months
Note: A nominee is a person responsible for the compliances of Food laws, their rules, and regulations, for the Food Business.
Manufacturing or Producing FBO
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
  1. The processing unit's blueprint/layout plan shows the metres/square metres and operation-wise area allocation dimensions.
  2. Photograph of Manufacturing/Production unit.
  3. List of Machinery and Equipment and along with the number, installed capacity and horsepower used.
  4. Water test Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) from a recognized/ public health laboratory to confirm the portability indicating the name of an authorized representative of Lab who collected the sample and date of collecting the sample(Not applicable if water is not being used as an ingredient)
  5. Recall Plan
Non Manufacturing / Non Producing FBO
A. Proprietor Documents
  1. Photo of Proprietor
  2. Government-issued Photo ids such as PAN, AADHAAR, Voter ID etc. of Proprietor
  3. Email I.D. and Mobile No of Proprietor (For OTP)
B. List of Food products
C. Proof of Address of Food Business.
  1. Sale Deed/ Rent agreement, and
  2. Electricity Bill Not Older than two months
Note: If the proprietor is carrying on the food business at the address mentioned in his Photo ID Card like AADHAR, Voter ID, then no proof of address of Food Business is required.
Manufacturing or Producing FBO
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
  1. The processing unit's blueprint/layout plan shows the metres/square metres and operation-wise area allocation dimensions.
  2. Photograph of Manufacturing/Production unit.
  3. List of Machinery and Equipment and along with the number, installed capacity and horsepower used.
  4. Water test Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) from a recognized/ public health laboratory to confirm the portability indicating the name of an authorized representative of Lab who collected the sample and date of collecting the sample(Not applicable if water is not being used as an ingredient)
  5. Recall Plan
Non Manufacturing / Non Producing FBO
A. Documents of Society
  1. Certificate of Registration
  2. Memorandum of Society
  3. Rules and Bylaws
  4. PAN Card
  5. List of Governing Body
  6. Copy of Resolution
  7. Form IX: Nomination Form
  8. List of Food Products
B. Documents of Directors & Nominee
  1. Government Issued Photo Identity Card
  2. Address Proof
  3. Email ID & Mobile Mo (For OTP)
  4. Educational Qualification
C. Proof of Address of Food Business.
  1. Sale Deed/ Rent agreement, and
  2. Electricity Bill Not Older than two months
Note: A nominee is a person responsible for the compliances of Food laws, their rules, and regulations, for the Food Business
Manufacturing or Producing FBO
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
  1. The processing unit's blueprint/layout plan shows the metres/square metres and operation-wise area allocation dimensions.
  2. Photograph of Manufacturing/Production unit.
  3. List of Machinery and Equipment and along with the number, installed capacity and horsepower used.
  4. Water test Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) from a recognized/ public health laboratory to confirm the portability indicating the name of an authorized representative of Lab who collected the sample and date of collecting the sample(Not applicable if water is not being used as an ingredient)
  5. Recall Plan
Non Manufacturing / Non Producing FBO
A. Documents of Trust
  1. Registered Trust Deed
  2. PAN Card
  3. Details of Trustee (S)
  4. Copy of Resolution
  5. Form IX: Nomination Form
  6. List of Food Products
B. Documents of Directors & Nominee
  1. Government Issued Photo Identity Card
  2. Address Proof
  3. Email ID & Mobile Mo (For OTP)
  4. Educational Qualification
C. Proof of Address of Food Business.
  1. Sale Deed/ Rent agreement, and
  2. Electricity Bill Not Older than two months
Note: A nominee is a person responsible for the compliances of Food laws, their rules, and regulations, for the Food Business.
Manufacturing or Producing FBO
All other documents that is prescribed for non manufacturing or non producing uits and the following additional documents
  1. The processing unit's blueprint/layout plan shows the metres/square metres and operation-wise area allocation dimensions.
  2. Photograph of Manufacturing/Production unit.
  3. List of Machinery and Equipment and along with the number, installed capacity and horsepower used.
  4. Water test Analysis report (Chemical & Bacteriological) from a recognized/ public health laboratory to confirm the portability indicating the name of an authorized representative of Lab who collected the sample and date of collecting the sample(Not applicable if water is not being used as an ingredient)
  5. Recall Plan

Additional Documents Based on Activities are as under

Hotel icon
Hotels/Restaurants, Providers of Other Prepared Food.: 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)
Import icon
Additional Documents for Importer of Food Items
  1. Import Export Code (IEC). IEC certificate is a document issued by the Director-General Of Foreign Trade(DGFT).
  2. Recall Pan
merchant exporter
Additional Documents for Merchant Exporter
  1. Import Export Code certificate.
  2. 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.
e-shopping
Recall Plan
list of vehicle registration numbers
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 Specialised Medical Purposes, Functional Foods, and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016
General manufacturing icon
List of Vehicle Registration Numbers
NOC from manufacturers icon
NOC from Manufacturers
source or procurement plan for milk icon
Source or procurement plan for milk
substances added to food
Additional Documents for Meat Processing
  1. Source of Raw Material
  2. NoC from Municipal Corporation /local body
Municipal corporation icon
NOC from Municipal Corporation/local body
Nutraceuticals Icon
Nutraceuticals: Product Specification of each product mentioning the ingredients as per applicable Schedule of health supplement products and Nutraceutical in the prescribed format
Composition Icon
Composition of each product as per the prescribed format
Approved icon
Product Approval from FSSAI Hq for each product
packaged drinking water
Packaged Drinking Water: 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.

Timeline for Grant of FSSAI Central License

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 :
Time line icon
“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.”

Validity of FSSAI Central License

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.

Renewal of FSSAI License

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.

Overall Cost for FSSAI Central License

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.

Penalty for Non-Compliance

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.

FSSAI Annual Return

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.

Exemption From Annual Return under FSSAI

Frequently Asked Questions About FSSAI Central License

No, NOC is not required from Food Safety and Standards Authority of India for exporting food products from India however FSSAI License is required to be taken by the exporter.
FSSAI State Licence is required for Pulses/Grains etc. milling units irrespective of their production capacity.
No physical document submission is required after filing an online application for licence/registration with the licencing or registering authority of FSSAI.
No , an importer will get only one licence for a particular IEC code. If An importer wants to submit another application with the same IEC, he needs to delete the application, whether complete or incomplete appearing on the online portal of FoSCoS or surrender the license where this particular IEC used.
If a Food Business Operator (FBO) operates food units in more than one state it need s to apply for a central licence for its head office /registered office even if it does not carry food business activity at head office. If FBO carries any food business activity at head office then these activities must be endorsed in the Central licence granted for head office. Further, the FBO needs to procure Separate license or registration for each unit/premise depending upon the capacity or turnover of units, from the concerned Central or State licensing authorities.
FSSAI Central license is required for both import and export of food products. 100% export oriented units need to apply for FSSAI Central License for each unit.
An importer of Food products need to obtain FSSAI Central licence on the address as mentioned in IEC Certificate granted from DGFT to import food items for sale in India inclusive of food additives
Registration could be for 5 years at one time.
FSSAI License and Registration granted to FBOs contains an embedded QR code.QR code help in identifying an FBO in case of non compliance by the FBO as , QR code shows the details of FSSAI License or Registration as available in FSSAI database on its scanning.
Food Business Activities at Airport/Seaport required to obtain Central License
Nominee is a person required under the Act to be nominated by a FBO for a particular food unit to ensure the compliance of that particular unit under FSS Act and Rules and Regulations made thereunder. Every Licensed FBO shall fill a nomination Form ( Form IX) containing the details of the nominee and the food unit and submit the same to the Licensing authority at the time of filing application for licence or its renewal. Every FBO, other than proprietor needs to nominate a person and convey to Licensing Authorities in Form

Yes the FBO could Manufacturers of food products meant for export which is in adherence to the standards of importing country provide its gives a declaration to concerned Licensing Authorities not to exhibit or expose such products in Indian market until or unless prior product approval is taken for such products from FSSAI product approval section
Such FBO needs to apply for a central licence but before filing an application for central licence due to its increased production capacity it has to apply for the surrender of State licence grant for the manufacturing unit, as the change in production capacity leads to change in criteria of License i.e. from State to Central.
Yes, these FBOs business will be classified in the category of Relabeller and they require FSSAI licence . The eligibility criteria of the FBOs who get their products manufactured through third party manufacturers will be determined on the basis of the cumulative production capacity or number of States/UTs where third party manufacturers are located.
FBOs providing e-Commerce/online platform for transaction or sale or activity as defined under section 3(n) of FSS Act, 2006 falls under the category e- Commerce. They need to apply for FSSAI central Licence on Head Office/Registered Office address.

A platform that only lists FBOs but does not engage in below activities are not required to obtain FSSAI license

  1. Any activity related to any stage of manufacture, processing, packaging, storage, transportation, distribution of food,import and
  2. Food services, catering services, sale of food or food ingredients.

However these online platforms must list only those FBOs who possess valid FSSAI License or Registration

FBOs selling their products through their own e-Commerce platform are required to obtain FSSAI Central License under the e-Commerce category
No, Direct Sellers are not exempted from obtaining FSSAI License or Registration. The exemption from FSSAI registration can be given to them only in the cases where the entities for which they are selling give a written undertaking to take responsibilities of their Direct Sellers but Direct Sellers falling under the category of FSSAI License need to obtain a License under all circumstances.
No ,Star-rating certificate is not a prerequisite document for Hotels to obtain FSSAI License( FSSAI Order 12(1)2019/Hotel and Restaurant Association/RCD/FSSAI dated 7th Feb 2019). Hotels without Star-rating certificate from the Ministry of Tourism (HRACC) are required to obtain FSSAI State Licence as they are categorised along with one and two star Hotels. These hotels need to upload a declaration that they have not opted for star rating whereas the hotels having Star-rating certificate from the Ministry of Tourism (HRACC)needs to upload the same. Further, all the hotels rated Five Star and above by the Ministry of Tourism need to obtain Central License.
An FBO needs to obtain NOC from Central Ground Water Authority, prior to applying for FSSAI License if it is extracting groundwater( located in over-exploited areas) to carry out its food business. ( Order no. 5(9)2017/CLA/DO Mumbai/RCD/FSSAI dated 02.01.2018.).