FSSAI State License - An Overview

FSSAI (Food Safety Standard Authority of India) is a prominent government-backed entity that regulates the food sector in India. It has outlined countless guidelines and provisions to foster food safety across the nation. Presently, every food business in India is mandated to secure an applicable food license to conduct its business operation. Functioning without a valid food license is a punishable offence for FBOs as per FSS Act, 2006. FSSAI conducts all its operations in view of the said Act and also follows the direction of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. 

Role of Food Safety Standard Authority of India

• Formulating guidelines and norms for the food sector
• Introducing initiatives related to food safety awareness 
• Releasing directions for food business operators 
• Setting out norms and rules for food testing labs
• Accumulating Data pertaining to contaminants in food articles
• To facilitate recommendation to Indian Government for formulating new provisions
• Utilizing rapid alert system for prompt identification of issues in food articles available to the public

FSSAI has underpinned stringent norms for proprietary food units as the majority of them conduct their operation without any norms. FSSAI has mandated these facilities to secure FSSAI licenses without any exception. As per the FSSAI, unregistered proprietary food units are not allowed to continue their business operation without a valid food license. 

FSSAI has rolled the mandatory provisions for FBO and regulation of manufacturing, storage, sale, & distribution process to ensure utmost food safety and hygiene. The authority has also set up a legitimate information network for the awareness of the masses to secure valid information related to food safety and hygiene.

Benefits of FSSAI State License

• Creates strong brand recognition among the target end-users and public at large
• Improves creditability of the business
• Enables businesses to attract more customers
• Offers legal stability that otherwise is lacking in unregistered counterparts
• Facilitates best practices to the business owner to ensure food safety

Who needs a State FSSAI License? 

• Businesses operating in a single state and generating annual turnover more than Rs 12 lacs and less than Rs 20 Crores. 
• Facility dealing with Proprietary foods.
• Vegetable oil production & processing facility using the process of solvent extraction meeting above turnover criteria. 
• Hotels having 4-star rating or less.
• Facilities dealing with dairy products, Milk Chilling Units having production capacity ranging from 500 to 50000 lit.
• Storages possessing overall capacity less than 50,000 metric tons yearly.
• A slaughterhouse having capacity of more than 2 & up to 50 large animals. Or the handling capacity of more than 10 & up to 150 small animals. Or per day capacity of more than 50 to up to 1000 poultry birds.
• All food processing facilities, including re-packing units, with a per-day capacity of not less than 100kg/l to up to 2 metric tons.

Fundamental documents required for securing State FSSAI License

Following Are The Documents That One To Arrange To Apply For A State FSSAI License: 

Details of key management personal such as Directors, Partners, proprietors, & Executive Members of Society with real address & contact particulars. 

• Passport–sized photos of the individual seeking the license
• Identification as well as address proof of the individual seeking the license
• Applicant’s PAN card
• A copy of property documents (if the business place is owned by the applicant) 
• A copy of the rent agreement & NOC granted by the landlord ( in case of rented property)
• Particulars on Raw material suppliers 
• Form B Duly completed and authenticated by the applicant
• List of machinery installed at the facility
• NOC accorded by the local Municipality
• Particulars of food category and proposed food articles to be produced at the plant
• Import Export Code rendered by Directorate General of Foreign Trade
• Form IX- Form For Nomination Of Persons
• Authorization letter enclosing the name as well as the address of the liable individual
• Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

FSSAI State License (Fee Structure) 

The requisite fees must be paid by an applicant seeking State Food license via: 

• Demand Draft (DD),
• Treasury Challan, or
• Cash.

Process for Getting FSSAI State License from Licensing Authority

The FSSAI License is primarily granted based on the scope of operation and production volume. The typical steps involved in securing a State Food license include; 

Step-1: Arranging the aforesaid document and Filing of application via Form B. 

Step 2: Submission of form to licensing authority via online portal FOSCOS. The filing process ends with the submission of standard fees. 

Step 3: In-depth scrutiny of application and document by FSSAI’s officials.  

Step 4: If needed, an on-site inspection will be conducted by FSSAI’s officials to determine the level of compliance at business premises. 

Step 5: Grant of State FSSAI License by the licensing authority (Note: the application may be revoked by the licensing authority in case of non-compliant. 

Step-6: after securing the license, the business owner can commence their business operation. Note: The license holder needs to display the license at their business premises at the time. 

Penalty for not complying with FSSAI’s norms 

In general, the penalties for FBOs in India are pretty stringent, and they are bound to face severe consequences in case of non-compliance. 

FSSAI officials can conduct a surprise audit of the business premises without informing the owner. If they find some loopholes on account of compliance management, the concerned entity has to face penalties as cited in FSS Act, 2006. The table below manifests the type of penalties imposed in case of non-compliance;

1. Food quality breaches the Compliance given in the FSSAI Act, 2006

₹2 Lakh

Petty manufacturer – ₹25,000/-

2. Sub-standard food

₹5 Lakh

3. Misbranded Food

₹3 Lakh

4. Falsified  advertisement or invalid description

₹10 Lakh

5. Extraneous matter in food

₹1 Lakh

6. Manifesting non-corporation with Food safety officer direction

₹2 Lakh

7. Unhygienic processing or manufacture

₹1 Lakh

Connect with Barrister Babu for professional Support and Licensing services

It is good to get accustomed with the pre-registration legalities before getting involving with the registration process. Filing application with inadequate information on compliances could land you in a stressful situation. This is where you need an expert backup. At Barrister Babu, we make sure that our client gets unprecedented support, right from the point of application filing till the final disbursement of the license.