FSSAI licence for food businesses in India

Every business that manufactures, packs, sells, imports or exports food needs an FSSAI licence or registration. We prepare and file yours. You sign where the law asks.

FSSAI licence
Licence activeKept live by our team

Talk to us

Which FSSAI licence do you need?

It depends on what your business does with food.

What does your business do?

You need a licence for each plant

Each plant needs its own licence or registration. Its turnover sets the level. Health supplements and a head office with plants in more than one state always need a central licence.

Your brand needs its own licence

Your manufacturer's licence covers its own plant. Your brand still needs a licence of its own. FSSAI lists a brand like yours as a relabeller. Your licence names each manufacturer. Your number and theirs both go on the pack.

You need a licence or registration

Each place you trade from needs one. Its turnover sets the level: a registration, a state licence or a central licence.

You need a central licence

Importers need a central licence whatever their turnover. It sits on the address in your IEC, so your IEC comes first. Merchant exporters need a central licence too. A manufacturer who exports holds a licence for its plant.

IEC registration

You need a licence for what you do

Marketplaces list only licensed sellers. Your licence follows what you do: manufacture, brand or trade. Some marketplaces also ask for a licence on each warehouse that holds your stock. Selling on your own website needs a central licence.

You still need your own licence

Our licence covers our own work in our warehouse. It does not cover your business. You need your own licence for that. If you bill from our warehouse you also need a licence or registration on our address in your name. We prepare and file it.

Ask our team

What you need before you apply

Every food business needs these first. Importers and exporters also need an IEC.

  1. PAN
  2. Proof of your premisesPremises
  3. A person in charge of food safetyPerson
  4. A food safety planSafety plan
  5. FSSAI licenceFSSAI

The papers FSSAI asks for

Business papers

Your PAN and the papers that set up your business.

The people in charge

Your directors, partners or owner with their addresses and ID.

Proof of the premises

Your lease or title deed. Add the owner's consent if you rent.

A person for food safety

One person named to answer for food safety.

Your food categories

Each kind of food you handle, picked from FSSAI's list.

A food safety plan

How you keep food safe from the day it arrives to the day it leaves.

For a plant

Its layout plan, its list of equipment and a test of its water.

For importers and exporters

Your IEC. The licence sits on its address.

How we get your FSSAI licence

We prepare the file and deal with FSSAI. You sign where the law asks you to.

  1. We work out your kind of business and its level for each site. A wrong pick is a common reason an application is turned down.

  2. We fill in the form on FoSCoS (FSSAI's portal). Then we gather every paper on the list.

  3. Your signatory signs each paper. Then we submit the application.

  4. The officer may ask for another paper or inspect your premises. We answer each query in time.

  5. Your licence goes live on FoSCoS. Its number goes on your labels and invoices.

  6. Your food can now move into our licensed warehouse. We store it and send it out across India.

How we keep your FSSAI licence live

Your licence no longer expires. But a missed yearly fee or return suspends it.

  • Yearly fee

    Every year

    We remind you before it falls due. An unpaid fee suspends your licence.

  • Yearly return

    Every year

    Licence holders who manufacture, relabel, repack or import file one. We prepare it from your records and you check it.

  • Changes to the licence

    When things change

    We file the change when you add a food, a site or a director.

  • Licence number in use

    All the time

    Your number belongs on your labels and invoices. We check the labels on the stock we hold.

  • Records ready

    When an inspector visits

    We keep the hygiene and pest control records an inspector asks to see at our warehouse.

  • FSSAI clearance

    Each import

    For importers we book the inspection at the port. Then we stay for the label check and the sampling.

Where FSSAI trouble starts

Most of it comes from a wrong pick on the form or a site the licence does not cover.

  • What goes wrong: The licence names the wrong kind of business. A brand files as a trader.

    What we do: We match your kind of business to what you really do before we file.

  • What goes wrong: Food is sold from a site the licence does not cover.

    What we do: We check each site you trade from and add it before you start.

  • What goes wrong: A new food arrives that the licence does not cover.

    What we do: We add each new food category before it moves.

  • What goes wrong: Nobody pays the yearly fee or files the return. The licence is suspended.

    What we do: We remind you of the fee and file the return in good time.

  • What goes wrong: An importer holds only a state licence. The food cannot clear the port.

    What we do: We move importers to a central licence before the first shipment.

  • What goes wrong: Labels leave out the licence number.

    What we do: We check the labels on the stock we receive and tell you what is missing.

How our food warehouses work with your licence

Your licence covers your business. Our own licences cover the work in our warehouses.

  • A licence at each food warehouse

    Each of our food warehouses holds its own FSSAI licence. We file its yearly return on time and keep its hygiene records. Pest control runs on a schedule.

  • Relabelling and repacking

    Our licences cover relabelling and repacking. When a pack needs a new label or a new box we do it in our warehouse.

  • Port to warehouse

    For importers our customs team clears your food with FSSAI at the port. Then we truck it straight into our warehouse.

Brands That Trust Us

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have a question?

Send your queryA short form Call us+91 98731 44145 Email us[email protected]
Who needs an FSSAI licence?
Every food business does. That covers anyone who manufactures, packs, stores, transports, distributes, sells, imports or exports food. Small businesses take a basic registration. Larger ones need a state or central licence.
What is the difference between FSSAI registration and licence?
The turnover of each site sets the level. Small sites register. Mid-sized sites need a state licence and large ones a central licence. Some businesses always need a central licence: importers, exporters, online sellers on their own website and a head office with sites in more than one state.
Do I need an FSSAI licence with a contract manufacturer?
Yes. The manufacturer holds a licence for its own plant. The brand needs its own licence as well. FSSAI lists it as a relabeller and the licence names each manufacturer. Both licence numbers go on the pack: the brand's and the manufacturer's.
Do I need an FSSAI licence for a third-party warehouse?
Yes. Our warehouse holds its own FSSAI licence for storing your food. That licence is ours, so it does not cover your business. You need your own licence for what you do with food. If you sell or bill from our address you need a licence or registration there too. Some marketplaces check this. We prepare and file it. We also give you the papers to add our address to your GST registration.
Do I need a separate FSSAI licence for each premises?
Yes. Each site that handles food needs its own licence or registration. Your licence covers your sites. Ours covers our warehouses. A business with sites in more than one state also needs a central licence for its head office.
Is FSSAI licence mandatory for import?
Yes. Every food importer needs a central licence whatever its turnover. It sits on the address in your IEC. FSSAI will not clear your food at the port without it.
Is FSSAI licence mandatory for export?
Yes. Merchant exporters need a central licence whatever their turnover. A manufacturer who exports holds a licence for its plant. It needs a central licence if it manufactures to the buyer country's own rules.
Do I need an FSSAI licence to sell food online?
Yes. Marketplaces and quick commerce platforms list only licensed sellers. Your licence follows what you do: manufacture, brand or trade. If you sell on your own website you need a central licence.
What documents are required for an FSSAI licence?
You need your PAN, proof of your premises and the ID of the people in charge. You also need a food safety plan and the list of foods you handle. A plant adds its layout, its equipment list and a water test. Importers and exporters add their IEC.
Do I need to renew my FSSAI licence?
No. Licences no longer expire. But a missed yearly fee or a late return suspends your licence. You must stop trading in food until you put it right.
Who files the FSSAI annual return?
Licensed manufacturers do. So do licensed relabellers, repackers and importers. Registration holders file none. It covers the year just gone and falls due soon after the financial year ends. A late return suspends the licence.
How does FSSAI import clearance work?
Our customs team files your bill of entry. Customs passes it to FSSAI. We book the inspection and stay while an officer checks the label and the pack. The officer then sends samples to a lab. FSSAI clears the food once they pass.