FSSAI Basic, State or Central? Picking the Right Food Licence

Every food business in India needs an FSSAI registration or licence — from a two-person tiffin service to a packaged-foods manufacturer. The question is which of the three tiers applies to you.

The three tiers

Basic Registration — annual turnover up to ₹12 lakh. Petty manufacturers, small retailers, hawkers, itinerant vendors and small-scale food businesses. Filed as Form A with the state authority.

State Licence — annual turnover between ₹12 lakh and ₹20 crore, operating within a single state. Most restaurants, cafés, cloud kitchens, mid-sized manufacturers and storage units sit here. Filed as Form B.

Central Licence — annual turnover above ₹20 crore, or any business that is an importer, exporter, e-commerce food operator, operates in more than one state, or supplies to central government agencies, airports, seaports or railways. Also Form B, but with the central authority.

The traps

Multi-state operations. A cloud kitchen brand with outlets in two states needs a Central licence for its head office, plus a State licence for each individual outlet. It is not either/or.

E-commerce. Selling packaged food through your own website or a marketplace pushes you to Central regardless of turnover. This surprises a lot of small D2C brands.

Capacity limits, not just turnover. For manufacturers, the thresholds are also expressed in production capacity — for example, dairy units handling more than 50,000 litres of liquid milk per day require a Central licence irrespective of turnover.

What happens if you get it wrong

Operating without a valid licence, or on the wrong one, carries a penalty of up to ₹5 lakh under the Food Safety and Standards Act. In practice the more common consequences are quieter and just as damaging: aggregators delist you, corporate caterers cancel contracts, and a renewal application gets rejected because your historical filings don't match your actual scale.

Timelines and documents

Basic registration typically issues in about 7 working days. State and Central licences take 30–60 days, because they involve an inspection and a more detailed review.

You'll need:

• Identity and address proof of the proprietor, partners or directors
• Proof of premises — rent agreement or ownership document
• A layout plan of the processing unit, for manufacturers
• List of food products handled or manufactured
• Water test report from a recognised lab, for manufacturing units
• Food safety management plan, for State and Central applications

The layout plan and water test report are what slow most applications down. Start them early.

Renewals

Licences are issued for one to five years, at your choice — and the longer term is almost always worth it. Renewal must be applied for at least 30 days before expiry. Applying late attracts ₹100 per day, and letting it lapse entirely means starting over as a fresh application.

Annual returns (Form D1) are due by 31 May each year for manufacturers and importers.

---

Tell us your turnover, where you operate and what you make, and we'll tell you which category you fall into — message us here.