Introduction:
FSSAI regulates food businesses under the rules and laws listed in FSSAI Act 2006. If you own a food business or are functioning within the food business you are required to obtain FSSAI license. Most of the individuals don’t know that FSSAI License renewal is equivalently important as that of obtaining the FSSAI License for the first time. An FSSAI License is required to renew within the validity period as prescribed. Any individual who want to start a business within the food sector, be it food processing or food manufacturing, packaging or distributing, has to file for FSSAI along with its renewal in each 1-5 years.
Who requires Renewal of Food License?
Almost all the persons require FSSAI Renewal License who works as food business operator. For example: –
- Hotels
- Procurement
- Manufacture
- Distribution
- Processing
- Packaging
- Storage
- Wholesaler
- Restaurants
- Food Chains
- Food sellers and resellers
- Dairy and farm process
- Food importers and exporters
- Processors like pickle and dry fruit maker
- Raw material suppliers to food businesses
What are the types of Renewal of Food License?
As per the FSSAI Act, 2006, there are three types of renewal license. These are mentioned below:
- Basic FSSAI License Renewal: Basic FSSAI License Renewal is appropriate for those FBO’s whose turnover is less than ₹12 Lakh.
- State FSSAI License Renewal: State FSSAI license renewal is appropriate for those FBO’s whose Turnover is within ₹12 Lakh- ₹20 Crore.
- Central FSSAI License Renewal: Central FSSAI License Renewal is appropriate for those FBO’s whose Turnover is more than ₹20 Crore.
Importance of Renewal of Food license
- FSSAI license is obligatory for every food business operator (FBOs) in India i.e. it has to be obtained by manufacturers, transporters, distributors, retailers, petty hawkers etc. dealing in food business.
- All persons who are qualified as per the FSSA Act, 2006 are required to get the Food License from FSSAI authority before starting their food business. Not only this, it is also important to renew the FSSAI license from time to time to run food business legally.
- As per the FSSAI rules all the food business operators require to make an appeal for renewal of their license 30 days before the expiry of the prevailing food license.
What is the validity and renewal period for FSSAI License?
- Generally, food license is issued with a validity period of 1year to 5 years.
- As per the FSSAI rules all the food business operators require to make an appeal for renewal of their license 30 days before the expiry of the prevailing food license. However, License(s)/Registration Certificate eligible for Renewal shall only be listed 120 Days prior to expiry of License.
- If application for renewal is made after the expiry of license then a late fee of ₹ 100 per day is charged for each day of delay.
What is the online Procedure for FSSAI License Renewal?
The FSSAI License Renewal can be carried out through the homepage method of the FoSCoS website also:
- Visit the official website of FoSCoS: First and Foremost, the applicant who is an existing user should go online to the FoSCoS website https://FoSCoS.fssai.gov.in/. This method of renewal is through the FoSCoS Home Page. After going to the homepage of FSSAI renewal, the applicant has to click on Renewal of License and Registration in the bottom right corner of the homepage.
- List of licenses: A list of issued license/registration for Renewal will appear. Click on “Proceed against application which user wants to renew.
- Enter Information: In the next step, the applicant has to enter information which will include the license/registration number, the date of validity and the captcha code and click on submitting the information.
- Click on Proceed: After providing all the information the applicant has to click on proceed.
- Form B: The applicant would be redirected to the next page which is Form B. Here the user would have to upload information such as the documents, select the years for renewal of the license and choose the payment method. Once this is complete, the application would be ready to be processed for FSSAI License Renewal.
- Unique Reference Number: After completing the above steps, a receipt would be generated for the applicant along with a unique reference number. This unique reference number is a 17 digit number which can be utilized by the applicant in future.
- Track Status: The status of the application can be checked and tracked on the home page through the following link https://FoSCoS.fssai.gov.in/. Here the applicant would have to enter the application reference number along with the Captcha Code.
Offline Procedure for FSSAI License Renewal
FSSAI Renewal process can be done offline also. In the case of offline application also, there are a few steps that need to be followed-
- Step1:The first step of food license renewal is to fill the Form A (Basic FSSAI Registration) or Form B (Central or State FSSAI registration) following the previous license along with the self-attested documents as mentioned under the guidelines of Food Safety and Standards Act, Regulations/Laws.
- Step 2:After making FSSAI License renewal application, the authority will inspect it.
- Step 3:The authority will send its responsible officers to lead the examination of the Food Business Operators.
- Step 4:Then FSSAI officer will conduct an inspection of the Place of Food Business and completely inspects the standards and other guidelines about your food business and form its report.
- Step 5:FSSAI/Food license is expected to be circulated within 60 days by the proper authority. If you don’t receive any reply even after 30 days from the authority, then you can keep working your food business without waiting for any reply.
What are the documents needed for Food License Renewal?
The following documents have to be provided as per the requirements of the FOSCOS FSSAI License Renewal:
- If there is any change of documents during the grant of such license, then such change of documents must be provided
- Plan of Food Safety Management System being adopted (For Central Registration it has to be a certificate from accredited agencies)
- Medical Fitness Certificates and List of Workers
- In case there is a change of workers, then the same must be provided
- Apart from this if there is any change of documents from the previous registration, then the same must be provided.
What are the consequences for renewal of food license after expiration?
- As per the FSSAI guidelines, if application for food license renewal is made after expiry then a late fee of ₹ 100 for per day of delay would be charged.
- So, it is advisable to all the food business operators to renew their license before its expiry. In other words, all the FBO’s should make an appeal 30 days before the expiration of food license.
Conclusion
FSSAI License Renewal procedure online is quite hassle free. You can renew your license more easily with the assistance of a professional. When you possess the license consumers are convinced about their safety as well. Therefore, if you haven’t yet renewed your license, consider renewing your FSSAI license today.
