FSSAI licence for export: merchant exporters and EOUs.
Yes, FSSAI is mandatory for export. FoSCoS carries three export kinds of business — 100% Export Oriented Unit, Exporter-Manufacturer and Trader/Merchant-Exporter — and all three are Central Licence at ₹7,500 a year with no turnover threshold.
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Send on WhatsApp tooWhich FSSAI licence a food exporter needs.
| Annual turnover | You need | Government fee (to FSSAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Any turnover | Central Licence | ₹7,500 a year |
Per FSSAI’s kind-of-business table updated 01.04.2026. The government fee goes from you to FSSAI on FoSCoS (FSSAI’s licensing website) — it never passes through us. Our professional fee depends on the file and is quoted in writing after the free check. Operating in two or more States/UTs adds a head-office Central Licence (₹7,500 a year).
What to choose on FoSCoS
- 100% Export Oriented Unit — as listed on FoSCoS: manufacturing or processing food meant for export only (holds a 100% EOU certificate)
- Exporter — Manufacturer: makes food that complies with the importing country's law rather than FSSAI standards
- Trader / Merchant — Exporter: buys finished food and exports it
- A non-export manufacturing kind of business (the category you register under) as well, if any of your product is sold in India
What a food exporter has to get right.
Each point comes with the regulation, order or FSSAI document behind it. Where FSSAI has not spelt something out, we say so and give you our advice.
Three export rows, all Central
100% EOU, Exporter-Manufacturer and Trader/Merchant-Exporter each read 'no restriction on turnover (total yearly sales) threshold': Central Licence, ₹7,500 a year. Your first container needs the same licence as a large exporter's.
KOB table 01.04.2026Which product standards apply
An EOU or exporter-manufacturer may make food that does not meet FSSAI product standards but does meet the importing country's law. A merchant exporter buys finished Indian food, and FSSAI standards apply to it in full.
KOB table 01.04.2026 (row criteria)Selling in India too? Add a domestic kind of business
FoSCoS guidance tells exporters that also make product for the domestic market to select the appropriate non-exporting manufacturing kind of business as well. The export carve-out holds only while nothing reaches the Indian market. That is checked later, against your records, not when the licence is granted.
FoSCoS kind-of-business guidance (project: trade-file.md)What the carve-out does not remove
The carve-out lifts product standards, not the Act. You still hold the licence and follow the Schedule 4 (FSSAI’s hygiene rules) hygiene rules. You also keep a recall plan if you manufacture, and you remain answerable under the FSS Act's penalty chapter. Manufacturers file the annual Form D-1 (the yearly return) by 31 May.
Schedule 4; Recall Regulations 2017, reg. 7(1); reg. 2.1.13Importing inputs to make for export
A manufacturer importing ingredients or additives for captive use, or to make value-added products for 100% export, can skip FSSAI import clearance by filing a Form-8 declaration with the bill of entry. Export-rejected goods re-imported for re-export are also outside referral. Trading entities are excluded by name, so a merchant exporter cannot use this route.
Import Regulations 2017, reg. 7(3)(a)–(b), Explanation 2Your IEC comes first
Export runs on an Importer-Exporter Code from DGFT, and the IEC must be updated every year between 1 April and 30 June or it can be deactivated.
DGFT — IEC annual updation (Para 2.05 FTP)Two or more states
If you run food business premises in two or more States/UTs, for example a factory in one state and a packing unit in another, you also declare a head office, which takes its own Central Licence at ₹7,500 a year.
KOB table 01.04.2026, Head Office rowWhat you’ll be asked for.
On top of the owner’s photo ID and address proof. FoSCoS asks per kind of business, so we send you the exact list for yours before you gather anything.
Full documents checklist- Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT
- 100% EOU certificate from the Ministry of Commerce, for the EOU kind of business
- Form B for a Central Licence, with the export kind(s) of business ticked
- Proof of possession of the premises and constitution of the business
- For manufacturers: layout plan and list of equipment, plus a water test report where water goes into the product
- List of food categories you will export and, for exporter-manufacturers, a note of the destination standard you make to
The authorities around this business.
FSSAI isn’t the only door you’ll knock on. These are the bodies that usually matter for this kind of business — each links to what it does and when you’ll meet it.
See the full regulatory map
Common mistakes with food exporter licences.
Turnover bands do not apply to export rows. A ₹100 Registration held by an exporter is the wrong licence, and trading on the wrong licence counts as trading without one (FSS Act s.63).
A domestic manufacturing kind of business binds you to FSSAI product standards. If your export product is made to a buyer's specification that departs from them, you need the export kind of business on the licence.
Export stock that is sold in India loses the carve-out, and the product then has to meet FSSAI standards. Keep the records that show where every batch went.
The regulation 7(3)(b) route is for manufacturers and processors only. A trader importing goods to re-export goes through ordinary FSSAI clearance.
Your food exporter licence in three steps.
Most of the work is ours. Where something needs you, it says so — and nothing is filed without your approval.
- 1
Book a free 10-minute check
Tell us what you do. We confirm the exact kind of business, the licence and the full cost in writing — including the exceptions most people miss.
Free · no obligation - 2
We file it on your login
You get a checklist for your business, we check every document, and we file on your own FoSCoS account. The government fee goes from you to FSSAI.
Fixed fee, in writing - 3
We keep you licensed
Fees, returns, tests, medicals, labels and inspections — dated, tracked and handled, with a short status note each month.
Ready any day
Our promises, in writing
You get the fee before we start. If the scope changes, you hear it from us before it costs you.
We file on your own FoSCoS account with your approval. Nothing to hand back if you ever leave.
Straight to FSSAI on FoSCoS. It never passes through us.
Each rule comes with its source, and we say clearly when something is our advice.
FSSAI licence for food exporter: questions
Is FSSAI license mandatory for export?
Yes. FSSAI's kind-of-business table, updated 01.04.2026, lists three export kinds of business: 100% Export Oriented Unit, Exporter-Manufacturer and Trader/Merchant-Exporter. All three need a Central Licence with no turnover threshold. Other bodies such as DGFT, APEDA, the Export Inspection Council and the destination country's regulator have their own requirements. We don't state those here.
What is the FSSAI central license fee for export?
₹7,500 a year, paid by you directly to FSSAI on FoSCoS. The fee is the same for all three export kinds of business. Licences have no end date since March 2026, but the annual fee is still paid every year, and an unpaid fee leaves the licence deemed suspended (it stops being valid automatically). Our professional fee is separate, plus GST, and we put it in writing after a free 10-minute check — fixed from that point, before anything begins.
Do merchant exporters need an FSSAI license?
Yes. Trader/Merchant-Exporter is its own row on FoSCoS: Central Licence, ₹7,500 a year, no turnover threshold. Unlike an EOU or exporter-manufacturer, a merchant exporter buys finished food, so FSSAI standards apply to it in full. It also cannot use the Form-8 captive-use route when it imports goods to re-export.
How to get a food export license in India?
Start with an Importer-Exporter Code from DGFT. Then apply on FoSCoS for an FSSAI Central Licence under the export kind of business that describes you: EOU, exporter-manufacturer or merchant exporter. Add a domestic kind of business if anything is sold in India. Registrations with bodies such as APEDA depend on your product and are outside FSSAI.
Does a 100% EOU need to follow FSSAI standards?
Not for the product itself. The EOU row covers food made for export only that need not meet FSSAI standards, provided the unit holds a 100% EOU certificate. The licence, Schedule 4 hygiene and the recall plan still apply, and nothing can be diverted to the Indian market without meeting Indian standards.
Is FSSAI registration enough for export?
No. Registration (₹100 a year) is the tier for businesses up to ₹1.5 crore, but export rows ignore turnover. Every exporter needs a Central Licence, even at ₹10 lakh a year. If you already hold a Registration for a domestic activity, the export activity has to be added through a Central Licence application.
Get your food exporter licensed — and keep it that way.
Book a free 10-minute check. A person — not a bot — calls you back within working hours, tells you exactly which licence you need and what it costs, before you commit to anything.
- Government fee paid by you, directly to FSSAI
- Filed under your own FoSCoS login
- Fixed fee, confirmed in writing before we start
Not ready to talk? Get the free 2026 checklist or find your licence yourself.