FSSAI licence for import: licence, IEC and clearance.
Every food importer needs an FSSAI Central Licence under the Importer kind of business, whatever the turnover, and an Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) from DGFT. The licence lets you import; each consignment still has to clear FSSAI at the port through the Food Import Clearance System (FICS).
Free 10-minute check · A regulatory advisor calls back within 2 working hours, Mon–Sat 10 am–7 pm · Government fee paid by you directly to FSSAI
Start with a free 10-minute call
No forms to understand. Just tell us what you sell and where. A person from our regulatory team calls you back.
- Free 10-minute check
- Filed within 3 working days of getting your documents
- Licence in your own name
- Government fee paid by you directly to FSSAI
Thank you. We have your details.
We will call you within 2 working hours (Mon–Sat, 10 am–7 pm).
Send on WhatsApp tooWhich FSSAI licence a food importer 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
- Importer — as listed on FoSCoS: bringing articles of food from a foreign source into the domestic market (Central Licence, no turnover (total yearly sales) threshold)
- Add a storage, wholesale or distribution kind of business (the category you register under) on the same application if you also warehouse or sell on the imported stock
- Head Office / Registered Office (Central) as well, if you run food business premises in two or more States/UTs
What a food importer 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.
Central at any turnover, tied to your IEC
The Importer row carries no turnover threshold: Central Licence, ₹7,500 a year. If DGFT suspends, revokes or cancels your IEC, the import licence is deemed cancelled by the regulation itself. You must tell the licensing authority within three working days of the DGFT order, and once the IEC is restored the licence can be reissued with the same number within seven days of applying.
KOB table 01.04.2026; Import Regulations 2017, reg. 4(3)–4(5)Residual shelf life on arrival
Customs will not clear food unless it has at least 60% of its shelf life left, or three months, whichever is less, at the time of import. On a two-year product three months governs; on a sixty-day product 60% (36 days) governs. Shelf life is counted from the dates printed on the label.
Import Regulations 2017, reg. 5(6) and 2(w)Only five label gaps can be stickered
At the customs-bonded warehouse, a single non-detachable sticker may add only: importer name and address, FSSAI logo and licence number, the veg/non-veg logo, the category or generic name for proprietary food, and anything else FSSAI allows. A pack that otherwise fails labelling or packaging rules is rejected at visual inspection, and no sample is drawn.
Import Regulations 2017, reg. 6(4) and 6(10)High-risk foods only through designated ports
Milk and milk products, egg powder, meat and poultry, fish, infant nutrition foods, nutraceuticals, health supplements, foods for special dietary use, probiotic and prebiotic foods, and foods for special medical purposes may enter only through a designated point of entry. FSSAI says its port list is dynamic, so check it for every shipment.
Food Imports Manual, Annexure 2How clearance actually runs
The bill of entry is filed with Customs on ICEGATE (SWIFT). Where FSSAI clearance is needed it is referred to FICS, where the importer or customs broker must be registered. After a visual inspection, two samples go to an FSSAI-notified lab, and a No Objection Certificate issues if the sample conforms. After the NOC you have 30 days to take the goods out of the customs area.
FSSAI Food Import Clearance FAQs; Import Regulations 2017, reg. 14(2)Rejected? Fifteen working days
You have 15 working days from receiving a rejection report to apply for a review, with a further seven days only on sufficient cause. Miss both windows and the consignment cannot be saved through review.
Import Regulations 2017, reg. 15(2)(b)–(c)Foreign factory registration for notified categories
For the categories FSSAI has notified, the overseas manufacturing facility must be registered with FSSAI before its product can be imported. The order came into effect on 01.02.2023, and the list of categories can change.
FSSAI order TIC-B02/2/2022-IMPORTS-FSSAI, 10.10.2022After clearance: return, tests and recall plan
Licensed importers file an annual return (Form D-1 (the yearly return)) by 31 May for every licence, and a delay costs ₹100 a day. An unfiled return leaves the licence deemed suspended (it stops being valid automatically). Six-monthly product testing at a notified or NABL lab is a condition of licence. As an importer you must also keep a written recall plan.
Reg. 2.1.13; Schedule 2, Annexure 3, condition 12; Recall Regulations 2017, reg. 7(1)What 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, active and updated for the year (annual update window 1 April – 30 June)
- Form B for a Central Licence, choosing the Importer kind of business on FoSCoS
- Proof of possession of the premises the licence is for, such as your office or warehouse
- Constitution of the business (partnership deed, MoA/AoA or incorporation certificate) and a nomination of the responsible person for companies
- List of food categories you will import
- For each consignment: invoice, packing list and country-of-origin certificate, plus the other documents FICS asks for
- Foreign facility registration details, where your product category is notified
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
Food Safety and Standards Authority of IndiaFoSCoSCommissioner of Food SafetyDesignated Officer and Food Safety Officers
FSSAI-notified, NABL-accredited food laboratoriesFoSTaC training partnersLegal Metrology DepartmentCPCBAdjudicating Officer and Food Safety Appellate TribunalFSSAI import clearanceCustomsDGFTCommon mistakes with food importer licences.
A small importer who picks a ₹100 Registration because turnover is under ₹1.5 crore holds the wrong instrument from the wrong authority. Importing is Central at any turnover.
Miss DGFT's yearly IEC update and the IEC can be deactivated. If it is suspended or cancelled, your FSSAI import licence falls with it, even though nobody at FSSAI writes to tell you.
The rule is whichever is less. Buyers often refuse long-life stock they could legally clear, and plan short-life stock as if three months applied when 60% governs.
Only five items can be corrected at the port. A missing allergen line, a wrong ingredient name or a missing date means rejection at visual inspection, with no lab report to contest.
Your food importer 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 importer: questions
Which FSSAI license is required for import?
An FSSAI Central Licence under the Importer kind of business. The kind-of-business table updated on 01.04.2026 puts importers at Central with no turnover threshold, so even a first shipment worth a few lakh needs it. You also need an Importer-Exporter Code from DGFT, because your FSSAI import licence stands or falls with your IEC (Import Regulations, reg. 4(4)).
What is the FSSAI import license fee?
The government fee for a Central Licence is ₹7,500 a year, paid by you to FSSAI on FoSCoS. Since March 2026 licences no longer expire, but you pay the fee every year or the licence is deemed suspended. Some websites quote a ₹10,000 importer fee; that figure is not in the current table. Each clearance also carries a separate clearance fee set by FSSAI (reg. 5(1)). We don't quote it.
What documents are needed for an FSSAI import license?
For the licence: your IEC, Form B, ID of the proprietor, partners or directors, proof of the premises, the constitution of the business, and the food categories you will import. Companies also nominate a responsible person. For each shipment, FICS asks for the invoice, packing list, country-of-origin certificate and other documents that depend on the consignment.
How does FSSAI import clearance work?
You file the bill of entry with Customs on ICEGATE. Where FSSAI clearance applies, it is referred to FSSAI's Food Import Clearance System (FICS). An authorised officer inspects the consignment visually and draws two samples for an FSSAI-notified lab. If the sample conforms, a No Objection Certificate issues, and you then have 30 days to remove the goods (reg. 14).
What is the FSSAI import clearance login?
Clearance runs on the Food Import Clearance System at fics.fssai.gov.in, where the importer or customs broker registers. Your licence is separate: you apply for it and pay its annual fee on FoSCoS at foscos.fssai.gov.in. Both are official FSSAI portals. FoodRaksha is independent, and we file on your own logins.
Can a manufacturer import ingredients without FSSAI clearance?
Sometimes. Under regulation 7(3)(b), a manufacturer or processor importing food, ingredients or additives for captive use, or to make value-added products for 100% export, can file a Form-8 declaration with the bill of entry instead of going through FSSAI clearance. Trading entities are excluded by name, and the goods must not reach the domestic market.
What shelf life must imported food have?
At least 60% of its total shelf life, or three months, whichever is less, at the time of import (reg. 5(6)). On a two-year product the three-month floor governs. On a sixty-day product, 60% (36 days) governs. Our import shelf-life tool works out the last day your consignment can arrive.
Do FSSAI import regulations 2017 require a health certificate?
FSSAI ordered health certificates for milk, pork, fish and their products on 03.08.2022, then extended the timeline 'till further orders'. We hold no order settling the present position for every product and country. We check it for your product and origin before you ship rather than quote a rule that may have moved.
Get your food importer 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.