FSSAI licence for tea and coffee packing.
Blending, packing or roasting tea or coffee for sale needs an FSSAI Registration at ₹100 a year up to ₹1.5 crore turnover, a State Licence at ₹5,000 up to ₹50 crore and a Central Licence at ₹7,500 above that. What catches tea and coffee brands is the product standard: only Camellia sinensis is tea, and a coffee-chicory blend has to print its percentages.
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Send on WhatsApp tooWhich FSSAI licence a tea or coffee business needs.
| Annual turnover | You need | Government fee (to FSSAI) |
|---|---|---|
| Up to ₹1.5 crore | Registration | ₹100 a year |
| ₹1.5 crore – ₹50 crore | State Licence | ₹5,000 a year |
| Above ₹50 crore | 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
- General Manufacturing (Manufacturer section) — blending and packing tea, roasting and grinding coffee; food category 14.1.5, as listed on FoSCoS
- Repacker — if you pack bulk tea or coffee into retail packs without changing it
- Relabeller — if a third-party unit packs tea or coffee under your brand
- Proprietary Food (Central, no turnover (total yearly sales) threshold) — herbal, flower or other infusions that are not Camellia sinensis, where they are classified as proprietary food
- Tea shops and tea stalls serve tea rather than pack it. They sit under Food Service (the petty retailer of snacks / tea shops row) — see our café page
What a tea or coffee business 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.
Only Camellia sinensis is tea
Standard 2.10.1 defines tea as obtained exclusively from the leaves, buds and tender stems of Camellia sinensis, and green, Kangra and instant tea come from the same plant. FSSAI's order of 24.12.2025 says using the word "tea", directly or indirectly, for other plant-based or herbal infusions is misleading. It tells businesses and e-commerce platforms to stop.
FSSR 2011, 2.10.1; FSSAI order RCD-02004/7/2025-Regulatory-FSSAI, 24.12.2025No added colour
Every tea standard in 2.10.1 requires the tea to be free from added colouring matter. That covers tea, Kangra tea and green tea. Colour added to make a blend look richer takes the product outside the standard.
FSSR 2011, 2.10.1Flavoured tea: natural flavours only, and register first
Packaged tea may carry "natural flavours" and "natural flavouring substances", obtained only by physical processes from plant material. The label must declare the added flavour. The standard also says "the flavoured tea manufacturers shall register themselves with the Tea Board before marketing flavoured tea".
FSSR 2011, 2.10.1(1)Kangra tea is a place, not a style
Kangra tea must come exclusively from Camellia sinensis grown in the Kangra and Mandi valleys of Himachal Pradesh. Green tea and instant tea have their own standards too. Name the product for what the standard allows it to be.
FSSR 2011, 2.10.1 (items 2–4)Coffee-chicory blends print their percentages
For a coffee-chicory mixture, the percentage of coffee and of chicory has to be marked on the label, and coffee must be at least 51% by mass. Ground coffee must be made from roasted coffee only and be free from husk. Soluble coffee powder has its own standard.
FSSR 2011, 2.10.2 and 2.10.4Renaming a herbal infusion changes its licence too
FSSAI's order tells businesses to classify non-tea infusions as proprietary foods or non-specified food ingredients, as applicable. The 2026 table puts proprietary food on a Central Licence at any turnover. So a small herbal-infusion brand that applied as a tea packer is probably in the wrong tier as well as using the wrong name.
FSSAI order 24.12.2025; KoB table 01.04.2026, Proprietary Food rowRunning obligations once licensed
Licensed manufacturers file Form D-1 (the yearly return) by 31 May every year and test their product at least once every six months at an FSSAI-notified or NABL lab. They keep records for a year or the product's shelf life, whichever is longer.
Reg. 2.1.13; Schedule 2, Annexure 3, condition 12; Schedule 4 (FSSAI’s hygiene rules), Part II 8.2What you’ll be asked for.
On top of the owner’s photo ID and address proof. FoSCoS asks per kind of business (the category you register under), so we send you the exact list for yours before you gather anything.
Full documents checklist- Layout plan of the blending, roasting, grinding and packing areas, with operation-wise area allocation (licence applicants)
- List of equipment — blenders, roasters, grinders, packing machines — with number and installed capacity
- Tea Board registration, before you market flavoured tea (standard 2.10.1)
- Food Safety Management System plan, or a certificate if you have one
- NOC from the manufacturer, if you relabel tea or coffee packed by another unit
- Legal Metrology packer registration within 90 days of pre-packing (rule 27)
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 partnersFSSAI-recognised auditing agenciesLegal Metrology DepartmentCPCBAdjudicating Officer and Food Safety Appellate TribunalMunicipal corporation or local bodyState Pollution Control BoardCommodity boardsCommon mistakes with tea or coffee business licences.
Since the order of 24.12.2025 that name is misleading on the pack, on the website and on the marketplace listing. The product needs a new name, and very likely a Central Licence as a proprietary food.
Only natural flavours are allowed, in packaged tea only, and no added colour at all. Artificial flavour or a colour boost pushes the product outside 2.10.1.
"Filter coffee" blends are often coffee-chicory mixtures. Without the coffee and chicory percentages on the label, and at least 51% coffee inside, the pack doesn't meet the standard.
A tea shop's registration covers serving tea. Packing loose tea for sale is manufacturing, a different kind of business that has to be on the licence first.
Your tea or coffee business 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 tea or coffee business: questions
Which FSSAI license is needed for tea packaging?
Tea blending and packing is General Manufacturing on FoSCoS, food category 14.1.5. Turnover up to ₹1.5 crore needs a Registration; ₹1.5–50 crore a State Licence; above ₹50 crore a Central Licence. If you only pack bulk tea into smaller packs without changing it, choose Repacker. If a factory packs it under your brand, choose Relabeller.
What is the FSSAI license cost for a tea business?
The government fee is ₹100 a year for a Registration, ₹5,000 a year for a State Licence and ₹7,500 a year for a Central Licence. You pay it directly to FSSAI. Our own fee is separate and quoted in writing after a free 10-minute check — it depends on how many premises, how many states and how many SKUs the file covers, and it does not change once agreed. The Tea Board registration for flavoured tea is a separate step with its own process.
Do I need an FSSAI license for herbal tea?
Yes, but not as tea. FSSAI's order of 24.12.2025 says infusions not derived from Camellia sinensis cannot be called tea, directly or indirectly. They are licensed as proprietary foods or non-specified food ingredients, as applicable. The kind-of-business table updated 01.04.2026 puts proprietary food on a Central Licence at any turnover, ₹7,500 a year.
Which FSSAI license is needed for coffee powder?
Roasting, grinding and packing coffee is General Manufacturing, food category 14.1.5, on the turnover bands: Registration to ₹1.5 crore, State to ₹50 crore, Central above. Your powder must meet the coffee standards in 2.10.2. If you add chicory, 2.10.4 requires the coffee and chicory percentages on the label and at least 51% coffee.
Is there a cottage food license for coffee in India?
No. FSSAI has three tiers: Registration, State Licence and Central Licence. A small home-based coffee roaster with turnover up to ₹1.5 crore applies for Registration at ₹100 a year, and gets it instantly on FoSCoS where the application is complete. The product still has to meet the coffee standard and the labelling rules.
Do I need a Tea Board registration as well as FSSAI?
For flavoured tea, the FSSAI standard itself says so: "the flavoured tea manufacturers shall register themselves with the Tea Board before marketing flavoured tea". Tea Board rules for other tea businesses fall under a separate law, and we don't cover them here. Check with the Tea Board before you start packing.
Is a food license needed for a tea shop or coffee cart?
Yes. Serving tea or coffee is food service rather than manufacturing. The 2026 table has a row for petty retailers of snacks and tea shops (Registration, ₹100 a year), and mobile vendors pay nil. Our café and food-truck pages cover those cases in detail.
Get your tea or coffee business 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.