Updated on January 31, 2025 10:42:48 AM
The term E-Commerce stands for buying and selling products online. India's E-commerce Market is ranked 9th Globally and is expected to grow from 4% of the total food and grocery to 8% by 2025. Considering this surge in the market, FSSAI has directed all the FBOs operating online to have an FSSAI central license for Ecommerce to ensure food safety in India.
In recent years, many Delhi-based cloud kitchens have registered themselves with FSSAI in Delhi. The online Food industry has grown significantly because of consumers' online platforms and convenience.
FSSAI Food License [Sample]
India's Food Safety and Standard authority are solely responsible for food safety and standards, rules and regulations, and guidance of the e-commerce food industry in India. According to FSSAI, those who carry out their businesses through online portals are classified as E-commerce food business operators in India, such as zomato, swiggy, grofers.
FSSAI has defined online business models as follows:
Such as;
It is a business model that manages the inventory themselves, i.e., they buy from manufacturers and sell it directly to customers. This model has an advantage as it gives complete control over product quality and delivery time.
An e-commerce marketplace model commonly used by big food and grocery stores. The platform will only provide essential services like payment, logistics, and customer support, while all other operations related to food products are managed directly by the vendors.
In this business model, you can sell your food products directly through your website without using third-party websites or platforms like Amazon or Flipkart. This business model provides full control over pricing and marketing strategies by which one can also set up their brand name in the market.
E-Commerce refers to the sale of food products online, but it can also be described as any commercial transaction that happens online.
Such as;
All E-commerce food operators must get a central license irrespective of their limits and turnover.
Shall provide mandatory food information mentioned by FSS Act rules and regulations made thereunder be provided to the consumers without charging any supplementary cost.
Any food article delivered to consumers must have a shelf life of upto 30% or 45 days before expiry.
Online FBOs are required to comply with these guidelines.
All online FBOs, including catering businesses, dhabas, hotels, petty food sellers, hawkers, and vendors, must follow these guidelines of FSSAI for E-commerce businesses.
To get an FSSAI food license for E-commerce businesses, you can directly apply on the FosCos web portal. Or you can apply with us for a hassle-free online process.
NOTE: you can use our Application status checker tool to track your application status.
As per regulations of the FSS Act, authorities will either accept or reject your application within 7 working days.
Once the Food safety office does the inspection and document verification, authorities will give clearance for further process.
The license will be issued within 30-60 working days after the satisfactory completion and approval of the food safety officer.
Ecommerce FBOs fall under the FSSAI central authority because, irrespective of their turnovers and capacity, all FBOs must have a central license.
Note : As per the new norm of FSSAI. The applicants are required to pay only Initial fee of ₹1000 + 18% GST on it for their FSSAI licenses. However once the application is processed and passed by the licensing authorities then the rest of the differential amount i,e respective license fee along with differential GST has to be paid by the applicant within 30 working days. If the applicant failed to pay the amount then approval will be auto rejected.
FBOs who fail to renew their license shall be deemed void to carry any food business, to avoid such circumstances you can check the exact validity of your FSSAI registration using our FSSAI license status checker tool.
At Professional Utilities, we leverage our industry knowledge and expertise to help businesses navigate complex regulations, minimize risks, and optimize operations for maximum efficiency and profitability.
As per FSS guidelines, all Food business operators need a Central FSSAI license for E-commerce businesses irrespective of their capacity.
E-Commerce FBOs require central FSSAI licensing, the fee for central licensing is Rs. 7,500 per year
Yes, under FSS regulations 2011, all online sellers are liable to print/display the FSSAI registration numbers and the FSSAI logo on their Food products.
All food products delivered by E-com must have at least a 30% shelf life before expiry.
FSSAI penalties vary as per the degree of violation of the FSS ACT 2006 maximum penalty for non-compliance with FSSAI can leave for the cancellation of FSSAI registration or 3 months in jail or a fine upto 10 lakh rupees.
According to FSSAI, any seller or manufacturer who sells his food products online either by himself or any third-party online service provider is termed an E-com FBO.
No, there is no need to submit physical documents at Regional/ State offices for Central/ State licenses.
Licensing Officer can reject the application in the case when the required information is not provided within the stipulated time of 30 days or is convinced that the applied application is not tenable and cannot be granted.