Updated on February 13, 2024 02:00:39 PM

India is globally known for exporting good quality food items worldwide in the retail market and humanitarian aid to emerging nations. Since the last decade, there has been an upward surge in India's export market. To export food articles from India, FBOs must have an FSSAI license for exporters in India.

Food export is one of the most profitable businesses; new export FBOs are enrolled each year for FSSAI licenses because of the high demand in the international market.

Exporting sub-standard food products can affect India's foreign trade relationship and reputation in the international forum. Therefore, FSSAI central license has been made obligatory for all food exporting businesses. It gives confidence that the quality and hygiene benchmarks have been met for those food articles exported from India.

Suppose you want to start your food export business. In that case, you will require this set of documents for the FSSAI central license and additional permission and certification to export food articles from India.

1. Certificate of company incorporation
2. Legal identity proof like Aadhar
3. Authorized address proof
4. form -B and form IX must be duly filled with all required details
5. Declaration
6. Ownership proof of premise
7. Blueprint of layout in detail
8. Ministry of commerce certificate for 100% Export oriented units
9. List of directors/executive members/partners

Required Documents For Exporters

1. IE-code issued by the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT)
2. Product approval certificate from FSSAI
3. Certification from the ministry of agriculture
4. Certification from the narcotic department
5. The permit from the ministry of animal husbandry
6. Spice board registration in case of spice export business.

1. The name of the brand and company must be printed
2. Full description of the food product in detail and name of ingredients
3. Nutritional values and information on the package
4. Expiry date/ best before the date of must be provided
5. Details about the nature of food articles such as vegetarian or non-vegetarian food items
6. Full details of exporters in India
7. Labeling language should be as per the guidelines of FSSAI packaging and labelling regulations 2011

Food business operators are liable to hefty penalties and punishment for non-compliance with FSSAI regulations.

Step-1: Online application:

Apply online Foscos application for new FSSAI license, fill in the necessary details and forms for Manufacturer-export or 100% export-oriented units, and upload all supporting documents.

Must submit the fee at the same time. After successful submission, it will generate an application reference to track the status of your application.

You can use our FSSAI application status checker to track the status of your application.

Step-2: Inspection by FSSAI:

Authorities will respond to your application within 7 working days per FSS guidelines. If the application is denied on some basis, An inspection will be held on-premise by the food safety office for further process.

Step-3: Approval from FSSAI:

Once the inspection and document verification are done by FSSAI appointed food safety officer, an approval for certification will be granted for the FSSAI license or registration.

The Central licensing body of FSSAI is responsible for providing the FSSAI license for Exporters

The fee for the FSSAI central license is Rs. 7,500 + 18% GST per year.

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.

1. FSSAI license endowed under the FSS regulation shall be valid for 1-5 years.
2. Can fill renewal of the license 30 days before the date of expiry.
3. If failing to renew the FSSAI license, no food Exporter is entitled to carry their business further after the day of expiry.To avoid such hurdles you can use our FSSAI license number status checker tool to get the exact validity of your license.
4. IF the renewal of the FSSAI license is not filed till 30 days before the expiry date, a late fee of Rs. 100 per day is to be paid along with the standard renewal fee.
5. In the case of FBOs filing for renewal from the 1st to 90th-day after the due date, then they shall be charged 3 times more than the standard annual fee, and 5 times if renewal after the 90th day from the day of expiry.
6. No new renewal shall be done after 180 days from the original day of expiry. You can check your licence validity using our FSSAI license status checking tool to avoid cancellation or late renewal fines.

NOTE: FSSAI License for exporters has two subtypes- manufacturers of food products for export and Exporting traders. A food business operator can apply for either of them.

The demand for Indian Food products is not confined to Indian boundaries but has high demand in the international market. Therefore its become the responsibility of the Indian state to provide high-quality food products to its consumers across the globe, and FSSAI conforms to this purpose gracefully.