FSSAI food import rules: the central import licence, FICS clearance at the port, labelling for imported food and sampling

Food imports are regulated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) under section 25 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which bars import of unsafe, misbranded or sub-standard food, food with extraneous matter, and food imported in breach of a required licence or the Act^[1]. The detailed procedure is in the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017.

There are two layers.

1. The business licence. No person may import any article of food without a valid import licence from the Central Licensing Authority, and the importer must also hold a valid IEC from DGFT^[1]. The import licence is a central licence, issued by FSSAI's regional offices through the FoSCoS portal under the kind of business 'Importer', on Form B^[1].

2. Clearance of every consignment. When your customs broker files the Bill of Entry, the Customs system decides whether FSSAI must clear it. Bills of entry needing FSSAI clearance are referred to FSSAI's Food Import Clearance System (FICS), which is integrated with ICEGATE under SWIFT; others go through the green channel^[1]. In FICS an authorised officer scrutinises documents, inspects the goods, draws samples and issues either a No Objection Certificate (NOC) or a Non-Conformance Report^[1].

Two extra checks often surprise new importers. Imported food must have at least 60% of its shelf life, or three months before expiry, whichever is less, left at import^[1]. And every retail package must carry the importer's name and address with the FSSAI logo and licence number^[2].

This page covers food itself. Kitchen products such as cookware are covered on separate pages: see the cookware QCO and pressure cookers.

The core rules have not changed, but the systems around them have: FSSAI's clearance is moving onto the Customs single window, fee payment has been reordered, and food packaging carries new plastic EPR duties. Here is what an importer should know going into 2027.

SWIFT 2.0 pilot (reported). Food and Beverage News reported in November 2025 that FSSAI had integrated FICS with ICEGATE under SWIFT 2.0, letting importers get the FSSAI NOC through the SWIFT portal on ICEGATE, live first at four Delhi-area inland container depots and to be expanded gradually^[3]. If you clear through those depots, ask your customs broker which route your bills of entry now follow.

Fees after inspection (reported). The same publication reported in May 2026 that, under an FSSAI notice, importers and brokers no longer have to pay clearance fees before visual inspection; inspection and sampling can go ahead after document approval, and fees must be paid before the provisional NOC, NOC or non-conformance report is issued^[4]. We have not seen the notice number, so confirm the sequence on FICS.

ICEGATE logins. Since a 16 January 2026 advisory, every ICEGATE 2.0 login needs an OTP to the registered mobile^[5], and bill of entry status is read from the 'Bill of Entry - Job Status' widget^[6]. Our ICEGATE portal guide walks through both.

Plastic packaging. The Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2026 were notified on 31 March 2026^[7]. They let producers, importers and brand owners carry forward an unmet 2025-26 recycled-content target for food-contact packaging for up to three years^[7], and do not apply recycled-content targets where an FSSAI rule bars recycled plastic^[7]. See plastic EPR for the full obligation.

All of these sit on our new rules for 2026 tracker and the compliance calendar.

Every business importing food needs the central import licence^[1]. FSSAI's import manual defines a food importer as a food business operator importing, or wanting to import, food into India who is licensed as an importer under the Licensing and Registration Regulations, 2011^[1].

Certain foods carry extra conditions:

• High-risk foods (milk products, egg powder, meat, poultry and fish, infant food, nutraceuticals, health supplements, foods for special dietary or medical purposes, probiotic and prebiotic foods) may be imported only through designated points of entry^[1].
• Foreign manufacturer registration. Since 1 September 2024, foreign makers of milk products, meat and fish products, egg powder, infant food and nutraceuticals must be registered with FSSAI on the REFOM portal before they export to India^[1].
• Non-specified foods. Food that is neither standardised nor a proprietary food needs product approval before import^[1].
• GM crops. A non-GM certificate is needed for 24 crops under an FSSAI order of 21 August 2020^[1].

Some imports follow simpler, declaration-based clearance: food for personal use (Form 7), for 100% export (Form 8), for R&D (Form 9), for exhibitions (Form 10) and for sports events (Form 11)^[1].

The licence is held by the Indian importer of record, the same entity whose IEC goes on the Bill of Entry^[1]. The foreign supplier does not hold it, although for high-risk categories the foreign plant must separately be registered with FSSAI^[1].

The two registrations are tied together. If DGFT suspends, revokes or cancels your IEC, you must tell FSSAI within three working days, and your food import licence is deemed cancelled^[1]. Keep your IEC's yearly April-June update on your calendar^[8].

At the port your customs broker usually handles FICS: the CHA or importer must be registered on FICS, and the application becomes visible in their login after the authorised officer accepts the referral from ICEGATE^[1].

FSSAI's import manual sets out the FoSCoS steps. Licences are issued by FSSAI regional offices^[1].

• The fee is paid in two parts. The initial fee is Rs 1,000 plus GST, and the differential licence fee is paid once the application is found eligible^[1]. Filing services commonly quote the central licence fee as Rs 7,500 a year^[9]; we could not confirm that figure on FSSAI's site, so check the FoSCoS payment screen.
• Thirty days to pay the balance. Once the status is set to eligible, pay within 30 days; the licence then issues instantly with a 14-digit number starting with '1'^[1].
• Deemed grant. FSSAI's import manual says that if the authority does not respond within 60 days, the application is auto-approved^[1].
• Choose the term. You can take the licence for one year up to a maximum of five years^[1].

Every consignment goes through the same path once Customs refers it. The flow below is from FSSAI's import manual.

Risk-based selection. Not every consignment is sampled. A risk management system under SWIFT selects food consignments for sampling using a list of 1,725 HSN codes graded high, medium and low risk^[1]. FICS is integrated with ICEGATE, and Bills of Entry not needing FSSAI clearance go through the green channel^[1].

Where it happens. Food imports are regulated at 162 points of entry; FSSAI's own authorised officers cover 78 of them from 16 locations, and customs officers act as authorised officers at the other 84^[1].

Visual inspection. The officer checks for insects and fungus, a valid shelf life of not less than 60% or three months before expiry (whichever is less), and compliance with packaging and labelling regulations^[1]. FSSAI set a visual inspection fee of Rs 2,000, and the same amount as a penalty if the importer or CHA fails to attend after two opportunities^[1].

Sampling and testing. If the visual inspection is satisfactory, two samples are drawn: one to an FSSAI-notified NABL lab and one kept for a referral lab^[1]. The lab must upload its report within five days of receiving the sample^[1]. A pass gives an NOC in Form 3; a fail a Non-Conformance Report in Form 4^[1].

Provisional NOC. For some goods you need not wait for the lab. A provisional NOC is available for food with shelf life under seven days, food needing special storage, pre-packaged retail food, crude edible oil and food grains, and importers with AEO status^[1]. You must keep the goods unsold until the final NOC; releasing them early is a ground for licence suspension^[1].

Collect your goods. FSSAI treats food as 'uncleared' if the importer does not take delivery within 30 days of the NOC^[1].

Three parties handle an imported food consignment, and knowing who decides what saves time.

• Customs receives the Bill of Entry on ICEGATE and, through the risk management system, decides whether the consignment is referred to FSSAI or goes through the green channel^[1]. Customs also gives the final out of charge.
• The FSSAI authorised officer scrutinises documents in FICS, inspects the goods, draws samples, and issues the NOC or Non-Conformance Report^[1]. At 84 of the 162 food points of entry, this role is performed by customs officers notified by FSSAI^[1].
• Your customs broker (CHA) files the Bill of Entry, registers on FICS, uploads documents and attends the inspection. FSSAI's manual uses the definition of customs broker in the Customs Brokers Licensing Regulations, 2018^[1].

You, the importer, remain responsible for what is filed and for attending inspection. If your broker misses two appointments, the sample is drawn ex parte and a Rs 2,000 penalty applies^[1]. Once the NOC is issued, take delivery promptly: food not collected within 30 days of the NOC is treated as uncleared^[1]. See customs broker for how to pick and brief one.

Nine documents are needed for every consignment^[1]. Product-specific documents are added on top: a non-GM certificate for listed crops^[1], product approval for non-specified food^[1], and a high sea sales agreement where the goods were sold in transit^[1].

The wider customs file is on our customs clearance documents checklist, and the bill of entry explainer shows how the declaration is built. For a plain-English list across all goods, see documents required for import in India.

FSSAI's charges come at two levels: the licence and the per-consignment clearance.

Licence. If the authority does not respond within 60 days, FSSAI's manual says the application is auto-approved^[1]. After the eligibility message you have 30 days to pay the balance fee, and the licence then issues instantly^[1].

Each consignment. The only fixed clock in FICS is the laboratory: five days from receipt of the sample to upload the report^[1]. Before that sits document scrutiny, fee payment and the inspection appointment, so plan your port days and demurrage budget with some margin. A provisional NOC shortens the wait for eligible goods^[1].

Reviews. A review of a rejection must be filed within 15 working days, and a second appeal to the CEO within 15 days of the review order^[1].

Holds at the port are covered in more detail in why shipments get held at Indian ports; Customs releases the goods only at out of charge.

You choose a term from one year up to five years when you apply^[1]. Renewal can be filed from 180 days before expiry; if you file later than 30 days before expiry you pay Rs 100 a day as a late fee, and renewing after expiry costs three times the annual fee in the first 90 days and five times between day 91 and day 180^[1].

The licence also has a yearly duty: file the annual return on FoSCoS by 31 May for each class of food handled in the previous financial year^[1].

The licence lapses with your IEC. A suspended, revoked or cancelled IEC means the FSSAI import licence is deemed cancelled^[1].

Our licence renewal date calculator works out the 180-day and 30-day marks from your expiry date.

At minimum an IEC and ICEGATE access; packaged food sold at retail usually also brings LMPC importer registration and plastic EPR registration. The FSSAI licence itself requires a valid IEC^[1], which you get on the DGFT portal, and bills of entry can be filed online only after ICEGATE registration^[10].

LMPC. Rule 27 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules requires anyone who pre-packs or imports a commodity for sale to register its name and address^[11]. Pre-packed imported food is a packaged commodity, so read our LMPC guide and the LMPC label rules; the FSSAI and LMPC declarations overlap but are not identical.

Plastic EPR. Anyone who imports products with plastic packaging is an 'Importer' under CPCB's plastic EPR guidelines and an obligated entity^[12]. Most packaged food arrives in plastic, so most food importers need plastic EPR registration and should budget using our EPR registration cost page.

Selling online. Marketplaces ask for the FSSAI licence and the importer details on the label. Our Amazon seller and Flipkart seller guides, and the checklist before listing on Amazon, list what they check.

Not sure which of these apply to your products? The HS code approval finder maps a tariff line to approvals, and our team offers a free compliance check.

Imported food follows the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020, and the Import Regulations add their own requirements on top^[2]. Three items are specific to imports:

1. Importer name and address. The package must carry the name and complete address of the importer in India^[2].
2. FSSAI logo and licence number. The importer must display the FSSAI logo and its licence number along with its name and address^[2].
3. Country of origin. It must be declared; if processing in a second country changes the HS code at six-digit level, that second country becomes the country of origin^[2].

Small packs with a surface area of 100 sq cm or less are exempt from some of these declarations, including the licence number and logo and the importer's name and address, but the information must then appear on the multi-unit package^[2].

Fixing labels at the port. Most labelling gaps can be corrected in the customs bonded warehouse with a single non-detachable sticker, before inspection. Three cannot: the lot or batch number, the date marking, and the country of origin (FSSAI order of 28 November 2023)^[1]. Make sure those three are printed by the manufacturer.

Packaged food is also a pre-packaged commodity, so LMPC declarations and importer registration may apply alongside FSSAI^[11]. Our product label checklist puts the two sets of rules side by side.

Run your artwork through our label checker and the product label checklist before printing, and make sure the mandatory details sit where the principal display panel rules expect them.

Not every food import goes through full licensing and testing. The Import Regulations give separate routes for specific purposes, each with its own declaration form^[1]:

• Personal consumption (Form 7). A person bringing food for their own use, within the value Customs allows, only submits a declaration.
• Research and development (Form 9). The importer undertakes that the food is used only for R&D, is not released into the domestic market or used for test marketing or market research, and that the quantity does not exceed bona fide captive needs^[1].
• Exhibitions and tasting (Form 10). Goods must carry a non-detachable label or sticker reading 'For Exhibition purpose only' and 'Not for sale'^[1].
• Sports events (Form 11). Food for visiting sportspersons, limited to what they need for the event.
• 100% export production (Form 8). Ingredients imported only to make exports need an undertaking to Customs when filing the Bill of Entry and a sanitary or health certificate from the exporting country^[1].

A warning for start-ups. The R&D route does not cover test marketing^[1]. If you plan to sell even a trial batch, you need the full import licence and FICS clearance. Mis-declaring end use is one of the grounds on which FSSAI can suspend or cancel an import licence^[1].

FSSAI adjusts the import procedure through orders rather than amending the regulations each time. The ones below change what you must do at the port. Each is taken from FSSAI's import manual.

These are the failures FSSAI's manual and orders point to most often.

FSSAI can act against your licence. It may suspend or cancel an import licence for attempts to import unsafe or prohibited food, re-channelling or re-packing, food fraud, fake certificates, releasing products without label rectification, or selling goods before the NOC when cleared on a provisional NOC^[1].

Penalties also stack. Section 67 of the FSS Act makes penalties for importing food in breach of the Act additional to those under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act and the Customs Act, and offending food is destroyed or returned^[1].

Rejected food is disposed of under the Customs Act, but not before the time for a review application has passed, and storage costs fall on the importer^[1]. You can challenge a rejection: first a review to the Regional Director within 15 working days with a Rs 2,000 fee, then a second appeal to FSSAI's CEO within 15 days with a Rs 5,000 fee^[1].

1. A D2C brand importing protein bars. A Bengaluru brand imports protein bars from Europe for online sale. It already has an IEC^[8] and applies on FoSCoS for a central licence as an importer, paying the initial Rs 1,000 plus GST^[1]. Before the first shipment it checks the label: importer name and address, FSSAI logo and licence number, country of origin, and the batch and date marking printed by the manufacturer^[1]. At the port the consignment is referred to FICS, inspected, sampled and cleared on the lab report, which must come within five days of sampling^[1]. Because these are pre-packaged retail foods, it can ask for a provisional NOC and move the goods to its warehouse, but must not sell them until the final NOC^[1].

2. A cheese importer. A Mumbai importer brings in cheese. Dairy is high risk, so it must use a designated port^[1], and the cheese plant must be registered with FSSAI^[1]. Cheese needs cold storage, so a provisional NOC with a Form 12 undertaking lets it move the goods to an equipped facility^[1].

3. A shipment bought on the high seas. A trader buys a container of pulses while it is still at sea. FICS will want the high sea sales agreement to trace the original exporter^[1], and Customs will want the Bill of Entry to show the high-sea buyer, seller and commission^[13]. Read high sea sales before signing.

Brands selling direct to consumers will find more on registrations and listings in our D2C brands guide, and new importers can start with the first-time importers guide.

FSSAI is the only approval that tests every selected consignment at the port. Most other schemes approve the product or the business in advance.