Central business regulations
Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011
Selected business-facing provisions from the 2011 FSSAI licensing regulations, read with the final March and June 2026 amendments and the April 2026 turnover thresholds. Eight provision-specific guides are included; this is not a reproduction of all regulations, schedules or kind-of-business criteria.
These explanations are not the complete Gazette text. The older FSSAI compendium below predates the 2026 amendments; use the final notifications and current FSSAI orders for a compliance decision.
Regulation 2.1.1
Registration of food businesses
Food-business registration now uses FSSAI's ₹1.5 crore turnover band for new applications from 1 April 2026. The March 2026 amendment also addresses street vendors already registered under the Street Vendors Act, while keeping Schedule 4 hygiene duties.
Regulation 2.1.2
Licence for food business and eligibility criteria
For new applications from 1 April 2026, FSSAI's order sets a State licence band above ₹1.5 crore through ₹50 crore and a Central licence band above ₹50 crore. Regulation 2.1.2(6) also lets FSSAI specify activity-specific eligibility and licensing authorities.
Regulation 2.1.3
Application for license to the Licensing Authority
Regulation 2.1.3 sets the application package for a food-business licence: Form B, a self-attested declaration, listed supporting documents and the applicable fee.
Regulation 2.1.4
Processing of Application for license
Regulation 2.1.4 sets the Licensing Authority's scrutiny, application ID, possible inspection, grant and refusal steps for a food-licence application.
Regulation 2.1.7
Validity of registration and licence
Since the March 2026 amendment, an FSSAI registration or licence remains valid unless suspended, cancelled or surrendered. Annual fees and any applicable returns remain important: default can trigger deemed suspension.
Regulation 2.1.17
Inspection and audit
The March 2026 amendment inserted a risk-based inspection and audit framework. A food business should maintain records and be prepared to provide access if the Food Authority or Commissioner directs a recognised third-party audit.
Schedule 2 · Annexure 3 · Condition 8
Daily production and raw-material records
The June 2026 final amendment replaced licence condition 8 with a duty to maintain daily production and raw-material utilisation records separately. The condition does not apply to non-manufacturing food businesses.
Schedule 4 · Part II · Paragraph 5.2.5
FIFO and FEFO stock rotation
The June 2026 final amendment requires covered food storage to follow First In First Out and First Expire First Out. The substituted paragraph says this requirement does not apply to retailers.
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