FSSAI Registration for Food Businesses: When Required

Any business that touches food, whether it manufactures, processes, packages, stores, distributes, sells, catering-supplies, or imports it, needs clearance from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) before it can legally operate. The confusion almost every food entrepreneur runs into is not whether they need FSSAI at all, but which of the three tiers applies: Basic Registration, a State License, or a Central License. Getting the tier wrong, usually by staying on Basic Registration after outgrowing it, is one of the more common compliance gaps we see in food businesses scaling past their first year.

The Three FSSAI Tiers

FSSAI structures its regime around annual turnover, with a few category-based exceptions layered on top. Following the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Amendment Regulations, 2026, effective April 1, 2026, the thresholds were revised upward significantly from the levels that had applied for years before:

• Basic Registration — annual turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore (raised from Rs 12 lakh). Covers small food businesses: home-based kitchens, small retailers, petty food manufacturers, tea stalls, and similar small-scale operators.
• State License — annual turnover from the Basic Registration ceiling up to Rs 50 crore. Covers mid-sized manufacturers, restaurants, hotels, and storage/distribution operations that have scaled beyond a basic registration, or that fall into a category FSSAI classifies at this level regardless of turnover.
• Central License — annual turnover above Rs 50 crore (raised from Rs 20 crore), and mandatorily for specific categories such as importers, businesses operating across more than one state, and suppliers to central government institutions, railways, or airports.

The turnover figures above reflect the 2026 revision; because FSSAI periodically resets these thresholds, always cross-check the live limit on the FSSAI portal or with your CA at the time of applying rather than assuming a figure from an older reference stays current indefinitely.

Which Tier Applies to Your Business

Turnover is the primary driver, but it is not the only one. A small cloud kitchen doing under Rs 1.5 crore in annual sales sits comfortably in Basic Registration. A mid-sized restaurant chain or a packaged-food manufacturer supplying multiple retailers in one state typically needs a State License once turnover crosses the Basic Registration ceiling, even if the business feels "small" in absolute terms. A business that imports any food ingredient or finished product, however small its overall turnover, needs a Central License for the import activity specifically, because import licensing is category-driven rather than turnover-driven.

Multi-state operations are the other common trigger for Central License regardless of turnover: a business manufacturing in one state and distributing branded packaged food to buyers in several states typically needs central-level licensing rather than separate state licenses in each location, though the exact classification depends on how the operation is structured, so this is worth confirming case by case rather than assuming.

Applying for FSSAI Registration or License

The process runs through the FSSAI online portal (FoSCoS). Broadly:

1. Identify the correct tier based on turnover and category as above.
2. Prepare identity and address proof, a business constitution document (partnership deed, LLP agreement, or certificate of incorporation as applicable), a layout plan or photographs of the premises for State/Central License applications, and a list of food products or categories handled.
3. File the application online, choosing a validity period, commonly between 1 and 5 years, and pay the applicable government fee.
4. For a State or Central License, be prepared for a premises inspection before the license is granted; Basic Registration is generally lighter on documentation and inspection.
5. Display the registration or license number prominently at the premises and on packaging as required, and track the renewal date well ahead of expiry since a lapsed license is treated the same as operating without one.

Food businesses in Nashik and Sillod that are also setting up their broader compliance stack, GST registration, trade license, and shop establishment registration alongside FSSAI, may find it useful to plan all of these together rather than sequentially; see our guide on trade license requirements for the municipal-level clearance that typically runs in parallel with FSSAI for a physical food outlet.

Upgrading Between Tiers

FSSAI registration and licensing are not one-time events tied to when the business started; they track current turnover. A food business that begins on Basic Registration and later crosses the applicable ceiling must apply for a State License before continuing to operate at the higher turnover level, not retroactively after the fact. Businesses scaling fast, particularly cloud kitchens and packaged-food brands going from a single outlet to multi-city distribution, should build an FSSAI tier review into their annual compliance check rather than treating it as a set-and-forget registration, alongside other annual filings covered in our GST registration guide for startups.