Government eases food business rules, introduces perpetual FSSAI licences

NEW DELHI: The Union Health Ministry of India has approved a set of regulatory reforms designed to simplify compliance for food businesses while maintaining strict food safety standards across the country.

The reforms, developed after consultations with states, union territories and industry stakeholders, also draw on recommendations from a high level committee on non financial regulatory reforms set up by NITI Aayog.

One of the most notable changes is the move towards perpetual validity for registrations and licences issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Earlier, food business operators had to renew these periodically. Under the new framework, the licences will remain valid indefinitely, cutting down paperwork, compliance costs and repeated visits to licensing authorities.

Officials say the change will allow regulators to spend less time on administrative renewals and more on monitoring, enforcement and capacity building within the food sector.

The ministry has also raised the turnover threshold for registration from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 1.5 crore. Businesses with turnover up to Rs 50 crore will now fall under state licensing, while companies above that level will require central licensing. The revised thresholds will come into effect from 1 April 2026.

The change is expected to simplify compliance for micro and small food enterprises by reducing fees, paperwork and pre-inspection requirements. For state authorities, the adjustment is meant to sharpen focus on oversight and enforcement within their jurisdictions.

Street food vendors stand to gain as well. Vendors already registered with municipal corporations or town vending committees under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 will now be treated as automatically registered under FSSAI rules. The step is expected to benefit more than one million vendors by removing the need for multiple registrations across departments.

Another key feature of the reforms is the introduction of a technology driven risk based inspection system. Instead of routine checks for all operators, inspections will be prioritised based on factors such as the type of food handled, past compliance records and third party audit results.

The ministry said the approach would ensure focused oversight while reducing unnecessary inspections for businesses with strong compliance histories.

Taken together, the reforms aim to strike a balance between easing the regulatory load on food businesses and ensuring that food safety standards remain firmly in place for consumers.