Steps to be carried out if your FSSAI Application Gets Rejected

Ashish M. Shaji

09 Feb, 2021

FSSAI is the governing body for food business related activities. It works under the aegis of the FSS Act of 2006, and it also grants FSSAI License according to the FSSAI regulations, 2011^[1]. It also undertakes quality control on activities such as the manufacturing, storage, transportation, and distribution of food products. In this article, we shall look at the steps to follow on the rejection of FSSAI application.

FSSAI Application Approvals

A food business operator who is involved in food related activities like manufacturing, storage, transportation, and distribution of food products approaches to FSSAI for approval of its application that helps him acquire FSSAI Registration or license. Thus it makes an FBO more accountable for his business.

If an FBO requires registration or license depends upon the annual turnover of the business.

The approval from FSSAI can take the following forms:

• Registration-

A petty FBO should register with FSSAI as it doesn’t require license. There are separate criteria that defines an entity as a petty operator, especially those who manufacture food products.  FSSAI basic registration is required by an entity that has an annual turnover of less than 12 lakhs rupees. Apart from this, there are other two licenses required- State and Central.

• State License-

Like petty FBOs, entities having an annual turnover between 12 lakh rupees to 20 crore rupees apply for this license. In reality, it is a medium sized FBO. The license is valid for 1 year minimum and a maximum of 5 years. The tenure of issuance is by the nourishment business administrator. 

• Central License-

Large FBOs are required to apply for this license. These are entities that have an annual turnover of more than 20 crore rupees and function in two or more states. Importers and exporters are exclusively required to apply for this license.  The license is valid for 1 year minimum and a maximum of 5 years. The tenure of issuance is by the nourishment business administrator.

What to do if your FSSAI application is rejected?

Just filing the FSSAI application form and submitting the same doesn’t guarantee you the FSSAI registration or license. There are instances where the applications may be rejected. On July 7, 2020, FSSAI had published a standard operating procedure for the reactivation of rejected applications. It provided for four cases of rejection of application for registration or license that would be considered by it.

These cases include the following:

• Applications that were rejected accidentally by an FBO while processing;
• Applications that were rejected due to a technical glitch while processing by a DO or an FBO; and
• Applications that have automatic rejection by the system due to incomplete information or documents submitted by an FBO within 30 days.

Reactivation for Registration or State license

The following steps can be followed by applicants:

• Applicants will be required to apply with their respective State Food Safety Commissioner within 6 months period from the date of registration;
• Thereafter a DO in case of registration or a Food Safety Commissioner of the state shall examine the case on merit;
• His or her recommendation shall be forwarded to the Regulatory Compliance Division at enforcement@fssai.gov.in in 30 days time from the receipt of such a request from an FBO;
• Recommendation from DO or State Commissioner shall be to the IT division for the application reactivation; and
•  Once such request is received, the IT division shall reactivate the relevant application and communicate it to the DO or to the CFS under intimation to the RCD.

Reactivation for Central FSSAI License

The following steps can be followed by applicants:

• All such applicants shall be required to apply to their respective Regional Office of FSSAI within 6 months from the date of rejection;
• Once the request is made, the director of the Regional Office shall examine the case on merit;
• The recommendation shall be forwarded to the FSSAI headquarters at enforcement@fssai.gov.in in 30 days time from the receipt of such a request from an FBO;
• The Regulatory Compliance Division shall examine the case on the recommendation of the regional office;
• The RCD executive director shall be the competent authority to decide this case;
• The approval of the case will be referred by the RCD to the IT division. It shall reactivate the FSSAI application; and
• In the case of urgent cases, a Food Business Operator may approach directly to the FSSAI headquarters where they would be examined by the CEO.

SOP for change in User profile

Along with the procedure of reactivation of rejected FSSAI application, FSSAI also brought out the Standard Operating Procedure for change in User profile like login credentials, email id, mobile number, etc.

The procedure is as follows:

• Those FBO looking to change their user profile may submit a representation for the same to the Joint Director, Regulatory Compliance Division, New Delhi by post, or they may email at enforcement1@fssai.gov.in ;
• Application shall be on the letterhead of the firm duly signed by the authorized person in the firm;
• If FBOs require new login credentials, they are required to create new login ID and password, which allows the IT team to validate and map the licenses/registrations in the new login credentials;
• The following documents shall be enclosed with the application:
•  A copy of photo identity card like Aadhaar etc; and
• A copy of the existing registration certificate/ license as applicable.

It may be noted that the requests will be considered by the Regulatory Compliance Division and sent to the IT team. IT division shall verify the credentials of the firm and update the user ID profile and communicate to the applicant under intimation to the Regulatory Compliance Division.

Conclusion

It is reiterated that just filling the FSSAI application form and submitting the same doesn’t guarantee you the FSSAI registration or license. It may be rejected on not fulfilling the conditions and requirements. However, FSSAI has issued the SOP for reactivating rejected application that allows you to reactivate the application in case of some above-mentioned instances.

Read our article:How to Apply for Basic FSSAI Registration