What is an FSSAI Central licence?
It is the top FSSAI tier, granted by the Central Licensing Authority under section 31 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The application is in Form B on FoSCoS and the licence is issued in Form C with your 14-digit FSSAI number.
The form is the same one used for a State licence. What differs is who grants it, which businesses are caught by it, and the fact that turnover is only one of the tests.
That second point is where most readers go wrong. A business with ₹40 lakh of turnover that imports one ingredient needs a Central licence. A business with ₹45 crore of turnover selling in one state through its own shop does not.
Who needs a Central licence
Either your turnover crosses ₹50 crore, or your kind of business is one that FSSAI places under Central licensing with no turnover threshold at all.
Turnover above ₹50 crore
From 1 April 2026, annual turnover above ₹50 crore means a Central licence. Below that, and outside the listed kinds of business, the credential is a State licence up to ₹50 crore or Basic registration up to ₹1.5 crore.
Kinds of business that need a Central licence whatever the turnover
FSSAI's eligibility criteria for each kind of business on FoSCoS put the following under Central licensing with no turnover restriction:
| Kind of business | Why it is Central |
|---|---|
| Importer of food, food ingredients or additives for commercial use | Imports are cleared against the Central licence |
| E-commerce food business | Central licensing applies with no turnover threshold |
| 100 per cent export oriented unit | Listed in Schedule 1 |
| Manufacturer-exporter | Central licensing applies with no turnover threshold |
| Manufacturer of food or health supplements and nutraceuticals | Central licensing applies with no turnover threshold |
| Manufacturer of proprietary food | Central licensing applies with no turnover threshold |
| Manufacturer of Ayurveda Aahara | Central licensing applies with no turnover threshold |
| Hotel rated five star and above | Central licensing applies with no turnover threshold |
| Head office or registered office of a business carrying on food business in two or more states | One Central licence for the head office, plus a credential for each premises |
| Catering under a Central Government agency: railways, defence, airports and seaports | Listed in Schedule 1 |
| Manufacturer using an ingredient or technology whose safety has not been established | Listed in Schedule 1 as novel food |
A manufacturer-exporter or export oriented unit shipping agricultural or processed food products also needs an APEDA RCMC, which is a separate registration.
Caterers are a separate case: a caterer takes a State licence up to ₹50 crore and a Central licence above it.
Capacity based categories in Schedule 1
Schedule 1 of the Licensing and Registration Regulations also brings in units above certain installed capacities, including dairy units, vegetable oil processing units, slaughterhouses, meat processing units and other food processing units. These capacity thresholds sit in the regulation text, while FoSCoS now applies the revised turnover bands to the same kinds of business, so the two tests have to be read together.
We do not guess this. For a manufacturing unit we check your installed capacity and your turnover against the current Schedule 1 text and the FoSCoS eligibility criteria, and put the conclusion in writing before filing.
The multi-state head office licence, explained
This is the point that costs growing chains the most time. If you carry on food business in two or more states, the head office or registered office needs a Central licence, and each individual premises still needs its own credential.
A cloud kitchen brand with kitchens in Kolkata and Bengaluru therefore holds three things: a Central licence for the head office, and a registration or State licence for each kitchen, decided on that kitchen's own turnover and kind of business.
Two practical consequences:
- Plan the head office licence before the second state opens, not after the kitchen is built. The head office licence is what a marketplace or a national customer asks to see.
- The head office licence does not cover operations. It does not replace the premises credential for any kitchen, warehouse or outlet, and it is not a shortcut around a state level application.
Importers: the Central licence and the IEC together
A food importer needs a Central licence whatever the turnover, and needs it in place before the consignment arrives. Customs clearance of a food consignment runs through FSSAI's import clearance system against a valid Central licence.
The importer also needs an Import Export Code from DGFT, which is a separate registration with its own ₹500 government fee and an annual update between April and June. See IEC registration.
The two work together and neither substitutes for the other. In the FSSAI file, the IEC is one of the documents; in the DGFT file, FSSAI has no role. If you are setting both up, we sequence them so the names, addresses and PAN match across both, because a mismatch is the most common reason a first consignment is held.
Selling food through e-commerce
An e-commerce food business needs a Central licence, with no turnover threshold. That covers selling packaged or prepared food through your own website or through a marketplace.
Two things follow. Your FSSAI number has to be given to the marketplace and kept current there, and the number printed on your packaged food labels has to be the licence actually covering that activity. If your listing is under a registration or a State licence that does not cover e-commerce, expect the listing to be pulled rather than a notice.
Where a restaurant also lists on a food delivery app, the position depends on the kind of business recorded on FoSCoS, so send us your existing credential and we will tell you whether it covers what you are doing.
Central licence or State licence
| Point | Central licence | State licence |
|---|---|---|
| Turnover | Above ₹50 crore | Above ₹1.5 crore, up to ₹50 crore |
| Granted by | Central Licensing Authority | State licensing authority |
| Importer, e-commerce, 100 per cent export oriented unit, manufacturer-exporter | Required, no turnover threshold | Not available |
| Nutraceuticals, health supplements, proprietary food, Ayurveda Aahara manufacturing | Required, no turnover threshold | Not available |
| Hotels | Five star and above | Up to four star |
| Business in two or more states | Central licence for the head office | Credential for each premises in the state |
| Form | Form B | Form B |
The document build, the layout plan standard and the inspection are the same exercise in both tiers and are set out in detail on our FSSAI State licence page.
Documents required for a Central licence
The base file is the Form B set. What makes a Central file heavier is the extra evidence tied to the reason you are in the Central tier.
| Document | Notes |
|---|---|
| Identity proof and photograph of the proprietor, partners or directors | Every applicant |
| Constitution document and authorisation for the signatory | Certificate of incorporation, partnership deed or LLP certificate, with a board resolution where a company applies |
| Proof of possession of the premises | Ownership document, or rent agreement with the owner's electricity bill or property tax receipt |
| Layout plan with dimensions, and equipment list with installed capacity | Manufacturing, processing and storage premises |
| Food safety management system plan | Every licence applicant |
| Water analysis report from a recognised laboratory | Where water is an ingredient or used in processing |
| List of directors or partners with addresses and contact details | Company, LLP or firm |
| Form IX nomination of the person responsible | Where a company is the applicant |
| Import Export Code | Importers |
| Product list with categories, and product composition or specification | Nutraceuticals, health supplements, proprietary food and Ayurveda Aahara applications turn on this |
| Proof of the export oriented unit status | 100 per cent export oriented units |
| Registered office proof and the list of premises in each state | Head office applications for multi-state businesses |
| No objection certificate from the local body, and pollution control board consent | Where required |
The exact upload set depends on the kind of business you select on FoSCoS. We send you a checklist for your category before anything is entered.
FSSAI Central licence fees
Professional fee: fee on quote after a free review. A Central licence is priced after we see the reason you fall in the Central tier, the product list and how many premises are involved. An importer with three product lines and a multi-state chain with eleven kitchens are not the same job. For comparison, the confirmed professional fee for a Basic registration is from ₹1,999 on FSSAI registration.
Government fee: the FSSAI licence fee for your kind of business, paid on FoSCoS with the application, and then the annual fee that keeps the licence active. We confirm both amounts from FoSCoS for your kind of business before filing. FSSAI allows the fee to be paid for several years at once.
Professional fees exclude GST at 18%. Government fees, where they apply, are paid at actuals to the department and are shown separately. Fees verified on 27 September 2026.
Penalties sit separately and are covered on FSSAI registration.
How the application runs on FoSCoS
- Eligibility check. A CA confirms which Central trigger applies to you: turnover, kind of business, capacity or multi-state operation. This decides the kind of business selected on FoSCoS, which in turn decides the tier the portal will accept.
- File build. Documents assembled for the Form B set plus the extra evidence for your trigger.
- Form B and fee. Application completed with the product categories, government fee paid, application submitted.
- Scrutiny, query and inspection. The authority checks completeness, may seek information and may inspect the premises before deciding.
- Grant in Form C, available on your FoSCoS dashboard.
The regulations give the authority 15 days to scrutinise the application for completeness, allow you 30 days to answer a request for information, and give 60 days from the issue of the application ID for a decision, excluding the inspection period. If no licence is issued in that time and no notice of inadequacy was received, the applicant may commence business. Do not act on that fallback without written advice, because for an importer a wrong call stops a consignment.
After the Central licence is granted
- Display a true copy of the licence in Form C at a prominent place in the premises at all times, and print your FSSAI number on packaged food labels.
- Pay the annual fee on FoSCoS. Perpetual validity removed the renewal cycle, not the annual fee, and non-payment leads to deemed suspension.
- File Form D-1 by 31 May for the previous financial year if you are a licensed manufacturer or importer. A licensee handling milk or milk products files Form D-2 by 30 November and 31 March. A late return attracts ₹100 for each day of delay.
- Keep the licence in step with the business. A new product category, a new address or a change in constitution is a modification and needs approval before the changed activity starts. See FSSAI licence modification.
- Exporters and importers of goods should also keep the trade side current: the IEC annual update between April and June, and, for exports, LUT filing and GST refunds.
Common reasons a Central licence application is sent back
- Applying in the State tier when an importer, e-commerce or export trigger puts you in the Central tier, or the reverse.
- Head office application filed without the list of premises in each state, or without registered office proof.
- Importer file without a valid Import Export Code, or with an IEC whose address does not match the FSSAI application.
- Nutraceutical or proprietary food application with a product list that does not carry compositions or specifications.
- Layout plan without dimensions, or an equipment list that contradicts the declared capacity.
- Food safety management system plan copied from a different kind of business.
- Product categories declared narrowly, then contradicted by the label or the invoice seen at inspection.
- Query from the authority left unanswered inside the time given on FoSCoS.
Why Regikart for an FSSAI Central licence
Regikart is a CA and CS firm serving 250+ clients from offices in Kolkata (head office), Delhi and Bengaluru, working with clients across India online.
- We identify the trigger, not just the tier. The reason you are in the Central tier decides the document set, and getting that wrong is what sends files back.
- Trade side under one roof. FSSAI Central licence with IEC registration, LUT filing and GST registration, so names and addresses match across registrations.
- Multi-state planning. Head office licence plus per-premises credentials mapped before the second state opens.
- Current law. The page reflects the thresholds in force from 1 April 2026 and FSSAI's clarifications of March 2026.