Your neighbour’s son has moved to Salt Lake for work and is living on instant noodles. You send him a tiffin of dal, aloo posto and a piece of rui, and by the end of the month six of his colleagues are asking for one too.
Congratulations: you run a food business. The law would like a word, but only a short one.
Anyone who makes, sells or serves food as a business in India comes under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and needs either an FSSAI registration or an FSSAI licence. For a home kitchen, a tiffin service, a small sweet shop or a roadside stall, it is almost always the registration: one online form, a small annual fee, and a 14-digit number you print on everything you sell.
What changed in 2026
FSSAI amended its licensing and registration rules by a gazette notification of 10 March 2026, then revised the turnover limits by an order of 13 March 2026, effective 1 April 2026. Three changes matter to a small seller:
| What you need | Annual turnover (from 1 April 2026) | Before |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Up to ₹1.5 crore | Up to ₹12 lakh |
| State licence | Above ₹1.5 crore, up to ₹50 crore | Above ₹12 lakh, up to ₹20 crore |
| Central licence | Above ₹50 crore | Above ₹20 crore |
- The limit went up more than twelve times. A home kitchen that grew past ₹12 lakh a year used to need a State licence. Now registration is enough up to ₹1.5 crore.
- No more renewals. Registrations and licences issued on or after 1 April 2026 stay valid unless they are suspended, cancelled or surrendered. You still pay the annual fee, and FSSAI lets you pay several years at once.
- Registered street vendors are covered automatically. If you already hold a street vending certificate under the Street Vendors Act, 2014, FSSAI now treats you as registered. You still have to follow the basic hygiene rules.
Do you need it?
If you take money for food you cooked, packed or stored, yes. That includes home tiffin and lunch-box services, home bakers and cake makers, pickle, bori and nolen gur sellers, cloud kitchens, tea stalls, sweet shops, and caterers who cook for weddings. It also includes selling through Instagram or WhatsApp: the law cares about the food, not the shop window.
How to apply, step by step
Open FoSCoS, the official portal
Go to foscos.fssai.gov.in. This is FSSAI’s own system. Sites that charge you ₹1,000 or more to “apply for you” are filling in the same form.
Choose West Bengal and your kind of business
Pick your state, then describe what you do (for example, a home-based food service or a petty retailer). The portal works out whether you need a registration or a licence from your answers and your turnover.
Fill in Form A
Form A is the registration form. It asks for your name, the address of the kitchen, what food you make or sell, and your expected turnover.
Upload documents and pay
Upload a photograph, a photo ID such as your Aadhaar or voter card, and proof of the kitchen’s address. Pay the fee online. The registration fee has long been ₹100 a year; the portal shows the exact amount before you pay.
Wait for the certificate
The Food Safety Officer for your area may inspect before granting it. Track the application on FoSCoS, then download the certificate with your 14-digit number.
After you get the number
- Put the FSSAI logo and your 14-digit number on every packed item and label, and on your bills and menu.
- Display the certificate where you cook or sell.
- Follow the basic hygiene rules for small food businesses (Schedule 4 of the 2011 regulations): clean water, covered food, clean hands and utensils, pest control, and nobody cooking while ill.
- Pay the annual fee on time. With perpetual validity, the fee is now the only thing you have to remember.
- Update FoSCoS if you move kitchens or start making something new.
Questions people ask
I sell pithe only in Poush. Do I still need it?
Yes, if you sell them. A seasonal business is still a food business. Since registrations issued from April 2026 never expire, you register once and keep paying the small yearly fee.
I registered before April 2026 with a 5-year certificate. What now?
FSSAI says existing businesses will be moved to the new turnover categories through FoSCoS, with no modification fee and no change to your number. Keep an eye on the portal for the migration notice.
Do I need a trade licence as well?
Often, yes. FSSAI covers food safety; the trade licence is your civic body’s permission to trade from the premises. See our trade licence guide.
Can I apply in Bengali?
FoSCoS itself is in English. Fill in what you can, and a Common Service Centre or a friend can help with the rest. The fee is the same either way; nobody is allowed to add a charge to the government fee.