The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has sanctioned a series of regulatory and procedural reforms to boost the ease of doing business while upholding stringent food safety norms in India. These reforms, developed in consultation with states, union territories, and industry stakeholders, align with recommendations from a high-level committee on non-financial regulatory reforms by NITI Aayog. Notably, a key change is the implementation of perpetual validity for registrations and licenses issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, eliminating the need for regular renewals.
The new system ensures that registrations and licenses remain valid indefinitely, streamlining processes for food business operators and reducing compliance costs and paperwork. This shift allows regulatory bodies to focus more on monitoring, enforcement, and capacity-building efforts. Additionally, the turnover threshold for registration and licensing has been raised, with businesses generating up to Rs 1.5 crore annually only requiring basic registration starting April 1, 2026, simplifying compliance for micro and small food enterprises.
Moreover, businesses with turnovers up to Rs 50 crore will fall under state licensing, while those exceeding this threshold will need central licensing. This adjustment aims to enhance compliance for small food businesses by cutting down on paperwork, fees, and pre-inspection requirements, empowering state authorities to better oversee food safety regulations within their jurisdictions. Another significant reform targets reducing duplicate registrations for street food vendors, automatically registering vendors already registered under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 with FSSAI, benefiting over 10 lakh street food vendors.
