The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced a new mechanism on its Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal for granting registration certificates to seasonal food businesses. This move addresses the absence of a specific online provision for temporary food businesses operating during short-term events such as religious fairs and food festivals.
The new provision, implemented in FoSCoS since August 1, 2025, allows Registering Authorities to quickly issue a certificate under specific conditions, avoiding the need for these small operators to follow the normal, lengthier registration procedure.
Streamlining Registration for Short Events
The concept of seasonal business registration is specified under Form ‘A’ of the FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulation, 2011. With the approval of the Food Authority, FSSAI has now implemented the streamlined process under the window of the Registering Authority.
The new process requires Registering Authorities to fill out Form ‘A’ and related documents on behalf of the Food Business Operators (FBOs).
Allowed Businesses and Conditions
The new registration facility applies to specific Kind of Businesses (KoB) within the Trade/Retail and Food Services categories:
- Trade/Retail: Retailer and Food Vending Agencies (Sale of food from vending machines).
- Food Services: Petty Retailer of snacks/tea shops, Hawker (Itinerant / Mobile food vendor), and Food Vending Establishment.
The registration is subject to the following key conditions:
- Validity: The certificate has a maximum validity of up to 3 months and is non-renewable.
- Fee: The fee for registration is Rs 100. Hawkers are specifically exempted from this registration fee as per a FSSAI order dated September 30, 2024.
A User Manual detailing the exact procedure for Registering Authorities to grant the seasonal certificate on the FoSCoS portal has also been released. All FBOs, associations, Food Safety Mitras, and other stakeholders are directed to take note of this Order.