Traders welcome govt’s simplified food licence policy

Prayagraj: It was a long standing demand that since there is no provision for annual renewal under GST or Income Tax regulations, there should be no requirement for annual renewal of food licences. Through a gazette notification issued on Mar 10, govt abolished the renewal requirement, establishing that once a licence or registration is obtained, it will no longer need to be renewed subsequently.State President Confederation of All India Traders Mahendra Goyal said, "Previously, it was mandatory for food business operators to obtain food registration or licence from Food Safety and Drug Administration Department and there was provision requiring annual renewal of this licence—a process that could be undertaken for a period ranging from 1 to 5 years. It often happened that if a trader inadvertently overlooked the renewal deadline, their licence was cancelled after a specific period, compelling them to apply for a new licence and undergo the entire complex application process once again."Goyal added that, in addition to this, govt provided significant relief by raising annual turnover threshold for mandatory registration. Previously, applicable to businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 12 lakh, this limit was increased to Rs 1.5 crore. Additionally, the previous regulations stipulated that merchants with an annual turnover of up to Rs 5 crore were required to obtain a licence from state authorities, while those with a turnover exceeding Rs 5 crore had to obtain a licence from Central authorities. This threshold was revised: merchants with an annual turnover of up to Rs 50 crore will obtain their licences from the State authorities, while those with a turnover exceeding Rs 50 crore will obtain them from the Central authorities.Providing relief to street food vendors, the new provisions stipulate vendors registered with municipal corporation—or those registered under the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014—will be deemed registered under the FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India). The practical effect of this measure is that street food vendors will be spared the burden of registering themselves with two separate agencies and will be protected from harassment.Goyal, meanwhile, clarified that all these new provisions will come into effect from Apr 1; consequently, existing registrations or licences with a validity period expiring on or before Mar 31, 2026, must still undergo renewal process for the time being.