Food Businesses Must Have FSSAI Licence Number on All Invoices from 1 Oct

From 1st October, all food businesses will be required to include their Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence number on all invoices they issue.

The announcement that was made in June will go into effect from October 1 and covers cash receipts, purchase invoices, bills, and other documents issued by all businesses, but excludes e-way bills or electronic permits required for transportation of goods within and across states, which are generated by the system.

FSSAI acknowledged in June that, while the 14 digit FSSAI licence number is mandatory on packaged food labels, adherence was a problem in the case of restaurants, sweet shops, caterers, and retail outlets.

“No additional transaction documents are required to be issued. The policy aims to leverage on current commercial transaction practises as well as regulatory requirements under tax legislation. As a result, FSSAI strives to keep compliance costs low while improving data dissemination and disclosure," according to an FSSAI order released on June 8th. The goal is to more effectively enforce food safety regulations.

Since concerns continue to be unaddressed owing to a lack of specific information, this step will help customers to;

• Using the FSSAI number, lodge an online complaint against a specific food business.

• Consumers can have access to specific food businesses that are publicly available on FSSAI portals.

• The customer can get information about the FSSAI licence or registration by entering the 14-digit FSSAI License or Registration No. into the “FSSAI portal” or the “Food Safety Connect” app.

The mentioning of the FSSAI number will help increase overall awareness.

Given above, food businesses must include the 14-digit FSSAI License or Registration No. on cash receipts, purchase invoices, cash memos, bills, and so on.

Licensing and registration authorities are instructed to make the policy widely known and to guarantee its mandatory implementation beginning from October 2, 2021.