Licences Required to Start a Food Manufacturing or Processing Unit in India

Licences and registrations to plan for

• Planning stage
  Udyam registration

  Free registration that classifies the unit as micro, small or medium. Food processors often use it for bank credit and scheme eligibility, and it is requested early by officers and buyers.

• Before construction
  Building plan / layout approval

  A processing unit needs a sanctioned building on land with an industrial or conforming use. FSSAI's hygiene schedule also expects a workable flow layout, so design it with the food-safety plan in mind.

• Before installing machinery
  Pollution control consent (CTE / CTO)

  Food processing units generate effluent, boiler emissions and organic waste, and most need Consent to Establish and Consent to Operate unless the State Board treats the activity as exempt White category. The category depends on the process.

• Before occupation
  Fire NOC

  Boilers, fryers, ovens, gas and stored packaging make fire risk real. The State fire service checks the building design and later the installed systems.

• Before production
  Factory licence

  Registration and licence under the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020 where the unit meets the worker threshold, from the State factories or labour authority.

• Before production
  FSSAI licence

  Compulsory for any food business. From 1 April 2026 the tiers are registration up to ₹1.5 crore turnover, State licence up to ₹50 crore and Central licence above that, and certain Kinds of Business need a Central licence regardless of turnover.

• Before first sale
  GST registration

  Needed above the turnover threshold, for inter-state supply and to claim input credit on plant, ingredients and packaging. Check the rate for your product, since rates differ across food items.

• Before sale of packed goods
  Legal metrology packer registration (LMPC)

  Packers of commodities in pre-packed form must comply with the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, covering label declarations such as net quantity, and register with the authority where the Rules require it.

• Before launch
  Trademark registration

  Protects the brand name and logo you print on every pack. Filing before launch avoids a clash with an existing mark after you have printed packaging.

• Before retail listing
  GS1 barcode registration

  Not a statutory licence, but retailers and online marketplaces expect GS1-issued barcodes on packaged food. Fees depend on the number of barcodes and your turnover band.

• After licensing, as buyers require
  HACCP certification (optional)

  A hazard-analysis certification issued by an accredited body. It is generally voluntary, but buyers, large retailers and export customers often ask for it. We could not confirm that it is mandatory for any category.

• Before first export
  Import Export Code (IEC)

  Needed to export, and a prerequisite for APEDA registration. The IEC does not expire but must be updated annually between April and June.

• Before first export
  APEDA registration (RCMC) for export

  Exporters of scheduled agricultural and processed food products register with APEDA, now through the e-RCMC facility on the DGFT portal. Validity is five years.

• On hiring
  EPF registration

  Employer registration once the establishment crosses the coverage threshold; processing units are labour-intensive and often cross it early.

The roadmap: what to apply for and in what order

In a food unit, the sequence is driven by what each approval asks to see. The pollution board and fire department want the sanctioned plan, the factory inspector wants the pollution consent and fire clearance, and FSSAI wants the premises to match its hygiene schedule for the food category. If you try FSSAI before the building has a roof, you will get a premises query.

A workable sequence for a new unit is below.

• Choose the entity, obtain PAN and GST registration and file Udyam registration.
• Secure land with an industrial or conforming-use status, and check the State's food processing park or industrial estate terms if you are taking an allotment.
• Get the building plan sanctioned, designed with FSSAI's flow and hygiene requirements in mind.
• Apply for Consent to Establish from the State Pollution Control Board, with process flow, effluent and emission details.
• Apply for fire clearance on the design and install the fire systems.
• Install machinery, then obtain Consent to Operate, the final fire NOC and the factory licence.
• Apply for the FSSAI licence on FoSCoS for the right Kind of Business and tier, and keep the licence number ready for label printing.
• Finalise packaging with legal metrology declarations, register the trademark, obtain barcodes and then pursue export registrations.

Food safety layer: FSSAI, labelling and HACCP

The FSSAI tier is set by your Kind of Business and annual turnover. The 14-digit licence number, logo and vegetarian or non-vegetarian mark must appear on packaged food labels as per the labelling regulations, so the licence needs to be in hand before label artwork is final. Approvals are valid perpetually from 1 April 2026, subject to the annual fee, returns and compliance.

Licensed manufacturers, repackers, relabellers, importers and manufacturer-exporters file an annual return (Form D-1) by 31 May for the previous financial year, per our FSSAI page. Licensed premises are expected to keep a trained Food Safety Supervisor and maintain the hygiene standards of Schedule 4, including pest control and water testing records.

HACCP is a separate matter. FSSAI publishes Schedule 4 guidance and sample HACCP plans for several sectors, and certification bodies issue HACCP certificates against recognised schemes. Treat it as a buyer-driven upgrade unless a regulator or contract tells you otherwise.

Factory, pollution and fire approvals

The four Labour Codes were brought into force on 21 November 2025. Under the OSH&WC Code a factory is a premises with 20 or more workers where power is used, or 40 or more where it is not, although a State can alter the thresholds. State rules decide the forms and fees: Uttar Pradesh notified final OSH&WC Rules on 27 August 2026, while Delhi and Haryana rules were still in draft at our last check, so legacy rules may govern your filing.

Pollution consent is the approval that most often decides timing. CPCB's 2025 categorisation sets Red, Orange, Green, White and Blue categories, with Consent to Operate commonly valid for five, ten and fifteen years for Red, Orange and Green. We have not verified which category each food process falls in, so ask the State Board about your product list rather than assuming exemption.

Fire clearance follows the State's fire Act. Delhi, UP and Haryana each have their own Act and thresholds, and the fire NOC page records that Delhi validity and renewal were reported to have changed in 2025, so confirm with the fire service.

Brand, labelling and export

Packaged food sold by weight or number is a pre-packed commodity under the Legal Metrology Act, 2009, and its labels must carry the mandatory declarations. Registration with the Legal Metrology authority for packers is reported to remain valid until cancelled after the Third Amendment Rules, 2026, with changed particulars updated annually. Our LMPC page flags that this comes from a secondary summary, so check the Department of Consumer Affairs site before filing.

A trademark application is filed on the IP India portal at ₹4,500 per class for startups, individuals and small enterprises or ₹9,000 per class for others, and is valid for ten years from the date of application. Food products usually sit in a goods class, so plan the classes with your product range in mind.

For export, IEC comes first (₹500 for a new IEC as per the fee in Appendix 2K, to be confirmed on DGFT), then APEDA registration through e-RCMC, which costs ₹5,900 including GST and is valid for five years. Some product groups also face product-specific APEDA or destination-country registrations, which we do not cover here.

Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana: where the process differs

Delhi: Industrial space is scarce and factory licensing is limited to conforming areas, so land status is the first check. Pollution consent is with DPCC and fire clearance with the Delhi Fire Service.

Uttar Pradesh: Nivesh Mitra is the single-window entry for most approvals. UPPCB, UP Fire Services and the Labour Department connect to it, and food parks and industrial authorities such as those around Noida and Greater Noida have their own allotment and building rules.

Haryana: HSPCB handles consent and HSIIDC estates require allotment letters with each filing. Haryana's draft OSH&WC rules had not been finalised at our last check.

Recurring compliance calendar

A licensed food unit is inspected on records as well as on premises. Dates vary by State, so treat the pattern below as a starting point and confirm each one.

• Monthly: GST returns, TDS deposit, PF and ESIC contributions, and production, batch and traceability records kept up to date.
• Annually: FSSAI annual fee and the D-1 annual return by 31 May where your category requires it, factory annual return and licence renewal as per State rules, pollution board environment statement, income tax filing, IEC update between April and June if you export.
• At renewal points: Consent to Operate, fire NOC as per State rules, trademark renewal after ten years and APEDA renewal after five.
• On change: modify the FSSAI licence for a new product, address or director, and revisit legal metrology declarations whenever pack size or label content changes.

Common pitfalls we see

• Printing labels before the FSSAI number exists, then reprinting everything.
• Starting production on a Consent to Establish only. Consent to Operate is separate.
• Choosing the wrong Kind of Business on FoSCoS, which can put you in a lower tier than the law requires.
• Mismatched addresses across the sale deed, sanctioned plan, pollution application and FSSAI application.
• Assuming a buyer's HACCP request means it is mandatory, or the reverse, assuming it is never needed. Read the contract.
• Filing the trademark after launch and discovering an earlier owner of a similar mark.

Frequently asked questions

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