# FSSAI product approval, import NOC and export documentation

Source: https://saideeppharma.com/services/fssai-import-noc/
Provider: Saideep Pharma Solution, Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Last reviewed: 2026-08-23

Food and nutraceutical products entering India need an FSSAI Central Licence held by the importer and a no objection certificate issued at the port after inspection and sampling through the Food Import Clearance System. Health supplements and nutraceuticals must additionally comply with the composition and labelling standards set for their category.

## Forms and terms referenced

- **FSSAI Central Licence**: Required for importers
- **FICS**: Food Import Clearance System
- **IEC**: Importer Exporter Code, prerequisite

## The licence comes before the consignment

An importer of food products needs an FSSAI Central Licence, and it must be in place before goods arrive. The licence lists the product categories the importer is permitted to bring in, which means an importer diversifying into a new category needs a licence modification, not just a new consignment filing.

An Importer Exporter Code is a prerequisite, and the address on the FSSAI licence has to reconcile with the customs registration. Mismatches here are a routine cause of consignments sitting at port.

## Clearance at the port

Consignments are filed through the Food Import Clearance System, inspected, and in most cases sampled. The no objection certificate follows a satisfactory laboratory report. A non-conforming report leads to rejection or re-export, and demurrage accrues throughout.

Shelf life at the point of import is the trap. Consignments are commonly refused because insufficient residual shelf life remains at arrival, which is a shipping and planning problem rather than a regulatory one, but it is regulated all the same.

## Nutraceuticals and health supplements

This category carries its own composition and labelling standards, covering permitted ingredients, permitted additives, quantity limits and what may be claimed on the label. A product formulated for a market with a more permissive claims regime frequently needs reformulation or relabelling before it can be sold here.

Where a product falls close to the boundary between a food supplement and a drug, the classification question should be settled first. It determines which regulator you are dealing with entirely.

## What you need to supply

- Importer Exporter Code and customs registration details
- FSSAI Central Licence or the application for one
- Product composition with quantities of each ingredient
- Labels and artwork, original and proposed Indian version
- Certificate of analysis for the consignment
- Shelf life and storage condition documentation

## Questions we get asked

**Do I need an FSSAI licence before importing, or can I apply per consignment?**

Before importing. An FSSAI Central Licence must be held by the importer and must cover the product categories being brought in. Consignment-level clearance through the Food Import Clearance System is a separate step that assumes the licence is already in place.

**What causes food consignments to be held or rejected at port?**

Most commonly insufficient residual shelf life at arrival, labelling that does not meet Indian requirements, product categories not covered by the importer's licence, and laboratory results outside specification. All four are avoidable before shipment, which is where we prefer to work.

**Are nutraceuticals regulated by FSSAI or by CDSCO?**

Health supplements and nutraceuticals sit with FSSAI under their own category standards. Products that make a therapeutic claim or contain a scheduled substance can fall under drug regulation instead, so the classification should be settled at formulation stage rather than at the border.

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