Licencing deadline extended to February 4, due to regulatory loopholes

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), following a notice issued by the health ministry, granted food business operators (FBO) a further six months to obtain or renew their licences or registration, as the case may be. The new deadline is February 4, 2015. 

Several players in the industry, however, attribute the extension to regulatory loopholes. Among these is the Indian Beverage Association (IBA), whose source opined that the country’s apex food regulator extended the deadline for registration and licencing for the same reason.

He said, “Since FSSAI and the health ministry are unable to finalise the regulations, they have to resort to such interim measures to facilitate the industry. Just 4-5 per cent of the six crore FBO across India are registered or licenced. This shows poor progress in the implementation of the Act.”

However, some lauded the decision. A technical official from All India Food Processors Association (AIFPA), on the condition of anonymity, said, “The food industry is very happy with FSSAI’s decision to extend the deadline for registration and licencing by another six months.”

When quizzed whether the fourth extension was justified, she said, “FSSAI has limited staff to carry out the procedure of licencing and registration, so extension is essential. And it would give them more time to obtain licences/get registered and become aware of the importance of the same.”

Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), said, “We compliment health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan for taking cognisance of the sufferings and plight of the trading community and deferring the deadline.” 

“The CAIT members also appreciate the efforts of senior BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Sushma Swaraj to take up the issue of the traders with the health minister, because it has brought a relief to the trading community across the country,” he added.

Khandelwal added, “For the time being, it is a big relief to the traders and citizens of the country, but CAIT would continue its fight since the Food Safety and Standards Regulations (FSSR), 2011, suffer from several anomalies and disparities.” 

“During our talks with Dr Vardhan, we asked him to constitute a joint committee of senior government officials and CAIT representatives to study the Act and its Rules and Regulations in depth and recommend amendments to make it universally acceptable to all sections of the society,” he added.