Even as most food and beverage industry representatives and bodies are wary of the efficacy of another extension to the deadline for obtaining licence and securing registration by FBOs under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Business) Regulations, 2011, in completion of the process, CAIT, the body spearheading the movement against implementation of FSSR, 2011, in its present state, is confident of finding a solution to the issue in the forthcoming Budget session of Parliament.
While the new deadline is August 4, 2015, entailing an extension of six months, starting from February 4, 2015, the previous deadline, a review of the FSS Act, 2006, and FSSR, 2011, is currently underway. It is expected that this review, which is being done as per the ground realities in India with regard to climatic and other conditions, will make the Act and Regulations more industry-friendly and the same will be adopted in the form of an Amendment to the Regulations during Budget 2015-16.
Praveen Khandelwal, secretary-general, CAIT (Confederation of All India Traders), explains, “There would not be any need to further extend the deadline as the subject of licensing and registration would be duly deliberated in course of the review of FSS Act and Regulations, in the second half of the Budget session and a remedy would be forthcoming in the form of an Amendment.”
Interestingly, the latest extension is the fifth since the implementation of FSS Act, 2006, and the subsequent FSS Regulations, 2011, in the country on August 5, 2011. Thus, though the regulations are in vogue for about four years, the rate of licensing and registration completed so far in the country, stands at approximately six per cent - around 30 lakh out of five crore FBOs completed the procedure.
In this regard, an analysis of the number of licensing and registrations completed in the recent past shows how the pace has been slow all along. FSSAI, in a reply, stated that as on January 15,2015, a total of 23,57,047 FBOs (food business operators) got registered and 5,45,653 got licensed under the Regulations, on December 24,2014, it had granted 17,775 Central licences, while states / UTs granted 5,45,065 licences and registered 23,53,083 FBOs.Even on October 15, 2014, the figures do not have much difference - procedure for obtaining 520,867 licences and securing 22,72,018 registrations was completed. Clearly the pace is sluggish.
Further, in Delhi, till January 31, 2015, 7,213 licences were distributed, a number that was marginally higher than the previous tally - 6,736 licences on January 23. In the latest figures, the number of licences obtained online was marginally up - 5,941 from the previous of 5,464 licences.
While, according to industry experts who are not counting on the Amendment to FSSR, the current extension, which is fifth, will not be sufficient to complete the process of licensing and registration.
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