FSSAI Notifies Revised Turnover Thresholds for Registration, State License, and Central License

FSSAI has revised turnover thresholds for food business categorisation: Registration up to ₹1.5 crore, State License between ₹1.5 crore and ₹50 crore, and Central License above ₹50 crore effective from 1 April 2026.

If you run a food business, this update directly affects which FSSAI category you fall under. FSSAI has officially revised the turnover limits that decide whether you need a Registration, a State License, or a Central License.

What happened

On 13 March 2026, FSSAI issued an order titled "Implementation of revised turnover threshold for food businesses under Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011." This order puts into effect the turnover-classification powers that FSSAI gave itself through the broader Licensing and Registration Amendment Regulations, 2026 (notified 10 March 2026) — the same amendment that also brought in perpetual license validity, deemed registration for street vendors, and risk-based inspections.

Why this came about

The change traces back to recommendations from NITI Aayog's High Level Committee on Non Financial Regulatory Reforms. Based on this, and after approval from the Food Authority and the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, FSSAI's March 2026 amendment gave the Food Authority the power to set turnover thresholds and other classification criteria for food businesses from time to time. This latest order is FSSAI actually exercising that power.

The new turnover thresholds:

What FBOs should do

• Calculate your current turnover from food business operations to check which category you now fall under.
• Check your existing FSSAI status: Registration, State License, or Central License, and see if it still matches your turnover under the new limits.
• If your turnover has crossed ₹1.5 crore, apply to upgrade from Registration to a State License.
• If your turnover has crossed ₹50 crore, make sure you have a Central License in place.
• If your turnover has fallen below a threshold, you may be able to move to a lower category, reducing your compliance burden.
• Keep this in mind alongside the broader March 2026 amendment, since license/registration validity is now perpetual (until suspended, cancelled, or surrendered), but staying in the wrong turnover category can still create compliance issues.

For exam aspirants: what's worth noting

• Remember the source of policy justification here, NITI Aayog's High-Level Committee on Non Financial Regulatory Reforms a useful reference point for questions on the origins of recent FSSAI reforms.
• The three tier structure (Registration / State License / Central License) with the ₹1.5 crore and ₹50 crore cut offs is worth memorising exactly.

Source: F. No. RCD-01002/1/2021-Regulatory-FSSAI-Part(1) [Comp. No. 4550], dated 13 March 2026, signed by Sweety Behera, Director (Regulatory Compliance), FSSAI