What should I do if my FSSAI Application gets rejected?

The Government of India established the Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) to ensure safe and wholesome food for human consumption. A food business with an FSSAI registration/license can get legal benefits, customer trust and brand reputation. It ensures your commitment to providing safe and healthy products to consumers. But, getting an FSSAI license/registration certificate has its challenges and goes through several stages. The reasons for your FSSAI application rejection could be due to the late submission of required information, inadequate payment, etc. However, it can be revived by taking several steps detailed in this article.

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Reasons for your FSSAI Application Rejection

As an applicant, you must know why your licence/registration application is rejected. We have given information regarding the common reasons for FSSAI application rejection. The main thing is ensuring your food business’s operations adhere to the FSSAI rules and regulations.

Late Submission of Required Information: The licensing officer will reject your application if the required information is not provided within 30 days of the stipulated time.
Incomplete or Inaccurate Information: You might miss details or documents in the license application, leading to rejection. The information and documents must be accurate, including business details, contact information, identity proofs, address proofs, and photographs. As FSSAI values accuracy, providing inaccurate information can cause rejection.
Non-Adherence to Food Safety Standards: Failure to meet FSSAI food safety standards, like using substandard ingredients or poor sanitation practices, leads to rejection.
Inadequate Infrastructure: Insufficient facilities, such as improper storage, cause foodborne illnesses, spoilage, and quality issues, resulting in rejection due to potential health and quality issues.
Failure to adhere to FSSAI Regulations: FSSAI categorised the business into three types: FSSAI registration, State license, and Central license. Applying for the wrong category or not meeting the specific requirements of the chosen category leads to the refusal of your application. The difference between FSSAI registration and FSSAI license depends on the turnover limit, business size, etc.
Inadequate Payment of Fee: Non-payment or delayed fees can become the reason for the rejection. Paying the fees on time is advisable.

Note: In the case of a license, the applicant will have a chance to be heard before the rejection, and the reason for the refusal will be recorded in writing. Remember, it does not apply to FSSAI basic registration. Learn about FSSAI rules for Food Business

How can you get revived from the FSSAI rejection?

If your FSSAI application faces rejection, don't worry—there's still hope. The government prioritises public welfare and reviews applications diligently. Despite rejection, steps can be taken to revive your application. We provide the steps for reviving each license type - FSSAI Basic Registration, State Licence and Central License.

Reactivation of FSSAI Registration/ State License Rejected Application

Use the following steps to reactivate the rejected FSSAI registration/ state license application.

Petty Food Business Operators (FBOs) must apply with the concerned State Food Safety Commissioner or DO within 6 months of registration to reactivate the rejected application.
Within 30 days of a request from FBO, the Commissioner of Food Safety of the State/ DO will examine the request and send his recommendation to the RC division.
The Recommendation of the Commissioner of License will be sent to the IT division to reactivate the application.
After receiving information from RCD, the IT division will reactivate the application and communicate about that to CFS under RCD’s supervision.

Reactivation of FSSAI Central License Rejected Application

Below, we have provided the step-by-step approach to reactivate the rejected FSSAI Central License Application.

FBOs must apply to the concerned Regional Office (RO) within 6 months to reactivate rejected applications.
The director of RO will examine the request on the merits of the case and send his recommendation to FSSAI HQ within 30 days of receiving the request from FBO.
After receiving the recommendation from RO, RCD will examine the case. The competent authority for this kind of case will be the Executive director and RCD.
The approval of the case will be referred to the IT division by the RCD, and the IT division will proceed to reactivate the application.
In certain exceptional cases, FBO can directly approach FSSAI HQ. These cases will be decided with the approval of the CEO.

How long will it take a New Application to be processed?

The processing of a new FSSAI application can take up to six months, and in certain cases, the duration may extend depending on the application's complexity. Applicants need to be patient during this period. The application is carefully reviewed to ensure accuracy and compliance with regulations.

How to self-reactivate the auto-rejected FSSAI application?

Your Licensing/Registration Applications could be auto-rejected due to the non-response to the queries by the concerned authority within the specified timeline. In that case, you can self-reactivate the application without the intervention of authority. Below, we have provided the information regarding why your application got auto-rejected and how to self-activate it.

Auto-Rejection Process:

Applicants must provide details sought from the authority within 30 days on FoSCoS.
Failure to submit the required information within 30 days leads to auto-rejection.

Self-Reactivation:

FBOs can self-reactivate auto-rejected applications only once per filed application.
FBOs can self-reactivate within 30 days of auto-rejection without authority intervention or fees by providing a valid reason for the delay.
FBOs can self-reactivate between 31 and 60 days of auto-rejection by paying specified fees (Rs. 50 + GST for Registration, Rs. 500 + GST for License) along with a valid reason.

Important Notes:

The provision is exclusively for reactivating auto-rejected applications.
Requests for reactivation through any other means will not be entertained.
This does not apply to cases where the Designated Officer has rejected the license grant (appeals lie with the Commissioner of Food Safety or CEO, FSSAI).

How to make an online request to reactive the FSSAI rejected application?

The FSSAI issued an order to develop the functionality in FoSCoS, which enables the FBO to make online requests to reactivate the rejected application. According to this order, the request against rejection of the registration certification application will be routed to the concerned designated officers. In contrast, the request for the license application rejection will routed to the commissioner of food safety. In the case of the Central license, the application will be sent to the CEO of FSSAI. The application will be accepted after the acceptance of the request. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, FBOs are given six months to request online. It will be progressively reduced to 15 days, as the order states.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while facing a rejection of your FSSAI application can be disheartening, it is crucial to understand that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India plays an essential role in ensuring the safety and quality of food products in the country. The rejection of an application doesn't imply the end of the road; rather, it presents an opportunity for improvement and rectification. Use this rejection as a call to enhance your standards. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can navigate the process of reactivating your FSSAI application.

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