Registration: the Petty Food Business Operator
Chapter Two
Syllabus topic 1, "Registration procedure as required under The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006."
Pages 3 to 4 of 62
The carve-out
Section 31(2):
Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall apply to a petty manufacturer who himself manufactures or sells any article of food or a petty retailer, hawker, itinerant vendor or a temporary stall holder or small scale or cottage or such other industries relating to food business or tiny food business operator; but they shall register themselves with such authority and in such manner as may be specified by regulations, without prejudice to the availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption or affecting the interests of the consumers.
Two halves. The licence requirement does not apply to them; but they shall register themselves.
Registration is not an exemption. It is a lighter obligation.
Who is a petty food manufacturer
Regulation 1.2.1(4) of the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 defines it:
"Petty Food Manufacturer" means any food manufacturer, who
(a) manufactures or sells any article of food himself or a petty retailer, hawker, itinerant vendor or temporary stall holder; or distributes foods including in any religious or social gathering except a caterer; or
(b) such other food businesses including small scale or cottage or such other industries relating to food business or tiny food businesses with an annual turnover not exceeding Rs 12 lakhs and/or whose
(i) production capacity of food (other than milk and milk products and meat and meat products) does not exceed 100 kg/ltr per day or
(ii) procurement or handling and collection of milk is up to 500 litres of milk per day or
(iii) slaughtering capacity is 2 large animals or 10 small animals or 50 poultry birds per day or less.
The four figures to carry into the hall.
| Test | Limit |
|---|---|
| Annual turnover | Rs. 12 lakh |
| Production capacity, other than milk and meat | 100 kg or litres a day |
| Milk procured, handled or collected | 500 litres a day |
| Slaughtering capacity | 2 large animals, or 10 small animals, or 50 poultry birds a day |
Note the "and/or". The turnover test and the capacity tests are alternatives, so a business under Rs. 12 lakh may register even if it is not under a capacity limit, and the reverse.
And note the exception inside clause (a). A person distributing food at a religious or social gathering is a petty food manufacturer, except a caterer. A caterer takes a licence.
Who registers, in plain words
- The tea stall, the dhaba and the snack shop.
- The hawker and the itinerant vendor.
- The temporary stall holder at a fair.
- The home-based canteen and the dabbawala, both of which Form A names.
- The milk vendor who is not a member of a dairy co-operative society.
- The fish, meat and poultry shop.
- The small manufacturer under the turnover or the capacity limit.
Registration: the Petty Food Business Operator
Form A of Schedule 2 to the Regulations prints that list on its face, and it is the quickest way to remember it.
The procedure
Regulation 2.1.1:
(1) Every petty Food Business Operator shall register themselves with the Registering Authority by submitting an application for registration in Form A under Schedule 2 of these Regulations along with a fee as provided in Schedule 3.
(2) The petty food manufacturer shall follow the basic hygiene and safety requirements provided in Part I of Schedule 4 of these Regulations and provide a self attested declaration of adherence to these requirements with the application.
Form A, the fee in Schedule 3, and a self-attested declaration of hygiene. That is all.
The Registering Authority is defined in Regulation 1.2.1(5): the Designated Officer, a Food Safety Officer, or any official in a panchayat, municipal corporation or other local body notified by the State Food Safety Commissioner for the purpose.
The registration is granted with a photo identity card, and the certificate must be displayed prominently at the place of business.
Registration and licence compared
| Registration | Licence | |
|---|---|---|
| Provision | s.31(2) and Regulation 2.1.1 | s.31(1) and Regulation 2.1.2 |
| Who | Petty food business operators | Everybody else |
| Turnover | Not exceeding Rs. 12 lakh, or within the capacity limits | Above them |
| Form | Form A | Form B |
| Granted by | The Registering Authority, often the local body | The Designated Officer, State or Central |
| Number | Fourteen digits | Fourteen digits |
| Inspection before grant | Not ordinarily | May be required |
| Fee | Lower, Schedule 3 | Higher, Schedule 3 |
Both produce a fourteen-digit number and both must be displayed, so a customer cannot tell them apart at a glance. The difference is in what the business is allowed to be.
The trap
A business that grows past the limits does not stay registered. Crossing Rs. 12 lakh of turnover, or a capacity limit, moves it into the licence tier, and it must apply for a licence. Continuing to trade on a registration after crossing the limit is carrying on a food business without a licence, which is the offence section 31(1) creates.
The accountant is the person who sees the turnover cross the line, and that is why the topic sits on this syllabus rather than on a food technology one.
The rest of this subject
These notes are cut from the University's printed syllabus. Open the syllabus itself, or the past papers, for the same subject.