FSSAI had framed the draft Food Safety and Standards (Import) Amendment Regulations 2018 which were related to the issuance of provisional no objection certificate for import of pre-packaged retail food articles. The process of draft regulations, consideration of comments received and finalization of regulations is likely to take some time. Therefore, in order to reduce the time taken in the process of clearance of imported food items and to facilitate the ease of doing business, the FSSAI has decided to operationalize the same with immediate effect from 1 May 2018.
The FSSAI has drafted some amendments to the regulation and these draft regulations will be called the Draft Food Safety and Standards (Import) Second Amendment Regulations, 2018. These will come into force on the date of their final publication in the Official Gazette
The amendments have been made in the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017
In Chapter V Regulation 9 – Sampling of Imported Food in respect of the imported article of food after sub-regulation (3) the following are proposed to be added
- 3a) In case of the imported pre-packaged retail food article, the Authorised Officer, after successful completion of visual inspection and sampling, may issue a provisional no objection certificate to move the food consignment to a well-equipped storage facility.
- 3b) for the purpose of sub-regulation (3a), the Authorised Officer shall take a declaration from the importer in ‘Form 13 A’ and importer shall sell such pre-packaged food articles only after the issuance of no objection certificate by the Authorised Officer.
‘Form 13 A’ to be used for the declaration regarding the issue of provisional no objection certificate for imported pre-packaged retail food consignment is as follows.
(The following is to be printed on the letterhead of the FBO/Importer/Company)
To
Authorised Officer
(Name of Port of Import)
Dear Sir,
I/We………………..resident of ……………… (as Proprietor /Partner/ Managing Director/Director/ Authorised Signatory) of M/s……………….are importers of……<name of the food article>…… in the consignment imported vide …..<Bill of Entry> …… dated……at…<port location> ……request you to issue provisional NOC for the same.
I/We hereby undertake to comply with the following terms and conditions on behalf of the importing firm/company as under:
- The entire assignment under the above mentioned Bill of Entry will be retained in a storage facility at ……<address of warehouse>…. and no part of the consignment shall be released into the market prior to issuance of the no objection certificate.
- Both Customs and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India have the right to inspect the said storage facility at any time to ensure that the consignment is held securely till the no objection certificate is provided by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
- In the event of non-compliance of any rules, regulations made under the FSS Act, I /We shall be fully responsible to move the cargo back to Customs jurisdiction and comply with all the norms for destruction/re-export as may be decided by the Competent Authority
- In case of non-compliance of any of the above-mentioned norms, I/We shall not be eligible to avail the above-mentioned facility in future. Besides, I/We will be liable for contravention of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and rules and regulations made thereunder.
Signatures of the Importer with Stamp/Seal | |
Name: | |
Place: | Address: |
Date: | Contact Nos.: |
Source: FSSAI
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