Those dealing in food business in the state will no more
have to visit the office of civil surgeon or district health officer to apply
for registration or to obtain licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act,
2006, as the health department has launched an online facility for the purpose.
The department has already organised official training for
its food safety officers and other health staff to facilitate people. A team of
experts has also held an exercise for them in districts recently.
The health department would soon send computers, scanners
and printers to the headquarters besides an operator who will be assigned by
the department to handle online applications.
The food safety officers have been ordered not to entertain
any application regarding food licence through offline mode this week.
For the online facility, applicants can log on to the
designated website foodlicensing.fssai.gov.in, where they will have
to register as users after furnishing details of the business. After that a fee
has to be submitted as per the government order. Then, the applicant would have
to fill up the form for seeking registration/issuance of licence and upload scanned
copies of the required documents on the website.
Even after the facility goes online, applicants will also
have to send documents and receipt through registered post to the office of
district health officer.
After getting the application through online mode, health
workers will visit the shops or manufacturing units for physical verification
of the premises.
Food business operators with an annual turnover of above Rs.
12 crore it is must to have a licence and those who earn less than Rs. 12 crore
a year must get a registration certificate, as per the Food Safety and
Standards Act, 2006.
Sources said till date, nearly 1,600 eateries have got
licences and nearly 8,200 joints, including stall holders, hotels, restaurants,
canteens, dhabas, food carts, sweetshops, tea stalls, grocery stores, meat
sellers and milk sellers, have got themselves registered with the department.
Sources added that if the Centre has been continually
putting pressure on the state health department to start online facility as
eight states have already implemented this system.
They said due to general elections, the Centre had extended
the deadline from February 4 to August 4. The health department would start
issuing challans to those, who fail to enroll under this Act.
They added that earlier, the deadline for registration and
getting licences were extended two times, from August 5, 2012, to February 4,
2013, and then from February 4, 2013, to February 4, 2014 and later to August
4.
“Once the code of conduct ends, the department will also
publicise the online facility,” they said.
Earlier, the district health officials held camps asking
shopkeepers and other outlet owners to apply for licence or registration
manually.
According to the Act that was implemented in August 2011, a
food business with an annual turnover exceeding Rs. 12 lakh requires a licence,
while those earning below that need registration only.
The fee for registration is Rs. 100, and for a licence it
varies from Rs. 2,000-Rs 3,000 and Rs. 5,000 depending on the category of the
business.
When contacted, state food safety commissioner Hussan Lal
said, “As of now, application for licence will be taken through online facility
and after few weeks application for registration will also be accepted online.”
