Members
of Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association have thanked Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh and Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare Ghulam Nabi
Azad for extending by six months the time for the foodgrains merchants to
register themselves and take licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act,
2006. In a statement, M. Karthikeyan, joint secretary of the association, said
the members of the association met Mr.Azad on January 31. N.S.V. Chitthan,
Member of Parliament, Dindigul constituency, and B. Manick Tagore, Member of
Parliament, Virudhunagar, arranged the meeting with the Union Minister.
Most food outlets illegal as vendors fail to get licences TIMES NEWS NETWORK
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Registration ID: 6-month breather for eateries
FSSAI
extends deadline for obtaining food business operator licence to August 4
Restaurants
and eateries have got six more months to obtain a food business operator
licence. The deadline set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been extended
till August 4 from the earlier February 4. The National Restaurants Association
of India (NRAI) had written to FSSAI to extend it.
Owners had pointed out that the government even after announcing the mandatory permit did not facilitate the on-ground procedures for getting the licence. "The set-up was not ready to process the applications. Everything had to be done manually," said Prakul Kumar, secretary general, NRAI. Online application was allowed only in January, close to the final deadline, he said.
FSSAI is also dealing with a rush of applications. It announced on Tuesday that "due to the unprecedented volume of licensing and registration applications, the functionality of online payment is currently disabled". It also said only demand drafts and challans would be accepted for payment.
"It is not like restaurants would be asked to shut shop immediately. There is a process and usually a warning period of three months is given to the erring person, that can ultimately lead to prosecution," said Kamlesh Barot, president, Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
Several restaurants have also found the process of filling the applications and the requirements to comply to be impractical. "It took us over two days just to fill the form. Most restaurants would find it difficult to comply with these norms," said Virat Chhabra, spokesperson, Mia Bella Gastropub at Delhi's Hauz Khas Village.
While most organised entities have managed to get the licence, it is hawkers and others in the unorganised sector which could be in trouble. The idea behind the guidelines is to ensure hygiene and international standards for food, through specific rules about procurement of material, labelling, advertising, etc.
Owners had pointed out that the government even after announcing the mandatory permit did not facilitate the on-ground procedures for getting the licence. "The set-up was not ready to process the applications. Everything had to be done manually," said Prakul Kumar, secretary general, NRAI. Online application was allowed only in January, close to the final deadline, he said.
FSSAI is also dealing with a rush of applications. It announced on Tuesday that "due to the unprecedented volume of licensing and registration applications, the functionality of online payment is currently disabled". It also said only demand drafts and challans would be accepted for payment.
"It is not like restaurants would be asked to shut shop immediately. There is a process and usually a warning period of three months is given to the erring person, that can ultimately lead to prosecution," said Kamlesh Barot, president, Federation of Hotels and Restaurants Association of India.
Several restaurants have also found the process of filling the applications and the requirements to comply to be impractical. "It took us over two days just to fill the form. Most restaurants would find it difficult to comply with these norms," said Virat Chhabra, spokesperson, Mia Bella Gastropub at Delhi's Hauz Khas Village.
While most organised entities have managed to get the licence, it is hawkers and others in the unorganised sector which could be in trouble. The idea behind the guidelines is to ensure hygiene and international standards for food, through specific rules about procurement of material, labelling, advertising, etc.
BITTER OFFERING
- Most owners said the government, even after announcing the mandatory permit, did not facilitate the on-ground procedures to apply for the licence
- The idea behind the guidelines is to ensure hygiene and international standards for food, through specific rules about procurement of food material, labeling, advertising etc
Hyderabad Eateries.. It’s Time to Register Under FSS Act
Many
restaurants, hotels, roadside eateries, stores selling food, meat stalls and
groceries have not been registered under Food Safety and Standard Act (FSS),
2006 with Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC).
Centre
has extended deadline until February 4, 2014 for hotels and small eateries to
take licence. In all, there are 12,000 hotels and 20,000 small eateries in
Hyderabad, of which only 5,000 have taken licences and registered with GHMC.
According
to FSS Act, the licence is mandatory for any food-related business. Eateries
should obtain the licence based on their turn-over. Businesses with turnover
more than Rs.12 lakh have to pay Rs. 2,000 for licence and for those whose
turnover is less than 12 lakh have to pay Rs.100 to register with GHMC.
If
a business owner fails to take licence under the Act, the designated officers
are authorised to prosecute him/her. The court is likely to impose a fine of
Rs.5 lakh for businesses with turnover more than 12 lakh while for
establishments having less than this, the fine could be up to Rs.2 lakh.
Rules
under FSS Act were revised in August 2011. In 2012, 3,575 eateries had taken
licences and 4,655 got registered. In 2013, only 2,495 eateries obtained
licences and 1,484 registered with the proper authorities within GHMC limits.
The poor response was mainly due to lack of awareness. GHMC has already
conducted meetings with hotel associations and bakeries’ associations to bring
awareness. Some more awareness programmes are being planned for roadside
eateries.
Deadline for registering under FSSA extended by 6 months
MADURAI: A large number of shopkeepers, hoteliers and
roadside eateries thronged the food safety and drug administration department
in Vishwananthapuram in the city on Tuesday, as Tuesday was the last day to get
licence from the Food Safety Standards Authority of
India (FSSAI). However, it was later announced that the last date to
register or get licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act (Licensing and
Registration of Food Business Operators) 2011, has been postponed by another
six months.
Official sources from the department said that there are around 18,000 units including eateries, roadside fast food shops, hotels and other shops dealing with eatables in Madurai district. An estimated 50% of the total units have already been registered. However, officials said the exact number of units registered is being enumerated. Repeated attempts to contact J Suguna, designated officer, Tamil Nadu food safety and drug administration went in vain.
Official sources also said that until February 4, 2013, the last date announced then, around 8,000 units only had registered. According to the Act, business units dealing with food items with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh should be registered with the food safety and drug administration department. Units with more than Rs 12 lakh will have to get licence from the authorities. On Tuesday, which was the scheduled deadline, a large number of people thronged the office for registration fearing action from the authorities. The officials had announced that all the shops would be raided after the deadline and those without registration and licences would be punished.
"I am not fully aware of the Act. I came to know that the registration was mandatory. I came here to register my tiffin centre in Munichalai since I do not want any risk. I was told that the registration fees and renewal is not much so I don't have any issues in getting registered," S Vijayakumar, who runs an eatery said.
However, the announcement later in the day that the last date to register has been postponed by another six months came as a relief for the business community. Responding to the announcement, S P Jeyapragasam, president of Tamil Nadu Food Grains Merchants Association Limited thanked all the concerned people including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union minister for health and family welfare Gulam Nabi Azad, Members of Parliament N S V Chittan, B Manickathagore and state health minister C Vijaya Baskar for acting on their requests. He said that they had met several leaders to get the six months extension.
Official sources from the department said that there are around 18,000 units including eateries, roadside fast food shops, hotels and other shops dealing with eatables in Madurai district. An estimated 50% of the total units have already been registered. However, officials said the exact number of units registered is being enumerated. Repeated attempts to contact J Suguna, designated officer, Tamil Nadu food safety and drug administration went in vain.
Official sources also said that until February 4, 2013, the last date announced then, around 8,000 units only had registered. According to the Act, business units dealing with food items with an annual turnover of less than Rs 12 lakh should be registered with the food safety and drug administration department. Units with more than Rs 12 lakh will have to get licence from the authorities. On Tuesday, which was the scheduled deadline, a large number of people thronged the office for registration fearing action from the authorities. The officials had announced that all the shops would be raided after the deadline and those without registration and licences would be punished.
"I am not fully aware of the Act. I came to know that the registration was mandatory. I came here to register my tiffin centre in Munichalai since I do not want any risk. I was told that the registration fees and renewal is not much so I don't have any issues in getting registered," S Vijayakumar, who runs an eatery said.
However, the announcement later in the day that the last date to register has been postponed by another six months came as a relief for the business community. Responding to the announcement, S P Jeyapragasam, president of Tamil Nadu Food Grains Merchants Association Limited thanked all the concerned people including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union minister for health and family welfare Gulam Nabi Azad, Members of Parliament N S V Chittan, B Manickathagore and state health minister C Vijaya Baskar for acting on their requests. He said that they had met several leaders to get the six months extension.
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