FSSAI Food License

FSSAI Registration ( FSSAI Licence)

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is a legal authority that offers a food license to all food business operators (FBO) in India. All the FBOs must follow all the rules and regulations of FSSAI for food quality control.

An FBO requires an FSSAI License or Registration all depends upon the parts like the size of production, managing nature of food business activities and range of operation. In the FSSAI Registration process, the FBO will get 14 digit number that needs to be printed on food packages.

FSSAI Registration ensures the security of food products and it is essentially a food safety certificate circulated by the food authority in India. All the manufacturers, traders, restaurants, grocery shops, importers and exporters, etc are eligible for issuing FSSAI Licence. FSSAI Licensing assures that food products undergo specific quality checks, thereby decreasing the cases of adulteration, substandard products.

Who needs FSSAI Registration?

• FBO likes a wholesaler, distributor, supplier, and retailer, food vending establishments, hawkers, club, canteen, Dhaba, hotel, restaurants, and storage with an annual turnover of less than Rs. 12 lakh, between Rs.12 Lakh- Rs.20 crore or more than Rs. 20 crore.
• Petty producers manufacturing by itself
• A makeshift stall selling food products.
• Businesses involved in selling food at a social or religious gathering, other than a caterer.
• Cottage industries associated with food products
• Production or processing units of vegetable oil by the process of solvent extraction and refineries including oil expeller system. With a capacity to provide not more than 100 kg/liter per day (except milk or meat).
• Dairy units, involved in procurement/collection/handling/chilling of milk, having a capacity of not more than 500 liters per day, or up to 2.5 Metric Ton of milk solids annually
• A slaughtering capacity of not more than 2 large animals or 10 small animals or 50 poultry birds per day.
• Proprietary Foods
• Production and processing units of vegetable oil by the process of solvent extraction and refineries including oil expeller unit. With a turnover within Rs. 12 lacs to Rs. 20 crores annually.
• Hotels of 4-star ratings or less or that have been rated 5-star or more.
• Storages having a capacity of less than 50,000 metric tonnes yearly or with a capacity of more than 50,000 metric tonnes.
• All food processing units including re-packers, with a daily capacity of not less than 100 kg/liter to up to 2 metric tonnes.
• 100 % export oriented units involved in food production or processing.
• Every Importer including the import of food ingredients or additives.
• Caterers working under Central Government or related agencies such as Railways, Airlines and airport, Seaport, Defence, etc.
• All food processing units including re-packers and excluding the grains, pulses & cereals milling units with a capacity of over 2 metric tonnes per day.
• All FBOs involved in producing an item of food, additive or its ingredient, using some new process or technology, and/or a combination thereof, whose safety has not been established yet by the FSSAI. Or they may not have a history of safe usage. It covers the food articles being introduced in the country, for the first time.

Types of FSSAI Licence

Businesses engaged in food activities are required to apply for food licence of different types based on turnover, scale of business and the type of activity. The Types of FSSAI Food licence are as follows:

FSSAI Basic Registration

The FSSAI registration is for food business operators (FBOs) which have small-sized business or start-ups. They have their annual turnover less than Rs.12 Lakh. Basic registration can be upgraded depends on your business sales graph productivity.

FSSAI State license

The State FSSAI License is for the FBOs which have medium- size business. They have their annual turnover more than Rs. 12 Lakhs or up to Rs.20 crores. The state licence can be further upgraded to central licence all depends on your business sale graph productivity.

FSSAI Central license

The Central FSSAI License is applicable for FBOs which have large business annual turnover i.e. above Rs.20 crores. It is also required in cases where you need to supply at the government offices or import / export food products.

Import Export Code

Import Export Code or IEC is a 10-digit code that a business or a person needs to import/export goods/services. This code is issued by DGFT (Director General of Foreign trade), Ministry of Commerce and Industries, Government of India. The validity of this code is for lifetime, that is, there is no need to renew it. This code is generated within 5-15 working days after the documents are submitted and all the corrections required are made.

This code has many names, like importer exported code, import export code, import export license, import export number, IE code, IE license etc. You can issue this code in either your name or under company’s name. Once issued, it is valid for all its division/units/factories/branches.

ISO REGISTRATION

ISO Certificate

ISO certificate is one of the ways that provide standards to the organizations and thus lead way to innovation and development of trade. These standards also ensure that the products and services of the organization meet the customer and regulatory requirements. In addition to this, it also demonstrates continuous improvement. ISO is an independent, non-governmental, international organization that creates standards to ensure the quality, safety, and efficiency of the products, services, and systems. It also certifies that the management system, manufacturing process, service or the documentation process has fulfilled all the requirements for standardization and quality assurance.

ISO certificate is provided in many areas of industry, that is from energy management and social responsibility to medical devices and risk management.

We, at Engrossed Hub, provide the client every ISO, including some of the major ISOs like ISO 9001, ISO 1400z, OHSAS 18001, ISO 20000, ISO 50001, etc.

Employees Provided Fund Registration

EPF is one of the main platform of savings in India for nearly all people working in Government, Private or Public sector organizations. It is implemented by the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) of India.

Companies which have employee strength of 20 or more are required to be registered with PF Department. The capacity of 20 includes contract employees like housekeeping, security or other contractual workers in the business. Those companies which do not have the endorsed number of employees but willing to register themselves to provide the advantages of Provident Fund to their employees can register voluntarily with the Regional Provident Fund Office. Registration has to be done within One month from the date of hiring 20 employees. Any delay may result in a penalty.

Who is Eligible for PF?

It is obligatory that employees’ drawing less than Rs 15,000 per month, to become members of the EPF. As per the guidelines in EPF, employee, whose ‘basic pay’ is more than Rs. 15,000 per month, at the time of joining, is not requried to make PF contributions. Nevertheless, an employee who is drawing a pay of more than Rs 15,000 can still become a member and make PF contributions, with the consent of the Employer and Assistant PF Commissioner.

Amount of PF Contribution

The PF contribution paid by the employer is 12% of (basic salary + dearness allowance + retaining allowance). An equal contribution is payable by the employee. In case of establishments which engage less than 20 employees or meet certain other conditions, as per the EPFO rules, the contribution rate for both employee and the employer is restricted to 10%. For most employees working in the private sector, it’s the basic salary on which the contribution is calculated.

Employees Pension Scheme

Out of employers’ contribution, 8.33% will be routed to Employees’ Pension Scheme, which is calculated at Rs 15,000. The amount routed to EPS would be Rs. 1250 for employees whose basic pay amounts to Rs 15,000 or more. However, if the basic pay is less than Rs 15000, then 8.33% of such amount would be routed to EPS, the balance will be retained in the EPF scheme. On superannuation, the employee would receive the full share plus the balance of employer’s share reserved for his credit in EPF account.

Breakup of PF Contribution

We arrive at the rate of 12% based on the following sub-division:

• 3.67% of contribution towards Employees’ Provident Fund
• 1.1% of contribution towards EPF Administration Charges
• 0.5% of contribution towards Employees’ Deposit Linked Insurance
• 0.01% of contribution towards EDLI Administration Charges
• 8.33% of contribution towards Employees’ Pension Scheme

EPF Charges

• Contribution is rounded to the nearest rupee for each employee, for the employee share, pension contribution and EDLI contribution.
• The Employer Share is the difference between employee Share (payable as per statute) and Pension Contribution.
• Monthly payable amount liable to EPF Administrative charges is rounded to the nearest rupee and a minimum of Rs. 500/- is payable.
• If the establishment has no member in the month, the minimum administrative charge will be Rs. 75/-
• Monthly payable amount under EDLI Administrative charges is rounded to the nearest rupee and a minimum Rs 200/-is payable.
• If the establishment has no member in the month, the minimum administrative charge will be Rs. 25/-
• In case, establishment is exempted from PF Scheme, Inspection charges @0.18%, minimum Rs. 5/- is payable in place of Admin charges.
• In case the Establishment is exempted under EDLI Scheme, Inspection charges @ 0.005%, minimum Re 1/- is payable in place of Admin charges.

Due Date for PF Filing with EPFO

The employer before paying the employees salary must deduct the employee’s contribution from his wages. Then the employee portion and employer portion are payable to the EPFO, within 15 days of the close of every month.

PF Return Filing

Provident fund is a social security system that was introduced for the purpose of encouraging savings among employees, so as to benefit them during the course of their retirement. Contributions are made by the employer and the employee on a monthly basis. PF contributions can only be withdrawn by the employee at the time of his/her retirement, barring a few exceptions. All employers having PF registration are responsible to file returns on a monthly basis. The filing of returns must be completed by the 25th of each month. This article deals with the filing of provident fund returns, and the various forms through which the purpose must be fulfilled

Employers can now easily file PF return through the Unified Portal

Form 2

This form is filed for the purpose of declaration and nomination under the flagship schemes of Employees Provident Fund and Employees Family Pension. It must be filed by an employee when he joins an entity. The form must be submitted along with Form 5. Form 2 is divided into two distinct parts:

Part A

Part A of Form 2 specifically deals with nominating the recipients of EPF balance of a particular account holder, in the event of his/her death. The following details of the nominee must be included in this part of the form:

• Name
• Address
• Relationship with the subscriber
• Age
• Sum of money to be paid to the nominee
• Guardian details (if the nominee is a minor)

Note: This section must be signed or a thumb impression has to be made at the end of the section.

Part B

Part B should contain the details of the nominee as already specified in Form A. In addition to it, details of the family members who are eligible to receive the children/widow pension must be furnished.

Note: This section must be signed or a thumb impression has to be made at the end of the section.

Form 5

Form 5 is a monthly report which contains details pertaining to the employees who have been newly enrolled into the provident fund scheme. The form must include the following details:

• Name of Organization
• Address of organization
• Code number of organization
• Account number of employee
• Name of employee
• Name of the husband/father
• Date of Birth of the employee
• Date of joining
• Track record of work

Note: The form must be filed and stamped by the employer, with the date of filing of form.

Form 10

Form 10 is a monthly report that contains details of the employees who have ceased to be a part of the scheme on a given month. The following details must be filled in the form:

• Account number.
• Name of employee.
• Name of the father or husband.
• Date of leaving service.
• Reason for leaving service.

Note: The form must be filed and stamped by the employer, with the date of filing of form.

Form 12A

Form 12A is a report that includes the details of the payments contributed to the account of the respective employee in a particular month.

Annual PF Return Filing

Annual returns must be filed by the 30th of April in a given year. The forms utilized for filing these returns are:

• Form 3A
• Form 6A

Form 3A

Known as a member’s annual contribution card, Form 3A depicts the month-wise contributions made by the subscriber/member and employer towards E.P.F and Pension Fund in a particular year. The data is calculated for every member who is a part of the scheme. In addition to it, the scheme will include the following details:

• Account number
• Name of the subscriber
• Name of the father or husband
• Name and address of the factory/establishment
• Statutory rate of contribution
• Voluntary contribution rate, if any

Note: The form must contain the signature and seal of the employer.

Form 6A

Form 6A is a consolidated annual contribution statement that contains details about the annual contributions of each member of the establishment. The form should include the details as enumerated below:

• Account Number
• Name of the member/subscriber
• Wages, Retaining allowance (if any) and D.A. including cash value of food concession paid during the currency period
• Amount of worker’s contribution deducted from the wages
• Employers contribution (EPF and Pension)
• Refund of advances
• Rate of higher voluntary contribution (if any)
• Remarks

Besides, the following details shall be included in the ‘Amount Remitted’ column of the form:

• Month of contribution
• Remitted contribution including refund of advances
• Pension fund contribution
• EDLI Contribution
• Administration charges
• Aggregate contributions

Annual Account Statement

While the employer is entrusted with the responsibility of filing returns through the above-mentioned forms, the Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) is regulated to send the annual statement of accounts to each subscriber through his/her employer. The statement of accounts will reflect the following details:

• Opening balance of contribution, which includes interest of both employer and employee.
• Annual contribution of both the employer and employee.
• Interest earned on contributions.
• Total number of contributions made by the employer and employee.

DIGITAL SIGNATURE

What is Digital Signature(DSC)?

Digital Signature (DSC) is a physical signature in an electronic format.Digital Signatures are used in India for online transactions such as Filing Annual Return, Company or LLP Incorporation, GST RETURN, Income Tax E-Filing, E-Tenders, etc. There are 3 types of Digital Signatures, Class I, Class II and Class III Digital Signatures.Class I Digital Signature is used for securing email communications. Class II digital signature is utilized for company registrations, IT Return E-filing, Obtaining DIN, DPIN etc. Class III digital signature registration are used for E-tendering and participating in E-Auctions. Digital Signature (DSC) is done by us.

GOODS & SERVICE TAX (GST)

GST REGISTRATION

Aggregate Turnover	Registration Required	Applicability
Earlier Limits – For the sale of Goods/Providing Services
Exceeds Rs.20 lakh	Yes – For Normal Category States	Up to 31st March 2019
Exceeds Rs.10 lakh	Yes – For Special Category States	Up to 31st March 2019
New Limits – For Sale of Goods
Exceeds Rs.40 lakh	Yes – For Normal Category States	From 1st April 2019
Exceeds Rs.20 lakh	Yes – For Special Category States	From 1st April 2019
New Limits – For Providing Services
There has been no change in Threshold limits for Service Providers

States who opted for the new limit

The above changes were proposed in the 32nd GST Council Meeting held on 10th January 2019. An option was provided to the states to opt for the new limits or continue the earlier ones (status quo).

Normal Category States who opted for a new limit of Rs.40 lakh	Normal Category States who choose status quo	Special Category States who opted for new limit of Rs.20 lakh
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal	Kerala and Telangana	Puducherry, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand

GST RETURN FILLING

Registered entities are required to file 2 monthly returns and 1 annual return, for a total of 26 returns in a year.

Entities have to file the GSTR-3B return every month providing details of sales and purchases made in a month. In addition to the GSTR-3B return, businesses registered under GST must file GSTR-1 returns. GSTR-1 return must be filed every month by businesses having an annual revenue of over Rs.1.5 crores.

In case a business has a yearly revenue of less than Rs.1.5 crores, GST returns should be filed every quarter. Annual GST returns must also be filed by all entities in addition to the above.

GST ANNUAL RETURN

GST has been implemented in India from 1st July, 2017. Under the new GST regime, over 1.3 crore business in India have been registered and issued GST registration. All entities having GST registration are required to file GST annual returns, as per the GST return due date schedule mentioned below. GST annual return filing is mandatory for all entities having GST registration, irrespective of business activity or sales or profitability during the return filing period. Hence, even a dormant business that obtained GST registration must file GST return.

GST registration holder who obtained the registration anytime before 1st April 2018 are required to file GST annual return for the financial year 2017-18 on or before 30th June 2019. Before filing GST annual return the taxpayer must have filed all GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B or GSTR-4 return for the period of July to March 2018. In case there are overdue GST returns for the above-mentioned period, the GST registration holder will not be allowed to file GST annual return.

GST Annual Return Types

GST Annual Return Filing can be divided into three types based on the form to be filed as under:

• GSTR-9: All entities having GST registration are required to file GST annual return in form GSTR-9.
• GSTR-9A: GST registered taxpayers who have opted for the GST Composition Scheme under Goods and Services Tax (GST) are required to file GSTR-9A.
• GSTR-9C: Form GSTR 9C is meant for filing the reconciliation statement of taxpayers pertaining to a particular financial year. The form is a statement of reconciliation between the Annual Returns in GSTR-9 and the figures mentioned in the Audited Financial Statements of the taxpayer.
  GSTR 9C is applicable to taxpayers who are required to obtain an annual GST audit of their accounts. GSTR-9C must be prepared and certified by a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant. GST audit is applicable for person having GST registration with an annual aggregate turnover of above Rs. 2 crores in a particular financial year.

GST Annual Return Due Date

The due dates of filing of Form GSTR-9 (Annual Return) and Form GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement) for Financial Year 2017-18 to 31st December 2019 and for Financial Year 2018-19 to 31st March 2020. The Government has also decided to simplify these forms by making various fields of these forms as optional.

GST LUT or Export Bond Filing

Letter of Undertaking is commonly known as LUT. The Letter of Undertaking (LUT) is prescribed to be furnished in form GST RFD 11 under rule 96A, whereby the exporter declares that he/she would fulfil all the requirements prescribed under GST while exporting without making IGST payment.

All GST registered goods and service exporters are eligible to submit LUT except the exporters who have been prosecuted for any offence and the amount of tax evasion exceeds Rs.250 lakhs under the CGST Act or the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act,2017 or any of the existing laws. In such cases, where the exporter is not eligible to file LUT, they would have to furnish an export bond.

We can help you with GST LUT filing or export bond filing. Get in touch with our GST Experts to know more about exporting under LUT or export bond.

Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for Exports

According to the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 any registered person exporting goods without payment of integrated tax is required to furnish a bond or a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) in FORM GST RFD-11.

All GST registered goods and services exporters are eligible to submit LUT except the exporters who have been prosecuted for any offence and the amount of tax evasion exceeds Rs.250 lakhs under the CGST Act or the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act,2017 or any of the existing laws.

Letter of Undertaking will be valid for a period of twelve months from the date of submission. If the exporter fails to comply with the conditions of the Letter of Undertaking, privileges could be revoked and the exporter would be required to furnish a bond. All exporters are required to submit letter of undertaking or export bond under the new format specified under GST on or before 31st July 2017.

Export Bond for GST

Entities not eligible to submit a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) as per the conditions mentioned above would have to furnish an export bond along with bank guarantee. The bond should cover the amount of tax involved in the export based on estimated tax liability as assessed by the exporter himself. Export bond should be furnished on non-judicial stamp paper of the value as applicable in the State in which the bond is being furnished.

Also, exporters can furnish a running bond, so that export bond need not be executed for each and every export transaction. However, if the outstanding tax liability on exports exceeds the bond amount at any time, then the exporter must furnish a fresh bond to cover the additional liability.

A bank guarantee can be mandated along with export bond. The value of bank guarantee should normally not exceed 15% of the bond amount. However, based on the track record of the exporter, the bank guarantee required to be submitted with export bond can be waived off by the jurisdictional GST Commissioner.