FSSAI has notified the Food Safety and Standards (Import) First Amendment Regulations, 2018.
This notification amends the requirement relating to
a. shelf life of imported product at the time of port clearance. As per this notification, Custom Authorities shall not clear any article of food unless it has a valid shelf life of not less than sixty per cent, or three months before expiry, whichever is less, at the time of import”
b. Further, one more provision stating “the importer shall submit certificate of sanitary export from authorized agencies in exporting countries for the categories of food as may be specified by the Food Authority from time to time” has also been inserted. This will help in the risk prioritization and in effectively dealing with high risk products intended for import.
Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by clause (e) of sub- section (2) of section 92 of the said Act, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India hereby makes the following regulations , namely:-
For the purposes of sub-regulation (1), the Food Importer shall register himself with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade and possess valid Import-Export Code. The custom shall not clear any article of food unless it has a valid shelf life of not less than sixty percent. or three months before expiry whichever is less at the time of import.”
In regulation 7, in sub-regulation (3), For the purposes of clause (b) of sub – regulation 3, the importer shall declare in FORM – 8 regarding the captive or end use of the imported product to the Customs Department at the time of filing the bill of entry, declaring that the imported articles of food is meant to be used by the importer for hundred percent export or re-import of articles of food for export again as the case may be, and that no part thereof shall be supplied for domestic consumption.”
In regulation 11, for sub-regulation (2), the following shall be substituted such as
(a) the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India shall profile the Importer, custom house agent, manufacturer of the imported product, imported product, country of origin, source country of the consignment, port of entry, history of compliance and any other parameters as it deems fit for assessing the risk associated with the commodity;
(b) the importer shall submit certificate of sanitary export from authorised agencies in exporting countries for the categories of food as may be specified by the Food Authority from time to time.
