| FSSAI licence or registration renewal (verify: Licences are issued for one to five years at the applicant's choice, so the renewal date is entity-specific. Confirm the current late fee and the renewal window.) | — | On renewal. Apply for renewal before the licence expires; a licence not renewed in time attracts a daily late fee and, on expiry, the business must stop. | Operating without a valid licence is an offence under section 63 of the FSS Act, punishable with imprisonment and fine. | FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 |
| FSSAI annual return | Form D1 | Annual. By 31 May each year for manufacturers, importers, packers, re-labellers and the other categories required to file. | Late fee of Rs 100 per day of delay, and an adverse record at renewal. | FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 |
| Half-yearly return for milk and milk products (verify: Confirm the exact filing window; it is stated by reference to the end of the half year rather than a fixed calendar date.) | Form D2 | Half-yearly. For food business operators dealing in milk and milk products, within the period prescribed after each half year. | Same late fee regime as the annual return. | FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 |
| Trained food safety supervisor on the premises | — | Annual. Maintain at least one FoSTaC-trained food safety supervisor for every 25 food handlers, with the certification current. | A licence condition breach, and the first thing an inspector checks after a complaint. | FSSAI FoSTaC scheme and the licence conditions |
| Annual medical fitness certificates for food handlers | — | Annual. Every food handler must hold a current medical fitness certificate including the prescribed vaccination. | Breach of Schedule 4 hygiene requirements, which is the finding that follows any food-borne illness complaint. | FSS (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011 Schedule 4 |
| Excise licence renewal for liquor service (verify: The excise year, the renewal window and the fee structure are entirely state-specific, and several states auction rather than renew. Confirm with the state excise department.) | — | Annual. Renew the bar, restaurant or hotel liquor licence for the excise year, and comply with the permitted hours and storage conditions. | Service without a licence is an offence under the state excise law, and the premises can be sealed. | State excise legislation |
| Municipal trade, health and eating house licence renewal (verify: Renewal dates differ by corporation; some run on the financial year and some on the calendar year.) | — | Annual. Renew with the municipal corporation and, where required, the police eating house licence. | Sealing of the premises, which happens quickly and without much notice. | State municipal legislation and the local police regulations |
| Fire safety NOC renewal (verify: Validity and renewal dates are state-specific.) | — | Annual. Renew the fire safety certificate under the state fire services legislation for the hotel or restaurant premises. | Sealing, prosecution and the loss of every defence after a fire. | State fire services legislation |
| Music licences for public performance (verify: Which body validly represents which repertoire has been litigated. Confirm the current registration status of the society before paying.) | — | Annual. Take and renew licences covering both the musical and literary works and the sound recordings actually played in the premises. | Infringement under section 51, with damages and criminal liability under section 63. | Copyright Act, 1957 sections 33 and 51 |
| Verification of weighing instruments (verify: Periodicity depends on the class of instrument and the state rules.) | — | Annual. Get every weighing and measuring instrument used in trade verified and stamped before the stamp expires. | Use of an unverified instrument is an offence, ordinarily compounded. | Legal Metrology Act, 2009 section 24 |
| GST returns for the food or hospitality business (verify: Restaurant service is taxed at a concessional rate without input credit in most cases, and differently in specified premises. Confirm the classification before advising.) | GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B | Monthly. GSTR-1 by the 11th and GSTR-3B by the 20th for monthly filers. | Late fee, interest and blocked input credit for corporate customers. | CGST Act, 2017 sections 37 and 39 |
| APMC trader licence and market fee (verify: Several states have amended their APMC Acts to permit trade outside the market yard. The licensing and fee position differs materially by state.) | — | Annual. Hold and renew the trader, commission agent or processor licence for the market area, and pay market fee on notified produce. | Trading without a licence attracts penalty and seizure; unpaid market fee is recovered as an arrear. | State APMC legislation |
| Register contract farming agreements where the state requires it (verify: The central contract farming law of 2020 was repealed in 2021, so this is purely a state question. Confirm whether the state has adopted the model framework.) | — | On the trigger event. Register the agreement with the authority designated under the state's contract farming or agricultural marketing law. | An unregistered agreement may not be enforceable through the statutory dispute mechanism, leaving only a civil suit. | State contract farming legislation, where adopted |
| Monitor stock limit orders on food commodities | — | On the trigger event. Where a control order imposes stock limits on a commodity, declare and hold within the limit from the date the order takes effect. | Seizure of the stock and prosecution; orders take effect immediately on notification, with no transition. | Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and the control orders made under it |
| APEDA registration and RCMC renewal for exporters (verify: The RCMC tenure and the issuing process were changed with the move to the DGFT common digital platform. Confirm the current position.) | — | On renewal. Hold and renew the registration-cum-membership certificate for export of scheduled products. | Loss of export entitlements and of access to the traceability systems buyers require. | APEDA Act, 1985; Foreign Trade Policy |
| Food recall and reporting | — | On the trigger event. On identifying unsafe food, execute the recall plan, inform the food authority and notify consumers. | Prosecution for unsafe food, cancellation of the licence, and consumer product liability in parallel. | FSS (Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2017 |