Other

Other fresh, chilled or frozen meat and edible offal

FSSAI CLEARANCE · AQCS CLEARANCE · +1 OTHER PGAS

HSN 0208 90 90 (Other meat and edible meat offal, fresh, chilled or frozen) is subject to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Import Licence and mandatory foreign-manufacturer registration under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) Sanitary Import Permit clearance as a concurrent requirement. Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB) CITES oversight applies where the species is listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Consignments are permitted only through 79 designated food-import ports with effect from 1 March 2023.

What this is

HSN code

0208 90 90

Chapter

02 · Meat and edible meat offal

Primary regulator

FSSAI · Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (high-risk meat regime)

Customs documentation

Import Licence from FSSAI
Sanitary Import Permit from AQCS
CITES Certificate from WCCB

Applicable Partner Government Agencies

FSSAIFSSAI·Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

AQCSAQCS·Animal Quarantine and Certification Services

WCCBWCCB·Wildlife Crime Control Bureau

Procedural directions for customs clearance are issued by: Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.

Compliance steps

1
Confirm the foreign manufacturing facility is registered with FSSAI under the high-risk-food regime for meat and meat products before shipment. The FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001) and the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS) must both be uploaded in e-Sanchit at the bill of entry stage.
CBIC Instruction 30/2022-Cus dated 14-11-2022 · FSSAI order dated 10-10-2022
2
Upload all AQCS-mandated documents in e-Sanchit before filing the bill of entry: Veterinary Health Certificate from the exporting country (document code 853AQ1), Laboratory Report or Certificate of Analysis (document code 001AQ1), Health Certificate (document code 6360AQ), and the AQCS-issued Sanitary Import Permit (document code 911DF1). Quote the e-Sanchit IRN of the Sanitary Import Permit to obtain the AQCS NOC.
CBIC Circular 24/2022-Cus dated 28-11-2022 · CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023
3
Where the species falls under CITES, upload the CITES Certificate (document code 626000) issued by the competent authority of the exporting country in e-Sanchit. Route the consignment only through one of the 79 designated food-import ports per General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022 and Policy Condition 2 of Chapter 2.
CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus dated 08-02-2023 · General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of ITC (HS) 2022 · ITC (HS) Policy Condition 2, Chapter 2

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is failing to distinguish the AQCS document stack — three separate uploads (853AQ1, 001AQ1, 911DF1) are each independently mandatory and are verified individually by the proper officer before out-of-charge. A consignment that satisfies the FSSAI licence requirement but is missing even one AQCS upload will be detained at the designated port; the rectifiable-labelling concession under CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus applies to label defects only and does not cure a missing PGA clearance document.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0208 90 90 require BIS certification?

No, fresh, chilled or frozen meat and edible offal falls outside the BIS Quality Control Order regime; no BIS QCO covers this product family. Import is governed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with concurrent AQCS Sanitary Import Permit and WCCB CITES requirements.

Is the CITES Certificate required for every consignment under this tariff line?

The CITES Certificate (document code 626000) is required where the species being imported is listed under CITES; for non-listed species it does not apply, but the FSSAI and AQCS document stack remains mandatory in all cases.

What happens if the foreign manufacturing facility is not registered with FSSAI at the time of import?

Import of meat and meat products from an unregistered foreign facility is not permitted; consignments from such facilities are liable to detention and re-export under the FSSAI high-risk-food regime enforced from the bill of entry stage per CBIC Instruction 30/2022-Cus.

Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: FSSAI / AQCS / WCCB / DGFT / CBIC / Indian Customs CUSDATA.