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Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) and Danube salmon (Hucho hucho)

Frozen Atlantic salmon and Danube salmon

FSSAI CLEARANCE · AQCS CLEARANCE

HSN 0303 13 00 (Frozen Atlantic salmon and Danube salmon) 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. Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) Sanitary Import Permit clearance applies as a concurrent overlay, and consignments are permitted only through 79 designated food-import ports with effect from 1 March 2023.

What this is
HSN code
0303 13 00
Chapter
03 · Fish and crustaceans, molluscs and other aquatic invertebrates
Primary regulator
FSSAI · Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (high-risk food regime)
Customs documentation
  • Import Licence from FSSAI
  • Sanitary Import Permit from AQCS
  • Health Certificate from AQCS
Applicable Partner Government Agencies
FSSAIFSSAI·Food Safety and Standards Authority of India
AQCSAQCS·Animal Quarantine and Certification Services

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

Compliance steps
  1. 1
    Confirm the foreign manufacturing facility is registered with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the high-risk-food regime before shipment. The FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001) and the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS) must be uploaded in e-Sanchit prior to filing the bill of entry.
    CBIC Instruction 30/2022-Cus dated 14-11-2022 · FSSAI order dated 10-10-2022
  2. 2
    Obtain the AQCS Sanitary Import Permit (document code 911DF1) and Health Certificate (document code 6360AQ) before consignment dispatch. Quote the e-Sanchit IRN of the Sanitary Import Permit on the bill of entry to secure the AQCS NOC for fish products listed in Annexure A (Sl. No. 3) of CBIC Circular 24/2022-Cus.
    CBIC Circular 24/2022-Cus dated 28-11-2022 · CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023
  3. 3
    Route the consignment exclusively through one of the 79 designated food-import ports in compliance with General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Confirm that all labelling information satisfies the FSSAI rectifiable-labelling regime; labelling defects are rectifiable but a missing PGA clearance is not, and will result in consignment detention.
    CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus dated 08-02-2023 · CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022 · FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 dated 17-06-2022
A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is filing the bill of entry with a current FSSAI Import Licence but without the AQCS Sanitary Import Permit IRN quoted in e-Sanchit — the two clearances are independent and customs out-of-charge requires both. A consignment of frozen salmon arriving at a non-designated port, even if all four document codes are otherwise in order, faces detention and potential re-export, as the 79-port restriction under General Note 4(D) is not waivable at the port level.

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Frequently asked
Does HSN 0303 13 00 require BIS certification?
No, frozen salmon 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 a concurrent AQCS Sanitary Import Permit requirement and a 79-designated-port restriction operative from 1 March 2023.
Are all four e-Sanchit document codes mandatory at the bill of entry for frozen salmon?
Yes. The Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), Health Certificate (6360AQ), FSSAI Import Licence (911001), and Sanitary Import Permit (911DF1) must all be uploaded in e-Sanchit; the customs proper officer is required to verify each before granting out-of-charge.
Is foreign-manufacturer registration with FSSAI a pre-condition for import, or can it be regularised after shipment?
Registration is a pre-condition: per CBIC Instruction 30/2022-Cus and the FSSAI order dated 10 October 2022, fish-product imports from unregistered manufacturing facilities are not permitted, and no post-shipment regularisation pathway exists under the high-risk-food regime.
Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: FSSAI / AQCS / DGFT / CBIC / Indian Customs CUSDATA.
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