Other

Fresh, chilled or frozen fish fillets and other fish meat

FSSAI CLEARANCE · AQCS CLEARANCE

HSN 0304 59 90 (Other fish fillets and fish meat) 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 restricted to 79 designated food-import ports with effect from 1 March 2023.

What this is

HSN code

0304 59 90

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
Confirm the foreign manufacturing facility is registered with FSSAI 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 both 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
Obtain the AQCS Sanitary Import Permit (document code 911DF1) and Health Certificate (document code 6360AQ) before dispatch. Quote the e-Sanchit IRN of the Sanitary Import Permit on the bill of entry to secure the AQCS NOC for fish-product CTIs 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
Route the consignment exclusively through one of the 79 designated food-import ports notified under General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Verify label compliance with the FSSAI rectifiable-labelling regime before out-of-charge; non-rectifiable labelling defects are treated as a separate enforcement event.
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 frequent error on this tariff line is assuming that an active FSSAI Import Licence satisfies the full clearance requirement. The AQCS Sanitary Import Permit is an independent clearance — its e-Sanchit IRN must be quoted on the bill of entry separately — and consignments arriving at a non-designated port are detained regardless of the currency of both clearances. Facility registration and document upload must be sequenced before vessel departure, not after arrival at port.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0304 59 90 require BIS certification?

No, fish fillets and other fish meat fall outside the BIS Quality Control Order regime. Import is governed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with a concurrent Animal Quarantine and Certification Services Sanitary Import Permit and a 79-designated-port restriction operative from 1 March 2023.

Which document codes must be uploaded in e-Sanchit at the bill of entry for this tariff line?

Four documents are mandatory: FSSAI Import Licence (911001), Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), AQCS Health Certificate (6360AQ), and AQCS Sanitary Import Permit (911DF1); out-of-charge will not be granted until all four are verified in e-Sanchit.

Is foreign-manufacturer registration with FSSAI a one-time requirement or does it apply per shipment?

Registration is facility-level, not per-shipment, but the facility must appear on the FSSAI-approved list before any consignment from that facility is permitted; shipments from unregistered facilities are liable to detention and re-export under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

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