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Frozen fish fillets and other fish meat, not elsewhere specified

FSSAI CLEARANCE · AQCS CLEARANCE

HSN 0304 99 00 (Other frozen 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 concurrently, and consignments are restricted to 79 designated food-import ports effective 1 March 2023.

What this is
HSN code
0304 99 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) must be uploaded in e-Sanchit at the bill of entry; consignments from unregistered facilities will not be granted out-of-charge.
    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) prior to 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 through one of the 79 designated food-import ports per General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022, and upload the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS). Labelling defects falling within FSSAI's rectifiable-labelling regime must be remediated before out-of-charge is granted.
    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 treating the FSSAI Import Licence as the sole clearance gateway and arriving at a non-designated port or without the AQCS Sanitary Import Permit IRN. The AQCS NOC is an independent animal-origin overlay — a current FSSAI licence does not substitute for it — and consignments routed through any port outside the 79-port annexure face detention, demurrage, and mandatory re-export or confiscation under the ITC (HS) policy.

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Frequently asked
Does HSN 0304 99 00 require BIS certification?
No, frozen 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 requirement and the 79-designated-port restriction operative from 1 March 2023.
Which documents must be uploaded in e-Sanchit before customs out-of-charge?
Four documents are mandatory: Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), Health Certificate (6360AQ), FSSAI Import Licence (911001), and AQCS Sanitary Import Permit (911DF1); the Proper Officer verifies all four uploads before granting out-of-charge per CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus.
Is foreign-manufacturer registration with FSSAI mandatory for all fish fillet exporters supplying India?
Yes. Per CBIC Instruction 30/2022-Cus and the FSSAI order dated 10 October 2022, every foreign facility manufacturing fish and fish products for export to India must be registered with FSSAI, and the exporting country is required to furnish the facility list in the prescribed format.
Last verified against gazette notifications: 2026-05-16. Source: FSSAI / AQCS / DGFT / CBIC / Indian Customs CUSDATA.
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