Butter

Butter, dairy fat from milk

FSSAI CLEARANCE · AQCS CLEARANCE

HSN 0405 10 00 (Butter) 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, as a high-risk dairy product. Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) Sanitary Import Permit clearance and veterinary health certificate apply concurrently, and consignments are permitted only through 79 designated food-import ports with effect from 1 March 2023.

What this is

HSN code

0405 10 00

Chapter

04 · Dairy produce; birds' eggs; natural honey; edible products of animal origin

Primary regulator

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

Customs documentation

Import Licence from FSSAI
Sanitary Import Permit from AQCS
Veterinary 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 the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the high-risk-food dairy regime before shipment. Upload the FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001) and the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS) in e-Sanchit before filing the bill of entry.
CBIC Instruction 30/2022-Cus dated 14-11-2022 · FSSAI order dated 10-10-2022
2
Upload the Veterinary Health Certificate issued by the exporting country (document code 853AQ1) and the Laboratory Report or Certificate of Analysis (document code 001AQ1) in e-Sanchit. Quote the e-Sanchit IRN of the AQCS-issued Sanitary Import Permit (document code 911DF1) and the Health Certificate (document code 6360AQ) on the bill of entry to obtain the AQCS NOC.
CBIC Circular 24/2022-Cus dated 28-11-2022 · CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023
3
Route the consignment only through one of the 79 designated food-import ports listed in the CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus Annexure. Note that import of milk and milk-based products from China is prohibited pending laboratory upgradation for melamine testing at ports of entry.
CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus dated 08-02-2023 · DGFT Notification 01/2015-20 dated 23-04-2019 · General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of ITC (HS) 2022

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is treating the FSSAI Import Licence as the sole clearance and overlooking the independent AQCS documentation chain — the Veterinary Health Certificate (853AQ1), the Laboratory Report/COA (001AQ1), and the Sanitary Import Permit (911DF1) each carry separate e-Sanchit upload obligations and separate IRN-quoting requirements at the bill of entry. A consignment with a current FSSAI licence but an incomplete AQCS document set is detained at the designated port; the rectifiable-labelling concession under FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 applies only to labelling defects, not to missing PGA clearances.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0405 10 00 require BIS certification?

No, butter falls outside the BIS Quality Control Order regime; no BIS QCO covers this product. Import is governed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with concurrent Animal Quarantine and Certification Services clearance and the 79-designated-port restriction.

Which document codes must be uploaded in e-Sanchit for butter imports at the bill of entry?

Four document codes are mandated: FSSAI Import Licence (911001), Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), Veterinary Health Certificate (853AQ1), Laboratory Report or COA (001AQ1), Health Certificate (6360AQ), and Sanitary Import Permit (911DF1) — per CBIC Circular 24/2022-Cus and CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023.

Is butter importable from China?

No. Import of milk and milk-based products from China is prohibited until port-entry laboratories are upgraded for melamine testing, per DGFT Notification 01/2015-20 dated 23-04-2019; this prohibition applies to butter as a milk-derived product.

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