Dairy spreads
Dairy spreads (milk-fat spreads, blended dairy spreads)
HSN 0405 20 00 (Dairy spreads) 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 import permitted only through 79 designated food-import ports effective 1 March 2023. Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) Sanitary Import Permit and veterinary health certificate clearance apply as concurrent overlays. Imports of milk and milk-based products from China remain prohibited under DGFT Notification 01/2015-20 dated 23-04-2019 pending laboratory-capacity upgradation at ports of entry for melamine testing.
- Import Licence from FSSAI
- Sanitary Import Permit from AQCS
- Veterinary Health Certificate from AQCS
Procedural directions for customs clearance are issued by: Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
- 1Confirm the foreign manufacturing facility is registered with FSSAI under the mandatory high-risk-food regime covering milk and milk products. 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
- 2Upload the Veterinary Health Certificate issued by the exporting country (document code 853AQ1) and the Laboratory Report / Certificate of Analysis (document code 001AQ1) in e-Sanchit. Quote the e-Sanchit IRN of the AQCS-issued Sanitary Import Permit (document code 911DF1) on the bill of entry to obtain the AQCS NOC; the Health Certificate (document code 6360AQ) must also be uploaded before out-of-charge.CBIC Circular 24/2022-Cus dated 28-11-2022 · CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023
- 3Route the consignment through one of the 79 designated food-import ports per General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Verify the exporting country is not China; imports of milk and milk-based products from China are prohibited under DGFT Notification 01/2015-20 until port-laboratory melamine-testing capacity is certified.CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus dated 08-02-2023 · DGFT Notification 01/2015-20 dated 23-04-2019 · General Note 4(D) of ITC (HS) Schedule I, 2022
The most common error on this tariff line is presenting a current FSSAI Import Licence while the AQCS Sanitary Import Permit IRN has not been quoted on the bill of entry — a distinct clearance that customs officers verify independently before granting out-of-charge. Dairy spreads also fall within the China-origin milk-product prohibition; consignments shipped from Chinese facilities, including those transshipped through third countries, are liable to confiscation and cannot be regularised by retrospective FSSAI registration. Rectifiable labelling defects may be compounded at the designated port, but absent PGA documents cannot be rectified post-arrival.