Seed

Fresh or chilled seed potatoes for sowing or planting

FSSAI CLEARANCE

HSN 0701 10 00 (Seed potatoes) is subject to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Import Licence requirements under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and is classified as Restricted under the ITC (HS) policy administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Import is permitted without a licence only where the consignment is for sowing or planting and carries an import permit granted by plant quarantine authorities. Consignments must enter through designated food-import ports in compliance with General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022.

What this is

HSN code

0701 10 00

Chapter

07 · Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers

Primary regulator

FSSAI · Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

Customs documentation

Import Licence from FSSAI
Phytosanitary Certificate from plant quarantine
Specimen copy of label from FSSAI

Applicable Partner Government Agencies

FSSAIFSSAI·Food Safety and Standards Authority of India

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

Compliance steps

1
Obtain the FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001) and upload it in e-Sanchit before filing the bill of entry. Where the import is solely for sowing or planting, an import permit issued by plant quarantine authorities substitutes for the FSSAI licence, but the planting-purpose carve-out must be declared at the bill of entry.
ITC (HS) Restricted import policy · FSSAI Import Licence document code 911001
2
Upload the Phytosanitary Certificate (document code 851000) and the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS) in e-Sanchit before customs out-of-charge. The proper officer is required to verify these mandatory documents for all PGA-facilitated bills prior to granting out-of-charge.
CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023 · CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022
3
Route the consignment through one of the designated food-import entry points under General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Labelling deficiencies permissible for port rectification must be corrected at a customs-bonded warehouse before inspection, using a single non-detachable sticker affixed next to the principal display panel without altering original label information.
General Note 4(D), ITC (HS) 2022 · FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 dated 17-06-2022 · CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is invoking the sowing-or-planting carve-out without holding a valid plant quarantine import permit — the carve-out does not dispense with the permit requirement; it merely displaces the FSSAI licence. Importers who present the consignment at a non-designated port, or who fail to upload the Phytosanitary Certificate (851000) in e-Sanchit, face detention and demurrage regardless of whether the FSSAI documentation is otherwise in order.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0701 10 00 require BIS certification?

No, seed potatoes 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 Restricted ITC (HS) policy overlay administered by DGFT and a designated food-import port requirement under General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022.

Which documents must be uploaded in e-Sanchit at the bill of entry for seed potato imports?

Three documents are mandatory: the FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001), the Phytosanitary Certificate (document code 851000), and the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS); all must be uploaded before the proper officer grants out-of-charge.

Can seed potatoes be imported without an FSSAI licence if the purpose is planting?

Yes, but only where an import permit has been granted by plant quarantine authorities; the planting-purpose exemption from the FSSAI licence does not remove the Restricted-import status or the phytosanitary documentation requirement.

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