Bottle gourd

Fresh or chilled bottle gourd (Cucurbita spp.)

FSSAI CLEARANCE

HSN 0709 93 40 (Bottle gourd) is subject to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Import Licence requirements under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, including mandatory e-Sanchit document upload before out-of-charge. Consignments must enter only through designated food-import entry points under General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022, with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) applying policy and customs overlays.

What this is

HSN code

0709 93 40

Chapter

07 · Edible vegetables and certain roots and tubers

Primary regulator

FSSAI · Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

Customs documentation

Import Licence from FSSAI
Specimen copy of label from FSSAI
ITC (HS) entry-point declaration to CBIC

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 together with a Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS) before filing the bill of entry. The customs proper officer will verify both uploads prior to granting out-of-charge.
FSSAI Import Licence document code 911001 · Label document code 0110FS · CCR e-Sanchit OOC verification requirement
2
Route the consignment only through a designated food-import entry point compliant with General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Arrival at a non-designated port renders the consignment liable to detention pending re-routing or re-export.
General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of ITC (HS) 2022 · CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus dated 08-02-2023
3
Ensure label compliance with the FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 before consignment dispatch. Permissible label rectifications — per-serve percentage contribution to recommended dietary allowance, and date-of-expiry alongside best-before date — may be carried out at customs bonded warehouses by affixing a single non-detachable sticker, subject to FSSAI authorised-officer verification.
CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Customs dated 28-06-2022 · CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023 · FSSAI order dated 18-11-2022 under F.No.Import/TFM/Apex/2022-FSSAI · FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 dated 17-06-2022

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is dispatching the consignment with label deficiencies on the assumption that port-level rectification will be routinely granted. The rectification dispensation under CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus applies only to the specific labelling particulars enumerated — per-serve RDA contribution and expiry/best-before alignment — and does not extend to missing FSSAI Import Licence uploads or substantive mislabelling; consignments with absent e-Sanchit documents are detained at port, accruing demurrage and ground rent until the licence upload is verified.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0709 93 40 require BIS certification?

No, fresh bottle gourd is not within the BIS Quality Control Order regime; no BIS QCO covers fresh vegetables under Chapter 07. Import is governed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with the designated food-import entry-point restriction under General Note 4(D) of the ITC (HS) 2022.

Which documents must be uploaded in e-Sanchit before out-of-charge for this tariff line?

The FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001) and the Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS) must both be uploaded in e-Sanchit; the customs proper officer verifies these uploads before granting out-of-charge.

Can label deficiencies be rectified at the port of import?

Yes, but only for the specific particulars permitted under CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus and the FSSAI clarification order dated 18-11-2022 — per-serve RDA contribution and date-of-expiry alongside best-before date — carried out by affixing a single non-detachable sticker at a customs bonded warehouse before FSSAI authorised-officer inspection.

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