Shelled

Shelled nutmeg, neither crushed nor ground

FSSAI CLEARANCE

HSN 0908 11 20 (shelled nutmeg, neither crushed nor ground) is subject to Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) Import Licence and food-safety clearance under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, with the ITC (HS) import policy of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) designating this tariff line Restricted under policy condition 1 of Chapter 09. Consignments must enter through a designated food-import port per General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022, and spices — including nutmeg — are ineligible for import under DFIA as clarified by DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025.

What this is

HSN code

0908 11 20

Chapter

09 · Coffee, tea, mate and spices

Primary regulator

FSSAI · Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

Customs documentation

Import Licence from FSSAI
Food grade certificate from FSSAI
Phyto Sanitary Certificate from exporter

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 and upload in e-Sanchit the FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001), the specimen copy of label (document code 0110FS), a food grade certificate (document code 6570FS), and a Phyto Sanitary Certificate (document code 851000) before filing the bill of entry. The proper officer will verify all four documents are uploaded before granting out-of-charge.
ITC (HS) policy condition 1 of Chapter 09; CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023 in modification of Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022
2
Route the consignment only through a designated food-import entry point complying with General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Any labelling deficiency that is rectifiable under FSS (Import) Regulations, 2017 and the FSSAI orders of 22-05-2018 and 14-01-2019 must be corrected at a customs bonded warehouse by affixing a single non-detachable sticker before visual inspection by the authorised officer.
General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of ITC (HS) 2022; FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 dated 17-06-2022; CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022
3
Do not attempt to import nutmeg under a Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA). DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025 confirms that all spices fall under Appendix 4J and are subject to a pre-import condition, making their import impermissible under DFIA irrespective of intended end use.
DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is assuming that a valid FSSAI Import Licence alone satisfies clearance — customs officers separately verify the food grade certificate (6570FS) and Phyto Sanitary Certificate (851000) in e-Sanchit, and a missing document in any one of these four slots results in consignment detention pending upload. Separately, importers relying on DFIA to avoid basic customs duty on spice inputs should note that DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 closes this route categorically: the pre-import condition under Appendix 4J applies to all spices, and no end-use argument overrides it.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0908 11 20 require BIS certification?

No. No BIS Quality Control Order covers shelled nutmeg. Import is governed by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, subject to the ITC (HS) Restricted-import policy condition 1 of Chapter 09 administered by DGFT.

Which four documents must be uploaded in e-Sanchit for this tariff line?

The FSSAI Import Licence (911001), specimen copy of label (0110FS), food grade certificate (6570FS), and Phyto Sanitary Certificate (851000) must all be uploaded in e-Sanchit before the customs proper officer grants out-of-charge, per CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023.

Can nutmeg be imported under a Duty Free Import Authorisation?

No. DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025 confirms that all spices, including nutmeg, fall under Appendix 4J and carry a pre-import condition, rendering DFIA-based import impermissible under any circumstances regardless of the intended end use.

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