Crushed or ground

Crushed or ground nutmeg, mace and cardamoms

FSSAI CLEARANCE

HSN 0908 12 00 (Crushed or ground nutmeg, mace and cardamoms) 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 import also governed by ITC (HS) policy condition no. 1 of Chapter 9 administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT). Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) customs overlays apply at the bill-of-entry stage, and consignments must enter only through the 79 designated food-import ports under General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Notably, spices including this product family are ineligible for import under the Duty Free Import Authorisation scheme per DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025.

What this is

HSN code

0908 12 00

Chapter

09 · Coffee, tea, mate and spices

Primary regulator

FSSAI · Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

Customs documentation

Import Licence from FSSAI
Phytosanitary Certificate from exporter
Food grade certificate 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 a current FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001) and ensure all four mandatory documents — Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), Food Grade Certificate (6570FS), Phytosanitary Certificate (851000), and FSSAI Import Licence (911001) — are uploaded in e-Sanchit before filing the bill of entry. The Proper Officer will verify e-Sanchit uploads before granting out-of-charge.
FSSAI Import Licence document code 911001; CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023 in modification to Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022; FSSAI order dated 18-11-2022 under F.No.Import/TFM/Apex/2022-FSSAI
2
Route the consignment exclusively through one of the 79 designated food-import entry points and confirm compliance with General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Any port not on the designated list will result in detention and potential re-export.
General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022; ITC (HS) policy condition no. 1 of Chapter 9; CBIC Instruction 05/2023-Cus dated 08-02-2023
3
Do not attempt import under a Duty Free Import Authorisation: spices fall under Appendix 4J and are subject to a pre-import condition, making DFIA ineligible for this product family under any circumstances regardless of intended end use. Verify label compliance with FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020; rectifiable labelling defects may be corrected at customs-bonded warehouses by affixing a single non-detachable sticker before authorised-officer inspection.
DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025; CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022; FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 dated 17-06-2022

A word of counsel

The most persistent error on this tariff line is attempting to import crushed or ground spices under a Duty Free Import Authorisation on the basis that the goods are intended for re-export or further processing — DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025 closes this route categorically: all spices appear in Appendix 4J, carry a pre-import condition, and DFIA is ineligible irrespective of end use. A consignment presented under DFIA will be treated as an unauthorised Restricted import, attracting detention, DGFT-policy enforcement, and potential confiscation — and the e-Sanchit document-code completeness check is a separate and concurrent hurdle that cannot be retrospectively cured after the bill of entry is assessed.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0908 12 00 require BIS certification?

No, crushed or ground spices including nutmeg, mace and cardamoms are not within 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 ITC (HS) policy condition no. 1 of Chapter 9 and the mandatory food-import port restriction.

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

Four documents are mandatory: Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), Food Grade Certificate (6570FS), Phytosanitary Certificate (851000), and FSSAI Import Licence (911001); all must be uploaded in e-Sanchit before out-of-charge per CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023.

Can crushed or ground spices be imported under a Duty Free Import Authorisation?

No. DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025 clarifies that all spices are listed in Appendix 4J and subject to a pre-import condition, rendering DFIA ineligible for import of this product family under any circumstances.

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