Small, bleached, half bleached or bleachable

Small cardamoms, neither crushed nor ground, bleached or bleachable

FSSAI CLEARANCE

HSN 0908 31 40 (small cardamoms, bleached/half-bleached/bleachable, 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 a Minimum Import Price of ₹500 per kilogram CIF. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) classifies spices under Appendix 4J, rendering this line ineligible for import under a Duty Free Import Authorisation irrespective of end use.

What this is

HSN code

0908 31 40

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
Phytosanitary 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 a valid FSSAI Import Licence and ensure the CIF value is at or above ₹500 per kilogram before filing the bill of entry. Upload the FSSAI Import Licence (document code 911001), Specimen Copy of Label (document code 0110FS), Food Grade Certificate (document code 6570FS), and Phytosanitary Certificate (document code 851000) in e-Sanchit before out-of-charge.
Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 · Notification No. 109/(RE-2013)/2009-2014 · CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus dated 07-03-2023
2
Route the consignment through one of the 79 designated food-import entry points per General Note 4(D) of Schedule I of the ITC (HS) 2022. Verify label compliance under FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020; permitted labelling deficiencies may be rectified at customs-bonded warehouses using a single non-detachable sticker before the authorised officer's inspection.
General Note 4(D) of ITC (HS) 2022 · CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus dated 28-06-2022 · FSSAI Letter 1828/Misc Matters/FSSAI/Imports-2021 dated 17-06-2022
3
Do not import this tariff line under a Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA). DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025 confirms that all spices listed under Appendix 4J are subject to a pre-import condition and are ineligible for DFIA regardless of intended end use; consignments presented under a DFIA are liable to Restricted-import enforcement.
DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 dated 22-09-2025

A word of counsel

The most common error on this tariff line is attempting to import under a Duty Free Import Authorisation on the ground that the cardamoms are intended for further processing or re-export. DGFT Policy Circular 05/2025 closes that argument entirely: the Appendix 4J pre-import condition applies irrespective of intended end use, and any DFIA-backed consignment will be detained and treated as a Restricted-import violation, attracting monetary penalty and potential confiscation under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.

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Frequently asked

Does HSN 0908 31 40 require BIS certification?

No, small cardamoms under this tariff line 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, subject to a Minimum Import Price of ₹500 per kilogram CIF and the DGFT Appendix 4J pre-import condition.

Which four documents must be uploaded in e-Sanchit at the bill of entry for this HSN?

The mandatory documents are the FSSAI Import Licence (911001), Specimen Copy of Label (0110FS), Food Grade Certificate (6570FS), and Phytosanitary Certificate (851000), all of which must be uploaded before customs out-of-charge per CBIC Instruction 09/2023-Cus.

Can a label deficiency cause consignment detention, or is on-port rectification permitted?

Certain labelling deficiencies — including per-serve RDA contribution and expiry date — may be rectified at a customs-bonded warehouse by affixing a single non-detachable sticker before the authorised officer's inspection, provided the original label information is not altered, per CBIC Instruction 10/2022-Cus and the FSSAI order dated 18-11-2022.

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