Amazon asks for five items before it gives you grocery category approval on Amazon.in. Every food product needs all five:
- an FSSAI licence in your name that covers the product
- your FSSAI number on your Amazon storefront
- a list of your products on Amazon’s template
- a food declaration on Amazon’s template
- photos of every side of each pack
If you resell food that another company makes, you also send a purchase invoice.
Say you sell turmeric powder and red chilli powder under your own brand. You pack them in your own small unit. You have an FSSAI registration, a GST number and a Seller Central account.
You search for turmeric powder in Add Products, and Amazon shows “Apply to sell”. The first item on Amazon’s list is an FSSAI licence. But you hold a registration.
Is an FSSAI registration enough for Amazon?
Amazon doesn’t say. Its pages use both words, in different places.
Amazon’s grocery page asks for an “FSSAI Licence” every time. It never mentions an FSSAI registration.
Amazon’s own food declaration uses both words. In it, you declare a valid FSSAI “registration/license”.
Amazon’s FSSAI help page lists three kinds of licence: central, state and registration. And for FBA, Amazon’s pages ask for a central or state licence. They don’t mention a registration.
FSSAI’s own rule is clear. Since 1 April 2026, a food business with a yearly turnover up to ₹1.5 crore needs only a registration. You can read FSSAI’s order on the new limits.
FSSAI also tells online platforms to show each food seller’s valid licence or registration.
Before you apply, open a case with Selling Partner Support. Ask whether your FSSAI registration is enough for grocery approval, and keep the reply.
If Amazon wants a licence, FSSAI’s licensing FAQ says a business may apply for a higher category than it needs. A food licensing consultant can tell you what that involves.
Do you hold a state licence and now qualify for a registration? FSSAI lets you move for free, and you keep your number. Ask Amazon before you move, because its grocery page asks for a licence.
When you need a central licence, whatever your turnover
FSSAI’s 2026 table names businesses that need a central licence at any turnover. They include:
- importers of food
- makers of proprietary food
- makers of health supplements and nutraceuticals
- makers of Ayurveda aahara
- exporters
- a head office, if your food business works in two or more states
FSSAI calls a food with no product standard of its own a proprietary food. Making proprietary food needs a central licence, whatever your turnover.
Say you add a new spice blend. Before you launch it, ask a food licensing consultant whether FSSAI has a standard for it. For a proprietary food, Amazon’s grocery page wants “Proprietary Food” named in your licence’s scope.
The table also lists e-commerce businesses. FSSAI’s licensing FAQ says that doesn’t mean a seller on a marketplace like Amazon. If you also sell food on your own website, the FAQ says you need an e-commerce licence as well.
FSSAI fees and renewals in 2026
FSSAI’s 2026 table lists the yearly fees. A registration costs ₹100, a state licence ₹5,000 and a central licence ₹7,500. You can pay for several years at once.
Under FSSAI’s March 2026 rules, a licence or registration stays valid unless it’s suspended, cancelled or surrendered. You don’t renew it.
But pay the yearly fee on time. If your kind of business files an annual return, file that on time too.
If you miss either, FSSAI treats your licence as suspended. You can’t sell food until you pay or file, with a penalty.
Amazon hasn’t updated these pages for FSSAI’s new rules. The grocery page still wants a licence “valid for more than 2 months” when you apply. Amazon’s FSSAI help page still tells sellers to renew 30 days before expiry.
FSSAI says any licence or registration issued on or after 1 April 2026 has no expiry date. Keep FSSAI’s order of 27 March 2026 ready in case Amazon asks.
Food that follows other rules
Amazon’s seller website describes grocery as food you can store at room temperature, with a shelf life of three months or more.
Supplements and protein powder follow other rules. Amazon wants the manufacturer’s central FSSAI licence for each one.
Baby food is a product type of its own, with its own documents. Our category approval guide covers both.
Fresh fruit and vegetables, fresh eggs and temperature-sensitive food are by invitation only. Amazon checks an invited seller’s licences and processes on site before they list.
Amazon’s two templates
Amazon’s grocery page links both templates. Download them from there and fill them in before you apply.
The product list is a spreadsheet. For each product, you give its name, its brand or manufacturer and its shelf life.
You also answer yes or no for each one. Can it stay at room temperature? Is it organic, vegan, fortified, Ayurveda aahara or imported?
For the spices, that’s two rows: turmeric powder and red chilli powder.
The food declaration is a letter to Amazon Seller Services, printed on your letterhead. In it, you declare that your FSSAI registration or licence covers all the food you sell on Amazon.in. You also promise to show your FSSAI number and your full label on Amazon.in.
Photos of every side of each pack
Amazon’s “Imaging guideline for Food ASINs” sets out the photos. You need them for your application, and on your listing too.
- Front and back: always.
- Left and right sides: if they carry any text.
- Top and bottom: if they carry any text.
- A close-up of the ingredients and one of the nutrition panel: Amazon calls these “good to have”.
Make every word on the label readable. The only exceptions are the batch or lot number, the best-before date and the expiry date.
For a spice pouch printed on two sides, that means a front photo and a back photo. Your FSSAI logo and number must be readable too. Use real photos of the pack, not mock-ups.
Some foods need one more document or detail:
- Organic: an NPOP or PGS-India certificate.
- Vegan: FSSAI’s vegan approval certificate, and the vegan logo in each product photo.
- Fortified: “fortified with” and the nutrient’s name on the pack, plus the +F logo and the tagline “Sampoorna Poshan Swasth Jeevan”.
- Ayurveda aahara: the label statements FSSAI asks for, including “ONLY FOR DIETARY USE”.
- Chocolates: a letter on your letterhead promising to ship them with gel packs.
Add your FSSAI number to your storefront
- In Seller Central, open Settings, then Your Info & Policies.
- Click the About Seller tab.
- In the About Seller Help Content box, type “FSSAI license number:” and then your number.
- Click Save.
If the box is full, delete some text to make room. Amazon says the number is mandatory.
Invoices, if you resell food
Amazon asks for a purchase invoice only if you resell food that another company makes. The invoice follows Amazon’s usual rules: at least 10 units, dated within 180 days, and no pro-forma invoices.
Our category approval guide lists every invoice Amazon turns down. You pack your own spices, so Amazon’s page doesn’t ask you for an invoice.
Your pack and your listing must match
FSSAI says every claim on your listing must also be on your pack. If the pack doesn’t say “organic”, don’t say it in your listing.
FSSAI also wants food to reach the buyer with at least 30% of its shelf life left, or 45 days. Amazon’s grocery page asks for at least 30% when the customer receives an order you ship yourself.
Our FSSAI guide covers what your pack must show, and the claims to avoid.
Selling food through FBA
With FBA, Amazon stores your stock and delivers your orders. For food, Amazon’s pages ask for a central or state licence, whichever your business qualifies for. Before your first food shipment:
- get grocery approval, and approval under “Drugstore” for any supplements
- add “Retailer” to the kind of business on your FSSAI licence
- add Amazon’s fulfilment centre to your licence as an additional place of business
- put your licence and a signed self-declaration in one PDF
- upload it under “Upload FSSAI” when you add the fulfilment centre to your account
- if you’re a proprietor, file Form 9 too, naming your nominee
Amazon says “Retailer” is mandatory because you sell from its fulfilment centre. If you hold only a registration, ask Selling Partner Support before you plan FBA.
Amazon.in’s public help pages don’t give a minimum shelf life for stock you send to FBA. Check in Seller Central before you book a shipment. Our FBA shipment checklist covers the labels and boxes.
Can you sell homemade food on Amazon?
Amazon’s grocery page doesn’t rule out food made at home. It asks a home cook for the same documents as any food business.
FSSAI licences and registrations are for a place. Get one for the kitchen or unit where you make or pack the food. FSSAI’s FAQ says a registered business must print its registration number on the label too.
For the tax side, our guide to selling online without GST explains when a food seller needs GST.
How to apply for Amazon grocery category approval
- Fill in both templates.
- Add your FSSAI number to your storefront.
- Take the photos of every side of each pack.
- In Add Products, search for your product and click “Apply to sell”.
- Upload your licence or registration, the templates and the photos.
- If you resell, upload your purchase invoice too.
Before you submit, check:
- Is your FSSAI licence or registration in your name, or your company’s?
- Does its scope cover every product you’ll list?
- Can Amazon read every word on each label in your photos?
- Is your FSSAI number on your storefront?
Amazon says a review takes 2 to 7 business days. If Amazon asks for more, reply within 14 days.
Selling your own brand? If you have a registered or pending trademark, you can enrol in Brand Registry. Our Brand Registry guide explains how.
Where we come in
We onboard and list food brands on Amazon, and we take them through grocery approval. We know where first-timers get stuck: a licence whose scope misses a product, an unreadable back label, a blank template. We also design food packs that carry every detail FSSAI asks for.
We check your licence against every product, fill in both templates with you and shoot the photos. A food licensing consultant applies for the FSSAI licence itself, and we work alongside them. Our category approval service runs in your own Seller Central account, and you keep the login.
