How to Appeal an FSSAI Licence Suspension or Penalty (2026)
How to challenge an FSSAI improvement notice, licence suspension or cancellation, and a penalty: the appeal to the Commissioner of Food Safety, the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal, and the route to the High Court. Last verified October 2026.
How-to · Regulatory · Food Safety
An FSSAI action can stop a food business fast: an improvement notice, a licence suspension, a cancellation, or a penalty. Each has its own appeal route, and the first one is short, so the biggest mistake is missing the deadline to go to the Commissioner of Food Safety. This guide separates the two kinds of action, licence and penalty, and sets out who decides, who you appeal to, by when, and the route onward to the High Court. Last verified October 2026.
- Licence track: improvement notice under Section 32 by the Designated Officer, then suspension or cancellation.
- First appeal: to the Commissioner of Food Safety within 15 days (Section 32(4)); watch this short window.
- Penalty track: decided by an Adjudicating Officer (not below ADM) under Section 68.
- Penalty appeal: to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal (Section 70), then the High Court (Section 71) within 60 days (plus 60).
01Two kinds of FSSAI action
The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (the FSS Act) gives food safety officers two very different kinds of power, and they travel on different tracks. The first is action on your licence: an improvement notice, a suspension, or a cancellation. The second is a monetary penalty for a contravention.
Knowing which track you are on decides where you appeal. Licence action is dealt with by the Designated Officer and appealed to the Commissioner of Food Safety. Penalties are decided by an Adjudicating Officer and appealed to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal.
Licence track or penalty track?
If your licence has been touched, your first appeal is to the Commissioner of Food Safety, and the window is short. If you have been fined, your appeal is to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal.
02Improvement notice, suspension and cancellation
Most licence action starts with an improvement notice under Section 32. A Designated Officer who believes a food business is not following the regulations can issue a notice that states the grounds, the failures, and the steps to fix them, and gives a reasonable period to comply, which cannot be less than 14 days.
If you do not comply, the Designated Officer can suspend the licence, and on continued non-compliance can cancel it after a show cause. In the interest of public health, the Designated Officer can suspend a licence at once, for reasons recorded in writing.
- Who acts: the Designated Officer of the district.
- First: comply with the improvement notice within the time given, or explain why the action is wrong.
- Then: if your licence is suspended or cancelled, use the appeal below.
03Appeal to the Commissioner of Food Safety
A person aggrieved by an improvement notice, a refusal to issue an improvement certificate, or a suspension or cancellation can appeal to the Commissioner of Food Safety. Under Section 32(4), the appeal is filed within 15 days of the action, and the Act says the Commissioner decision is final.
Because the window is only 15 days, this is the deadline to watch on the licence track. The Act itself does not set out a clear further appeal from the Commissioner, though FSSAI guidance suggests the decision can be taken to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal or challenged before the High Court. Treat the onward route as unsettled and take advice.
On the licence track, the clock is 15 days to the Commissioner. That short window is where most food business appeals are lost.
04Penalties and the Adjudicating Officer
Many FSSAI contraventions carry a penalty rather than a criminal trial. These penalties are decided by an Adjudicating Officer under Section 68. The officer is notified by the State Government and must be of a rank not below Additional District Magistrate.
The Adjudicating Officer holds an inquiry, gives you a chance to be heard, and then decides the penalty. This is a civil-style adjudication, not a criminal prosecution, which is why the appeal goes to a tribunal rather than a sessions court.
A familiar regulator pattern
The split between a licence track and a penalty track, each with its own appeal, is common across Indian regulators. You can see a similar ladder in the electricity consumer route in electricity bill and supply disputes.
05The Food Safety Appellate Tribunal and beyond
An appeal against the Adjudicating Officer order lies to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal under Section 70. The Tribunal is notified by the Central or a State Government and is headed by a Presiding Officer who is or has been a District Judge.
The FSS Act does not fix a single hard day-count for filing this appeal on the face of the statute. Section 71 applies the Limitation Act, 1963 to appeals to the Tribunal, except where the Act provides otherwise, and the detailed procedure comes from the rules. So do not assume a fixed number of days; check the current rules and the limitation position.
From the Tribunal, an appeal lies to the High Court under Section 71, within 60 days of the Tribunal order, which the High Court can extend by a further 60 days for sufficient cause.
06Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
A food safety dispute usually comes down to how a tribunal or a High Court has read an improvement notice, a licensing regulation or a penalty provision. Claw searches more than 30 crore judgments, with High Court decisions from 1990 onward, and brings back those rulings in under 5 seconds. Because an FSSAI matter can sit before the Commissioner, the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal or the High Court, it tracks the live case, its orders and its hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, tribunals included.
Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models, so a food business file stays private while you research it. Open a free Claw account to keep the short Commissioner window and the Tribunal appeal in view, and reach the wider law through case search across Indian courts.
07Sources and further reading
- FSSAI (official, Act and regulations): fssai.gov.in
- FoSCoS (food licence and registration portal): foscos.fssai.gov.in
- India Code (Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006): indiacode.nic.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Food safety procedure is governed by rules and state notifications that change, so check the current law and take advice from counsel before you act.
08Frequently asked questions
How do I appeal an FSSAI licence suspension?
A licence suspension or cancellation follows an improvement notice under Section 32 of the FSS Act. You appeal to the Commissioner of Food Safety within 15 days under Section 32(4). The Act describes the Commissioner decision as final, and any onward challenge is usually taken to the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal or the High Court, so take advice.
Who decides an FSSAI penalty?
An Adjudicating Officer decides most FSSAI penalties under Section 68. The officer is notified by the State Government and must be of a rank not below Additional District Magistrate. This is a civil adjudication with a hearing, not a criminal prosecution.
What is the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal?
It is the tribunal that hears appeals against orders of the Adjudicating Officer, set up under Section 70 of the FSS Act. It is headed by a Presiding Officer who is or has been a District Judge. The detailed appeal procedure, including limitation, comes from the rules and the Limitation Act, 1963.
What is the time limit to appeal an improvement notice?
An appeal against an improvement notice, suspension or cancellation is filed with the Commissioner of Food Safety within 15 days of the action under Section 32(4). This short window makes the licence track the one to act on quickly.
Can I go to the High Court against an FSSAI order?
Yes, in the right case. An appeal from the Food Safety Appellate Tribunal lies to the High Court under Section 71, within 60 days, extendable by a further 60 days. Where the Act leaves the onward route from the Commissioner unclear, a writ to the High Court may be used.
Can I track an FSSAI case in Claw?
Yes. Claw tracks an FSSAI matter, its orders and its hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, tribunals included, and it searches more than 30 crore judgments, with High Court rulings from 1990 onward, for how similar licence and penalty actions were decided, with results in under 5 seconds. It does not train its AI models on your documents. It tracks and researches the matter but does not give legal advice.