Two Import Rule Changes Are Colliding at Indian Ports Right Now
Food importers and customs brokers dealing with FSSAI-regulated consignments are navigating two significant regulatory shifts simultaneously in 2026: a brand-new customs declaration requirement issued this month, and a testing-and-reporting overhaul that took effect earlier this year. Together, they are changing how quickly — and how correctly — consignments move through India’s 171 notified Points of Entry. For importers who haven’t updated their filing practices, both changes carry real risk of port detention and demurrage.
The New NFG Declaration Requirement (August 2026)
What the Notice Says
FSSAI, through its Trade and International Cooperation Division, issued a public notice dated 10 August 2026 bearing file reference number TIC-B02/1/2026-IMPORTS-FSSAI, addressing a long-running operational bottleneck at Indian customs ports. The core problem it targets: non-food grade imports such as industrial chemicals and non-edible oils were repeatedly ending up in FSSAI’s examination queue, delaying clearance and burdening the Authority’s resources away from its core food-safety mandate.
The fix is procedural but consequential. FSSAI has advised food importers and customs brokers to declare the qualifier “NFG” (Non-Food Grade) in ICEGATE while filing Bills of Entry for items intended for non-food use — particularly products with dual food/non-food applications under the same HSN code — to ensure correct Participating Government Agency routing and prevent unnecessary referral to FSSAI. This matters because many chemicals, oils, and industrial ingredients share HSN codes with edible-grade equivalents, and without a clear qualifier, the Single Window system defaults to routing them to FSSAI for scrutiny.
Why This Isn’t Entirely New — But the Enforcement Context Is
The NFG/PHG/NPH grading convention itself has existed in customs practice for years as part of the SWIFT referencer used for PGA document filing. What’s new in August 2026 is FSSAI formally re-anchoring this requirement to a fresh notification and explicitly linking it to a parallel Customs directive. The advisory is explicitly aligned with a broader policy direction set by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, referencing a CBIC Customs Circular dated 22 April 2026. This signals a coordinated push between FSSAI and CBIC to clean up misrouting at the systemic level — meaning enforcement scrutiny on incorrect declarations is likely to tighten, not loosen.
Practical risk: Importers who mislabel or omit the NFG qualifier risk unnecessary referral to FSSAI, triggering NOC requirements, sampling, and testing delays for goods that were never intended for the food chain — resulting in demurrage and storage charges that accumulate daily at the port.
The Import Testing Overhaul: Regulation 10 Changes (Effective 1 May 2026)
What Changed
Running alongside the NFG notice is a more substantive regulatory amendment that has been in force since 1 May 2026. FSSAI officially released the Food Safety and Standards (Import) First Amendment Regulations, 2025, introducing key changes to analytical methods and laboratory reporting procedures for imported food consignments. The notification, issued on 27 October 2025, updates Regulation 10 of the Import Regulations, 2017, to ensure laboratories adopt internationally recognized testing methods and deliver results within a shorter timeframe.
Two specific changes stand out for importers:
- Mandatory method hierarchy: The manuals of the method of analysis adopted or amended by FSSAI must be mandatorily used for analysing imported food samples; where a method is not available in these manuals, laboratories may adopt validated methods prescribed by AOAC, ISO, Pearson’s, Jacob, IUPAC, Food Chemicals Codex, BIS, Codex Alimentarius, Woodmen, Winton-Winton, Joslyn, or any other internationally recognised regulatory agency.
- Faster turnaround, fixed accountability: Notified or referral laboratories must provide their analysis reports within five days from the date of receipt of the sample, issued in Form-2 and duly signed by the laboratory’s Food Analyst or Director.
This is notable because, this is the fourth amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations since their introduction in 2017, reflecting FSSAI’s continued effort to standardize and speed up port-level testing rather than leave it to inconsistent lab practice.
Why Importers Should Care
Before this amendment, the specific analytical method to be applied to a given sample was less prescriptive, leading to inconsistency — different laboratories sometimes used different methods for the same parameter, creating ambiguity and occasional disputes between importers and FSSAI at ports. The tightened rule reduces that ambiguity but also raises the bar: importers whose products fail under a newly standardized method (rather than a looser prior interpretation) may see more consignments flagged for non-conformance.
The Broader Import Compliance Picture in 2026
These two changes don’t operate in isolation. As of April 2026, food imports are permitted through 171 notified Points of Entry across India — 19 airports, 89 ICDs/SEZs, 35 Land Customs Stations, and 28 seaports — with high-risk categories like milk products, egg powder, meat, infant nutrition, nutraceuticals, and foods for special medical purposes restricted to a smaller designated subset, and every consignment required to separately clear FSSAI’s Food Import Clearance System (FICS), integrated with Customs ICEGATE. Foreign manufacturers in sensitive categories also continue to face mandatory Foreign Food Manufacturer Facility (FFMF) registration requirements on the ReFoM portal for categories including nutraceuticals, milk products, meat, and infant food.
Additionally, label compliance is checked at the port itself — non-compliant labels under the Labelling and Display Regulations can result in consignment detention regardless of testing outcomes.
Practical Takeaways for Importers and Customs Brokers
- Audit HSN code usage: Identify all SKUs where your product’s HSN code overlaps with food-grade equivalents (industrial chemicals, oils, additives) and confirm the correct grade qualifier (PHG/NPH/NFG) is applied consistently in ICEGATE filings.
- Brief your customs broker immediately: Ensure Bills of Entry filed after 10 August 2026 carry the NFG qualifier wherever applicable to avoid unnecessary PGA referral.
- Review lab partnerships: Confirm that FSSAI-notified or referral laboratories you rely on for import testing are following the updated Regulation 10 method hierarchy and can commit to the 5-day Form-2 reporting timeline.
- Cross-check label compliance before shipment: Since ports verify labels independently of lab testing, ensure export-market labels are localized to FSS (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020 requirements before consignments leave origin.
- Track FFMF/ReFoM registration status: If you import milk products, meat, egg powder, infant food, or nutraceuticals, verify your foreign facility’s registration is current — lapses can halt clearance entirely.
Getting these filings wrong isn’t a minor paperwork issue — it translates directly into port detention, demurrage costs, and delayed shelf availability. With FSSAI and CBIC visibly coordinating on customs-side fixes, businesses that treat import compliance as an ongoing programme rather than a one-time registration exercise will be far better positioned through the rest of 2026.
ACPL’s regulatory experts can help you navigate FSSAI import compliance. Contact us at info@acplgroupindia.co.in or call +91-9266665201 for a consultation.