Regulation 9 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Regulation 9 is the single regulation in Chapter III of the Organic Foods Regulations, 2017, headed "Imports and Reciprocity". It lets organic food from countries with an equivalence agreement enter India without being certified again, provided each consignment carries a transaction certificate and the usual law is met.
The text is read as amended up to 14 October 2021 (FSSAI Compendium Version II dated 01.06.2022). FSSAI compendia are reference consolidations and the Gazette text prevails. Later notifications should be checked on fssai.gov.in.
Under regulation 9(1), organic food imported under bilateral or multilateral agreements based on equivalence of standards between NPOP and the exporting country's organic standards need not be re-certified on import, subject to compliance with the Act, Rules and regulations. Under 9(2), each such consignment must be accompanied by a transaction certificate issued by an Accredited Certification Body covered by the equivalence agreement. Importers and their customs agents are the people affected.
Regulation 9(1): no re-certification, with conditions
Regulation 9(1) reads: organic food imports "under bilateral or multilateral agreements on the basis of equivalence of standards between National Programme for Organic Production and the organic standards of the respective exporting countries shall not be required to be re-certified on import to India subject to their compliance with the provisions of the Act, the rules and regulation made there under."
Break it into its parts.
| Element | What the text says |
|---|---|
| Route | Imports under bilateral or multilateral agreements |
| Basis | Equivalence of standards between NPOP and the organic standards of the exporting country |
| Benefit | No re-certification on import to India |
| Condition | Compliance with the Act, the Rules and the regulations made under it |
Three points are worth noting. First, the benefit exists only where an agreement of the kind described is in place; the regulation does not itself list any country or agreement. Second, the exemption is from re-certification of the organic status. It is not an exemption from the rest of the food law: the closing words keep the Act, Rules and regulations in force. Third, the reference point is NPOP. The equivalence is measured against the National Programme for Organic Production, which regulation 2(1)(f) defines as the Government of India programme notified by the Director General of Foreign Trade under the Foreign Trade (Development and Regulation) Act, 1992.
Regulation 9(2): the transaction certificate
Regulation 9(2) provides that "The organic food consignments referred to in sub-regulation (1) shall be accompanied by a transaction certificate issued by an Accredited Certification Body covered under the terms of the equivalence agreement."
Each word does work here. The certificate goes with the consignment, so it is a per-shipment document rather than a general licence. The issuer must be an Accredited Certification Body, as defined in regulation 2(1)(c): an organisation accredited by an Accreditation body to certify organic products and grant the right to use the certification mark. And that body must be one "covered under the terms of the equivalence agreement", so a certificate from a body outside the agreement does not meet the clause. The Regulations do not print a format or contents for the transaction certificate, and this article does not supply one.
How this sits with the Import Regulations
Regulation 9 deals only with the organic status of the goods. The import itself still goes through the licensing and clearance system. The import licence and its cancellation are the subject of our article on regulations 3 and 4 of the Import Regulations, and the definitions are in the article on regulations 1 and 2. Clearance of the consignment, labelling and the remaining shelf-life are covered in the articles on regulation 5 and regulation 6. The Act's own import rule is in section 25 of the FSS Act. Practical clearance steps are covered in clearance of imported food at the port. An importer of organic lines usually works through an FSSAI import licence first and then handles each shipment's paperwork.
What the importer must still do
Because regulation 9(1) keeps the Act, Rules and regulations in force, an imported organic product is not outside the rest of the Organic Foods Regulations. The general bar in regulation 3 covers "import" in terms, so the importer must meet the requirements laid down in the Regulations: the labelling rules in regulation 5 (including accurate information on organic status and the certification mark of the system), the compliance rule in regulation 7 with its tighter limit for insecticide residues, and the display rule in regulation 8 for the seller. Our article on regulations 5 to 8 walks through those provisions. The text of regulation 9 does not say how the transaction certificate is presented at the port; that is a matter for the import clearance process.
An invented example: Nilgiri Imports brings in a lot of dried fruit from a country that has an equivalence agreement with India under NPOP. The goods are accompanied by a transaction certificate issued by a certification body covered by the agreement. The goods are not re-certified in India. If the same lot arrives from a country with no agreement, or with a certificate from a body outside the agreement, regulation 9 does not give the exemption, and the consignment has to meet the general bar in regulation 3 through the systems in regulation 4.
Gaps in the text
The Regulations do not name the countries with which equivalence exists, do not give a format for the transaction certificate and do not state what happens where a certificate is missing. Those points have to be checked against the agreement in question and against the import clearance rules. The Act's penalty for contravention in the import of food is in section 67 of the FSS Act.
Need help with an organic import?
Organic shipments combine two layers of paperwork: the import licence and clearance on one side, and the organic certification evidence on the other. Our FSSAI import licence service helps importers line up both before the first consignment sails.
Key takeaways
- Organic food imported under an equivalence agreement with NPOP need not be re-certified in India.
- The exemption is subject to compliance with the Act, the Rules and the regulations.
- Every such consignment must carry a transaction certificate from an Accredited Certification Body covered by the agreement.
- The regulation names no country and prints no certificate format.
Read next
- Regulations 1–4: organic certification systems
- Regulations 5–8: labelling, traceability and display of organic food
- Regulation 5 of the Import Regulations: clearance of imported food
- Section 25, FSS Act: imports of food
Disclaimer: Based on the FSSAI regulations named above as consolidated in FSSAI's compendium versions or as published in the Gazette, with the later notifications the article names (consulted on fssai.gov.in on 2-3 October 2026). Later notifications and the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 provisions referred to should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.