Nikita, short version: food businesses in India operate under the FSSAI framework and your tier is driven by annual turnover. Small operations, including most home bakeries starting out, fall under Basic Registration - the Basic tier applies up to ₹1.5 crore of annual turnover as of April 2026. Above that you move into the licence tiers.
We'd encourage you strongly to register rather than hunt for reasons not to. Sneha's right that it opens order types otherwise closed to you, and the cost and effort at the Basic tier are not the obstacle people imagine.
Two practical notes. Requirements and thresholds change - verify current specifics on the official FSSAI portal or with a professional before filing, don't rely on any forum post including this one. And keep your registration details, hygiene practices and labelling consistent with what you registered. That consistency matters more in practice than the certificate itself.
We cover compliance and setup in the business side of our programme because a technically brilliant bakery that can't legally take a corporate order is a hobby with extra steps.
