Skip to content
All stories
Selling by Product

Selling honey online in India: licences, GST rate and label rules

Honey sellers need FSSAI Basic registration (₹100 a year) up to ₹1.5 crore turnover. Pre-packaged and labelled natural honey (HSN 0409) is taxed at 5% GST, while loose natural honey is exempt. FSSAI's honey standard caps moisture at 20% and bans adding any other ingredient.

7 min read
Glass jar of golden honey tied with twine, a wooden honey dipper resting on top, on white painted wooden boards in sunlight
Glass jar of golden honey tied with twine, a wooden honey dipper resting on top, on white painted wooden boards in sunlight
In this post · 9 sections

Short answer: Honey sellers need FSSAI Basic registration (₹100 a year) up to ₹1.5 crore turnover. Pre-packaged and labelled natural honey (HSN 0409) is taxed at 5% GST, while loose natural honey is exempt. FSSAI's honey standard caps moisture at 20% and bans adding any other ingredient.

Rules and rates checked on 24 October 2026. Sources are listed at the end of this page.

Licences and registrations

WhatDo you need it?CostWhere
FSSAI Basic registrationYes, if annual turnover is up to ₹1.5 crore₹100 a yearfoscos.fssai.gov.in
FSSAI Central licence (e-commerce category)Check before launch₹7,500 a yearfoscos.fssai.gov.in
GST registrationYes for any inter-state sale; otherwise above ₹40 lakh turnoverNo fee stated in the sources usedgst.gov.in

FSSAI Basic registration. Packing honey for sale is a food business even if you keep the bees yourself. Basic registration covers turnover up to ₹1.5 crore from 1 April 2026, and registrations issued from that date do not expire as long as the yearly fee is paid.

FSSAI Central licence (e-commerce category). FSSAI's eligibility table lists 'E-commerce' as needing a Central licence at any turnover. It does not say whether a beekeeper selling only their own jars on their own website is covered. Confirm with the licensing authority.

GST registration. Shipping jars to buyers in other states makes you an inter-state supplier. Section 24(i) requires registration for that regardless of the ₹40 lakh exemption.

GST rate and HSN code

HSN 0409: Natural honey, pre-packaged and labelled. GST rate: 5% (Notification 9/2025-CT(R), Schedule I, S.No. 10).

Natural honey that is pre-packaged and labelled is in Schedule I, S.No. 10 at 5% total GST. Natural honey 'other than pre-packaged and labelled' is exempt under Notification 10/2025-CT(R), S.No. 19. A jar sold from your website with a printed label is the 5% case.

Artificial honey is different. Schedule II, S.No. 1 lists heading 1702 'Artificial honey, whether or not mixed with natural honey' at 9% CGST, which is 18% in total. Honey heading 0409 does not appear in the GST Council's list of rate changes for 22 September 2025, so the rate for natural honey did not change.

Worked example: one sale at ₹449

Price the buyer pays (GST included)₹449
Taxable value₹427.62
Buyer in your state: CGST + SGST₹10.69 + ₹10.69
Buyer in another state: IGST₹21.38

What the label and product page must show

  • Name the product 'Honey', or 'Honeydew Honey', 'Pressed Honey' or 'Carvia callosa Honey' where FSSAI's definitions apply.
  • Call honey 'monofloral' (for example 'Litchi honey') only if pollen of that plant is at least 45% of total pollen. If no species is above 45%, the term is 'multi floral'.
  • Do not add anything. FSSAI's standard says honey sold as such shall not have any food ingredient or additive added.
  • The veg and non-veg logo rules in regulation 5(4)(a) and (b) do not apply to honey, so no green or brown mark is needed.
  • Print the FSSAI logo and registration number, your full address, a batch number, and the date of packing with the expiry or use-by date.
  • Give nutrition information per 100 g, and declare net quantity, MRP inclusive of all taxes, unit sale price and consumer care details.
  • On the product page, show the mandatory label details before payment, apart from the batch number and dates.

Packing, shipping and listing

FSSAI's honey standard (regulation 2.8.3) applies to packaged or processed honey. Moisture must be at most 20%. Total reducing sugars must be at least 65% for most honeys, and sucrose at most 5%. C4 sugar must be at most 7%, foreign oligosaccharides at most 0.7% peak area, and the pollen count at least 5,000 per gram. Honey must not be heated or processed so much that its composition changes. A lab report against these parameters is worth having before you sell.

FSSAI's directions of 2020 brought in the revised honey standards and reinstated a specific marker test for rice syrup.

Honey is liquid. India Post's packing guidance requires a double receptacle with absorbent material between the jar and a strong outer box for liquids.

Mistakes to avoid

  • Selling 'cinnamon honey' or 'ginger honey' as honey. FSSAI's standard bars adding any food ingredient to honey sold as such.
  • Blending in sugar syrup. Besides failing FSSAI's C4 sugar and oligosaccharide limits, 'artificial honey, whether or not mixed with natural honey' is taxed at 18% under Schedule II.
  • Claiming a single flower source without a pollen test. 'Monofloral' needs at least 45% pollen from that species.
  • Charging GST on loose honey or skipping it on labelled jars. Unlabelled natural honey is exempt; pre-packaged and labelled honey is 5%.
  • Overheating to slow crystallisation. The standard says honey shall not be heated so much that its essential composition changes.

On your own Selzix store

You set the HSN code and GST rate on each product, and every order gets a GST invoice with the CGST and SGST or IGST split worked out from the buyer's state. Not sure you need GST at all? Read GST for online sellers in India.

Questions sellers ask

Is GST applicable on honey?

Pre-packaged and labelled natural honey is taxed at 5% (Schedule I, S.No. 10). Natural honey that is not pre-packaged and labelled is exempt under Notification 10/2025-CT(R). Artificial honey, even mixed with natural honey, is 18%.

Do I need FSSAI registration to sell honey?

Yes. Basic registration on foscos.fssai.gov.in covers turnover up to ₹1.5 crore from 1 April 2026 and costs ₹100 a year. Print the number and logo on each jar.

What is the FSSAI standard for honey moisture?

Moisture can be at most 20% by mass. The same standard limits sucrose to 5% for most honeys and C4 sugar to 7%.

Sources

General information, not tax or legal advice. Rules change; check the source before you file or apply. Cover photo: Art Rachen on Unsplash.

Other products we've checked

Selzix

One price. Every feature.

Quick Links

© 2026 Selzix. All rights reserved.

Powered by Selzix