Lok Sabha Question No. 308 (STARRED), answered on 2024-12-17
Subject: Halal Certifications
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Dr. K Sudhakar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. *308 ANSWERED ON 17/12/2024

## HALAL CERTIFICATIONS

## *308.   DR. K SUDHAKAR:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मं त्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  certain  countries  insist  upon  Halal  certifications  with  respect  to  imports  from India, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether such a certification is religious or non-religious in nature and the reasons due to which such certifications are approved in India;
- (c) the details of specific steps taken by the Government to ensure the quality of imports into our country;
- (d) whether there is any rise in the import of substandard goods into the country, if so, the details thereof;
- (e) whether  any  steps  are  taken  by  the  Government  to  ensure  that  our  export-import standards are in line with international certifications, if so, the details thereof; and

(f) whether any steps are taken by the Government to enter into more free trade agreements with other countries or regional blocs and if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

वाणिज्य और उद्योग मंत्रालय में मंत्री ( श्री पीयूष गोयल ) THE MINISTER OF  COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (f): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  OF  PART  (a)  to  (f)  OF  LOK  SABHA STARRED  QUESTION  NO. 308 FOR ANSWER  ON  17th DECEMBER,  2024 REGARDING 'HALAL CERTIFICATIONS'.

(a) & (b) The  major  importing  countries  of  meat  and  meat  products  such  as  Malaysia, Indonesia,  Egypt, Iran,  Gulf  Cooperation  Council  (GCC)  countries  etc.  have  their  own regulations, standards and system for certification of imports of Halal products. Exports of meat products from India and other countries are required to be compliant with the country's specific requirements  for  Halal.  As  per  the  India  Conformity  Assessment  Scheme  (i-CAS)  for  Halal formulated for export of specified meat products, Halal certificate is a Certificate of Conformity that confirms that the product, process or service meets the Halal standards/regulations and the Halal requirements as per Islamic Shariah Law.

The India Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS) for Halal has been developed in line with global requirements & best practices to facilitate meat exports to countries requiring Halal Certification  and  also  streamlining  the  certification  process.  With  respect  to  the  export  of specified meat products destined to specified countries, the i-CAS for Halal, is mandatory apart from the compliance with the respective importing countries requirements.

(c) The steps to ensure the quality of food imports into country are as follows:

(i)  Risk based sampling of food products is in place at Customs Single Window Interface for Facilitating Trade.

(ii)    The  food  articles,  referred  to  FSSAI  for  clearance,   are  subjected  to  scrutiny  of documents, Visual inspection, sampling and laboratory testing  If sample is found conforming then  No  Objection  Certificate  (NOC)  is  generated  and  if  not  conforming,  then  NonConforming Report (NCR) is generated.

(iii)  Import of high-risk food products are restricted only through 79 entry points, which are manned and managed by FSSAI and Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

(d) Based  on  the  food  import  data  available  in  FSSAI's  Food  Import  Clearance  system (FICS)  for  the  period  of  FY  2022-2023  and  FY  2023-2024,  no  increase  in  substandard  food imports has been observed.

(e) FSSAI has developed specific standards for food products and labelling in alignment with international  standards  like  Codex.  These  regulations  ensure  that  food  imports  comply  with safety,  quality,  and  labelling  requirements while maintaining harmony with global norms. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulates food imports under Section 25 of the FSS Act, 2006 and the Food Safety and Standards (Import) Regulations, 2017. The Act prohibits importing unsafe, misbranded, sub-standard food or food without proper licensing.

The  exports  from  India  comply  with  standards  and  certification  requirements  of importing  country.  Further,  to  ensure quality  of  exports,  certain  food  products  are notified  by Government of India under the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act (EIC Act), 1963.

The Act specifies that food products are being exported after ensuring that product is meeting the importing  country  requirements  as  applicable  from  time  to  time.  Food  products  notified  by Government of India under the EIC Act are as under:

| Sr. no.   | Commodities                                  |
|-----------|----------------------------------------------|
| i         | Basmati Rice                                 |
| ii        | Fish &Fishery Products                       |
| iii       | Honey                                        |
| iv        | Milk &Milk Products                          |
| v         | Egg &Egg Products                            |
| vi        | Fresh Poultry Meat and Poultry Meat Products |
| vii       | Raw Meat Products (Chilled/Frozen)           |
| viii      | Processed Meat Products                      |
| ix        | Animal Casing                                |
| x         | Crushed Bones, Ossein and Gelatine           |
| xi        | Fruits Products                              |
| xii       | Feed Additives &Premixture                   |
| xiii      | Peanut and Peanut Products                   |
| xiv       | Salt                                         |
| xv        | Black pepper                                 |

(f) India has so far concluded 14 Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and 6 Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs).  In addition, India is currently negotiating FTAs with other trading partners namely with UK, EU, Oman, Australia (comprehensive agreement building on India-Australia Economic Co-operation and Trade Agreement), Peru and Sri Lanka. Moreover, India has also initiated  review  of  its  existing  FTAs  namely  (i)  India-South  Korea  Comprehensive  Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and (ii) ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA).

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