When Maharashtra FDA suspends your FSSAI licence, the notice usually cites specific gaps — expired medical fitness, missing RUCO receipts, pest infestation, or operating without paying the annual FoSCoS fee. This playbook walks through restoration in the order inspectors expect.
Day 0: stop and document
- Photograph the Improvement Notice or suspension order — note the citing officer, date, and violation codes.
- Stop dine-in, delivery, and aggregator service unless the notice explicitly allows limited operations (rare).
- Pull your FoSCoS licence status online — check annual fee payment and expiry.
- Call your food safety consultant or lawyer if the notice mentions unsafe food or criminal sections.
Common suspension triggers (Jul 2026 drives)
- Staff certificates missing — medical fitness and FoSTaC not on file for all handlers.
- Oil reuse / no RUCO — dark frying oil, no TPC log, no collection agency receipts.
- Pest infestation — live cockroaches/rats; no pest-control contract.
- Hygiene infrastructure — broken fridge, no hand-wash station, grease buildup.
- Water violations — no free potable water; forcing bottled water sales.
- Packaging — newspaper wrapping for vada-pav, bhajiya, parcels.
- Licence fee — perpetual licence with unpaid annual FoSCoS fee (deemed suspended from 1 Apr 2026).
Remediation checklist
- Pay outstanding FoSCoS annual fee and download fresh licence printout.
- Renew every expired medical fitness certificate; update the staff register.
- Complete FoSTaC Basic for kitchen staff and Advanced for your food safety supervisor.
- Book licensed pest control — keep contract + dated service report.
- Discard non-compliant oil; register with RUCO agency; retain pickup receipts.
- Mount bilingual free-water sign (§5(E)); remove all newspaper from food service.
- Start temperature logbook (3 months retention) and cleaning checklist with initials.
Submitting for restoration
Compile an evidence folder: licence + FSDB photos, staff certificates, RUCO receipts, pest-control invoice, water sign photos, temperature log sample, and before/after kitchen photos. Submit to the FDA office cited on your notice — typically within 7 days of suspension. Request a re-inspection date in writing.
Do not reopen on aggregator apps until your licence is formally restored on FoSCoS. Platforms can delist you independently; restoration proof speeds re-listing.
Prevent a second suspension
Inspectors return to repeat offenders. Build a monthly evidence drawer — the same documents they'll ask for in 60 seconds. See the FDA compliance hub and the raid checklist for ongoing maintenance.
Score readiness before re-inspection →