Introduction

Export Inspection Council of India (EIC), the official certifying body of the Government of India for safety and quality of products that are exported from India. was set up under section 3 of the Export (Quality Control and Inspection) Act, 1963 which was enacted to ensure the quality of export products through quality control and inspection.

In order to facilitate the smooth functioning of the export from India in the present scenario of the international trade, and to certify quality of food commodities (which are not notified under the Act, 1963), a general voluntary scheme for issuance of Health Certificate has been developed. This scheme allows for issuance of Export Health Certificate on Consignment wise basis. An exporter can only sell goods internationally if it can meet the importing country’s requirements, both in terms of quality and safety.

The Export Health Certificate (EHC) is an official document issued by EIC/EIAs that confirms that certain details, animal health standards and regulations have been met – so that food and animal products may be exported. It states that the products are certified as suitable for human consumption.

About Export Health Certificate

All food products which are subject to international trade, whether of animal or non-animal origin, must be fit for human consumption and comply with all relevant food standards such as hygiene, pesticides, genetic, labelling, contaminants, use of additives/preservatives etc.

A Export Health Certificate is a document used in export transactions, issued by the governmental organizations at the countries of origin, to certify that a food shipment is fit for human consumption, and meets safety standards or other required legislation for exporting. In the Indian context, this certificate is issued by the EIC and the Export Inspection Agencies (EIA) under EIC, through compulsory certification as well as through voluntary certification programs.

Purpose of Export Health Certificate.

1. Health Certificate certifying that EIC and EIAs have examined this particular goods consignment.
2. Certifying that food of animal origin or non-animal origin subject to exporting is fit for human consumption.
3. Certifying that the food consignment has been produced according to the food standards.
4. Certifying that the food consignment has been produced by one of the legitimate manufacturing companies.

List of products

There are over 1,500 certificates available, for over 140 countries and they all have slightly different requirements. They are split into a range of commodities:

1. Meat (lamb, pork, beef, poultry, venison – including prime cuts, and processed meat products etc.)
2. Dairy (milk, yoghurt, cheese, butter & ice cream)
3. Hides, skins, wool, feathers & lanolin
4. Collagen, Gelatine & animal casings
5. Egg
6. Fish and fishery products
7. Laboratory
8. Pet food and animal feeds
9. Others

Basis of issuance of Health Certificate

Health Certificate will be issued for consignments which conform to Importing Country requirements / relevant National standards / buyers’ requirements as applicable.

Process of Certification.

An exporter can avail of the services of the Export Inspection Council and its network organizations for the compulsory inspection before the shipment of products notified under Section 6 of the Export (Quality Control & Inspection) Act, 1963. Exporters can avail services for the products not notified in the section, by paying the requisite government fee.

Export Inspection Council of India (EIC) offers a e-Health certification service, for the following categories. E-health certifications provided by the EIC are available in 25 major global languages, which enables exporters to venture into non-English-speaking countries successfully.

1. EU approved sea food processing establishments, for the consignments of Marine Products (fish & collagen) meant for export to European Union only.
2. EU & Non-EU approved sea food processing establishments, for the consignments of Marine Products meant for export to P.R. China, Russian Federation, Iran & other non-EU countries.
3. EU approved processing establishments, for the consignments of Animal Casings meant for export to European Union only.
4. Exporters of peanut products to EU & Malaysia.
5. Exporters for Non-GMO certification.
6. Approved processors & exporters under voluntary food certification scheme.

Procedure for checking compliance

The exporter shall submit the following documents for issuance of the Health Certificate for the Food Products for every consignment meant for export.

Application for issue of Health Certificate

1. Commercial Invoice
2. HS code/HSN Code
3. Copy of FSSAI Licence
4. Copy of Purchase Order
5. Demand draft issued by Bank for requisite government fee.
6. Letter of Credit
7. Test Reports of the Food product issued by EIA or EIC approved laboratories, as per importing countries standards or national standard.
8. Contractual agreement with product specification between the importer and the exporter

Sample shall be drawn from one in ten consignment for testing as per the requirement of the importing country for maintaining data base (Exporter wise). Health certificate shall be issued only after satisfactory test report/s. The cost of the testing shall be borne by the exporter/processor.

In case of rejection / violation / complaint received against the exporter for the consignments exported, from the importing country, next 3 consecutive consignments shall be tested in EIA labs prior to issuance of health certificate. The cost of the testing shall be borne by the exporter / processor

The Health Certificate in the prescribed Proforma shall be issued to the approved exporter. The multilingual Health Certificate are available in 4 types of language combinations and can be used for countries as shown below:

Application Fee details as under:

Note: A fee of Rs.10 per MT shall be charged for Agricultural Bulk Commodities for issuance of Health Certificate subject to minimum of Rs. 2500/- per consignment. Health Certificate will be issued based on the test report submitted by the processor / exporter.

VALIDITY OF HEALTH CERTIFICATE – The Health Certificate shall be valid for a period of 90 days from the date of its issuance.