Respected Lawyers, I am a home chef currently operating from medium size residential complex in Bangalore. In year 2020, Few home chefs and I started delivering home cooked food to society residents when covid started in India and all restaurants were under a lockdown. We also provided meals to covid affected families during peak wave of corona. Today we have eventually grown into areas of providing daily meals on regular basis. We have FSSAI license for Home Chef/Kitchen. We prepare meals in our own flat in residential apartment and deliver to residents within the same society. Our buyers are extremely happy due to high quality and hyegenic food we provide. Since 2 days - few people within the society and people running businesses outside of complex are trying to stop all home chefs like me to stop operating food preparation and deliveries citing various reasons. Can you please help me with the legality of the same? 1. Is it illegal to operate food delivery business this like this? Which licenses/permissions are required? 2. How can I make it legal in case it is illegal? 3. What should I do to secure and operate my small business without any legal hassles or challenges from society association? - How can I work around those and do the legally right thing to protect my venture? 4. Some of the chefs are tenants and some are owners. Do home chefs who are tenants need any additional permissions? Thanks in advance for your replies! Looking forward for your replies that way our women initiative and enterprise can be saved and can be run successfully without any legal challenges or hassles.
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You need following licences
2) obtain licences as mentioned herein above
3) tenants need in addition permission from landlord
In the absence of other NOCs/licenses apart from FSSAI, Will there be any penalties for past activities?
Don’t disclose that you have been running home kitchen for last 18 months
If the other residents object to your commercial activity in a residential complex, you cannot carry on with it. Better to look for some other place in a commercial area. Now, it is pointless to worry about penalty for your past activity.
Dear Client,
It is essential to avail a few licenses in order to set up a Home-Chef Service.
However, these permissions vary from state to state.
1. You would require written permission with respect to the provisions of the Shop Act.
2. A License from the Food and Health Department.
3. A green-signal license from the Fire Brigade Department of the state.
4. Police permission.
5. Most importantly, the Society's NOC.
With regard to permissions to tenants, yes, tenants would require additional permissions for running such a business. You could also look into the clauses in the Tenancy Agreement if there's anything that allows you to run a business as a tenant.
There may or may not be penalties for past activities.
However, it is advisable to consult a lawyer who can represent you if there are any unforeseen circumstances arising out of such a situation.
Thank you.
1. The few people who are trying to stop you from doing this business from home are not the authority to do so, as the society has not objected to this and are very well aware of this business, you don't pay heed to such petty people who are doing it out of jealousy.
2. A licence is mandatory for units with sales above Rs 12 lakh and just a registration will do if the revenue is below that amount. Business owners have to go to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) website to register.
3. Since you have a license for this you need not worry, if at all the society is issuing a legal notice about this then you can handle it legally demanding the society to produce the authority to instruct you to stop this, which can be challenged in court of law as per law.
4. One common permission or license in the name of common chef would be enough.
No doubt the society has to provide NOC which you should have obtained long ago when you initially started this business, even now you can writ a formal letter asking them to provide no objection for this, no penalties can be levied on this because there is no provision in law for this.
Dear Sir,
My answers are as follows:
1. Is it illegal to operate food delivery business this like this? Which licenses/permissions are required?
Ans: It is purely legal since you are licensed under FSSAI and no other license is required but you may get registered as hotel or Restaurant under local Government like municipality etc.
2. How can I make it legal in case it is illegal?
Ans: You may approach High Court directly and make it legal and saying that a direction may be issued to concerned departments and executing members of Association not to stop you from supplying the food.
3. What should I do to secure and operate my small business without any legal hassles or challenges from society association? - How can I work around those and do the legally right thing to protect my venture?
Ans: You have to file a writ petition and get an order.
4. Some of the chefs are tenants and some are owners. Do home chefs who are tenants need any additional permissions?
Ans: You may form yourself into Association or similar to that and fight unitedly.
1.As per rules of housing society, No commercial use of property in housing society,
- Other side, A fixed area can be legally used for commercial purpose limited to official use only , i.e. can be used for services by resident advocates, chartered accountants, doctors ,tutorials, dance and yoga classes.
- Further, one can use the flat for commercial purpose provided, no production or manufacturing activity is conducted and the commercial use shall be completely professional in nature, and it should not cause nuisance to other dwellers of the society, but, approvals from the housing society are required.
2. Take permission from the apartment association and the local authority for running the same.
Yes in absence there may be
