Hospitality Industry Seeks Urgent Intervention Of PM, CM To Uphold Due Process In Maharashtra FDA’S Enforcement Drive

Mumbai : The Hotel and Restaurant Association (Western India) – HRAWI, the National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) and the Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR) have jointly petitioned the Hon’ble Prime Minister, the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra and the Chief Executive Officer of the FSSAI, seeking urgent intervention to ensure that the ongoing enforcement drive by the Maharashtra FDA is conducted in accordance with due process of law and the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSS Act). The industry has urged the FDA to act within the framework of the FSS Act, which provides for graduated corrective measures against specific compliance shortfalls and does not authorise the imposition of the highest punitive action as a first resort.

The Associations have clarified that the hospitality industry has no objection to enforcement or inspections aimed at ensuring food safety and public health. It has, in fact, been a consistent advocate for zero tolerance towards adulteration and has actively participated in stakeholder consultations and training initiatives. However, the sudden suspension or termination of licences without prior notice or opportunity for corrective action is a matter of grave concern. Such enforcement, carried out without consultation and without adherence to procedural fairness, runs counter to the spirit of ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and undermines the legislative intent of the FSS Act, which mandates consultation with representative bodies before regulatory action.

The hospitality and food service sector is among the state’s largest employers and a cornerstone of its tourism economy. Nationally, the food service industry alone directly employs over 85 lakh people and contributes an estimated Rs. 33,809 crore annually to the exchequer, making it the third-largest segment in India’s services economy after retail and insurance. The wider hospitality sector supports over 3.2 crore jobs and contributes close to 5.8 per cent of national GDP.

West India, which includes Maharashtra, accounts for close to a third of the country’s hospitality market. Maharashtra alone recorded over 189 million domestic and 3.7 million foreign tourist visits in 2024, and the state government’s own Tourism Policy 2024 projects over 30 lakh new jobs and Rs. 1,00,000 crore of fresh investment in the coming years. The Associations have cautioned that unpredictability in enforcement, along with the reputational shock of premature public naming, risks unsettling the very investor and consumer confidence this policy is designed to build — with a disproportionate impact on small and mid-sized establishments and on the livelihoods of the lakhs of workers, many of them daily-wage and migrant employees, who depend on them.

The Associations have emphasised that they seek not a dilution of enforcement, but its exercise within the framework of natural justice already provided for in law — a balance that protects consumers and honest livelihoods in equal measure.

The core of the representation:

– Section 32 of the FSS Act requires that Food Business Operators (FBOs) be given a 14-day Improvement Notice before licence suspension or termination. The Associations have submitted that this statutory safeguard should be observed in every case.

– The compliance order issued by the Maharashtra FDA on June 23, 2026 contains provisions that are at variance with the FSS Act and its Regulations, and was issued without the prior stakeholder consultation contemplated under the Act.

– Public disclosure of establishment names, photographs and videos before completion of due process causes disproportionate, and often irreversible, reputational harm — even in cases where corrective action is subsequently taken or no final violation is established.

The Associations have accordingly requested the Hon’ble Chief Minister of Maharashtra, the PMO and the FSSAI to consider recalling or reviewing the June 23 compliance order to the extent it is inconsistent with the FSS Act, to ensure that the 14-day Improvement Notice process under Section 32 is followed in every instance, and to encourage restraint in public communication of enforcement action until due process is complete.

HRAWI, NRAI and AHAR have reaffirmed that food safety remains a paramount priority for the hospitality industry and have expressed their continued willingness to partner with the Maharashtra FDA and FSSAI through training, awareness and stakeholder consultation to strengthen compliance across the sector. The Associations have requested an urgent joint meeting with the Chief Minister and all trade associations in Maharashtra to discuss the way forward.