License to sell food online post 12.30 am?
Neha
(Querist) 19 September 2012
This query is : Resolved
Q1: What kind of license would an Online Kitchen (Restaurant) require to sell food online post 00:30hrs
Q2:In case, a website only sources it from a kitchen and sells it to the customer, would the website need a license to sell food online? Is there a law that would not permit that?
Tajobsindia
(Expert) 19 September 2012
You have asked two questions and making it as look like one and same. To set clarity let me answer your two questions in following ways;
First I like to say and clarify that the timing mentioned as 12.30 am should be read as 00.30 hrs. and not as 12.30 am to remove all confusions to quick readers / repliers alike..
For your 1 and I quote you " What kind of license is required to sell food online post 12.30am (if they were to prepare it as well)?"
Reply - The website does not need any license. Infact it is the kitchen which needs license from local Authorities to stay open beyond local permissible hours of business to prepare / pack and ship the same to various delivery channels of website.
For your 2 and I quote you "In case, a website only sources it from a kitchen and sells it to the customer, would the website need a license to sell food online? Is there a law that would not permit that?"
Reply - The website here does not need no permission to book orders 24 x 7 x 365 but the kitchen and all those vendors preparing food items from where the website sources needs permission to prepare / pack and ship to website delivery channels as per existing local Authorities Laws based on local permissible hours of business.
Addendum:
Normally such websites donot book orders beyond closing hours of particular source kitchen and or source restaurants which is generic and one can see in lots of today’s website of similar nature where they clearly publish “last order timings”. Now if such website is doing business beyond source kitchen / restaurant local business hours timings then they are encouraging particular kitchen / restaurant to break local laws of business which should be avoided as “good business practices”.
Neha
(Querist) 19 September 2012
What kind of license allows kitchens to operate after midnight?
Tajobsindia
(Expert) 19 September 2012
1. Every State has a seperate State Act for such purpose and one has to approach a local lawyer to identify such State Act and the requirements under it. However the umbrela Act may come with wordings such as XXX Shops and Establishment Act suffixed with year of enactment.
2. The restrictions for kitchens to operate can be relaxed in certain circumstances;
Exemptions are of two kinds, temporary exemption from the "operation" of the provisions of the Act and permanent exemption from the "application" of the provisions of the Act are as follows:
The State Government, by issuing a general notification, can temporarily exempt all establishments from all or some of the provisions of the local State Act by suspending the operation of such provisions on account of any holidays or festive occasions.
The Government, by issuing a special notification, can permanently exempt any establishment from all or some of the provisions of the local State Act by making such provisions inapplicable to that establishment on account of the special requirement of that establishment.
