Choose between two very different businesses: a small expeller or cold-press (ghani) mill that crushes seed and sells the oil, or a solvent-extraction and refining plant, which is heavy industry. The small mill is manageable: it sits in the Green pollution category and needs an FSSAI registration or licence (Basic registration is Rs 100 up to Rs 1.5 crore of turnover), GST, Udyam and Legal Metrology packer registration (Rs 500), and you should plan for sealed, labelled packs, since most states bar loose sale of edible oil. Solvent extraction or refining is Red category and needs a PESO licence to store hexane. Agmark became voluntary from 17 October 2024, and mustard oil may not be blended. PMEGP subsidises 15 to 35% of a manufacturing project up to Rs 50 lakh. Sell cold-pressed oil locally and online at a premium on freshness and known seed. What kills most small mills is the price of oilseed, which swings with the harvest and squeezes margins against large brands.
A July 2026 guide to edible oil: an expeller or cold-press unit is Green category while solvent extraction or refining is Red with a PESO hexane licence, FSSAI Basic registration is Rs 100 up to Rs 1.5 crore, Agmark became voluntary from 17 October 2024, mustard oil blending is banned, and most states bar loose sale.
FSSAI's own order setting the food licence tiers in force from 1 April 2026: Registration up to Rs 1.5 crore turnover, State Licence above Rs 1.5 crore and up to Rs 50 crore, Central Licence above Rs 50 crore. It supersedes the old Rs 12 lakh and Rs 20 crore limits most guides still quote.
The official front door for the most common sector licence founders need, food, plus a reminder that regulated sectors each have their own primary regulator. For fintech, the RBI regulatory sandbox and payment-aggregator authorisation are the legitimate paths (see note); for food, FoSCoS is where you actually apply.
An August 2026 guide to the Legal Metrology rules every packed product meets: the Rs 500 one-time registration for manufacturers, packers and importers within 90 days of starting, the mandatory label declarations (MRP inclusive of taxes, net quantity, unit sale price, consumer care), and the stamping of trade scales.
The government's own summary of PMEGP, the credit-linked subsidy for new micro enterprises run by KVIC: the subsidy is 15% of project cost in cities and 25% in villages for general applicants, and 25% and 35% for special categories, on projects up to Rs 50 lakh in manufacturing and Rs 20 lakh in services.
A state Legal Metrology department's own FAQ: who counts as a packer, the declarations every pre-packed commodity must carry, and registration of manufacturers, packers and importers under Rule 27 of the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011, with a Rs 500 fee for new registration. Registration is with your own state's Controller of Legal Metrology.
