India Proposes Plastic-Free Packaging for Pan Masala

India Proposes Plastic-Free Packaging for Pan Masala

India is taking a significant step towards reducing plastic waste with a proposed amendment to the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018. The draft notification, issued on April 28, 2026, aims to eliminate plastic packaging for pan masala and other related products.

• The proposed amendment introduces specific packaging requirements for pan masala, allowing only paper, paperboard, cellulose, or other naturally derived materials that are entirely free from plastic.
• Tin or glass containers are also permitted as alternative packaging options.
• The draft regulations incorporate provisions of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which prohibit the use of plastic materials, including sachets, for storing, packing, or selling pan masala, gutkha, and tobacco products.

This proposed change is crucial for the environment and public health. With the increasing concern over plastic waste, this amendment could set a precedent for other industries to adopt eco-friendly packaging options.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has issued a draft notification dated April 28, 2026 proposing amendments to the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The amendment introduces specific packaging requirements for pan masala by adding a new entry in Schedule IV. It permits packaging only in paper, paperboard, cellulose, or other naturally derived materials that are entirely free from plastic, synthetic polymers, aluminium foil, and metallized layers. Alternatively, tin or glass containers are allowed. The draft also incorporates provisions of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, explicitly prohibiting the use of plastic materials, including sachets, for storing, packing, or selling pan masala, gutkha, and tobacco products. Stakeholders are invited to submit objections or suggestions within thirty days, after which the authority will consider them before finalizing the regulations.

FOOD SAFETY AND STANDARDS AUTHORITY OF INDIA NOTIFICATION New Delhi, the 28th April, 2026

F. No. RCD-09002/1/2026-Regulatory-FSSAI.— The draft regulations further to amend the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018, which the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India proposes to make with previous approval of the Central Government, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (2) of section 92 read with section 23 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (34 of 2006) is hereby published as required under sub-section (1) of section 92 of the said Act for the information of all persons likely to be affected thereby, and notice is hereby given that the said draft regulations shall be taken into consideration after the expiry of the period of thirty days from the date on which copies of the Gazette in which this notification is published are made available to the public;

Objections or suggestions, if any, may be addressed to the Chief Executive Officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, FDA Bhawan, Kotla Road, New Delhi- 110002 or may be sent by e-mail at regulation@fssai.gov.in;

Objections or suggestions which may be received with respect to the said draft regulations within the period specified above shall be considered by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.

1. These regulations may be called Food Safety and Standards (Packaging)Amendment Regulations, 2026

2. In the Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018, -,

(1) In schedule IV relating to the list of suggestive packaging materials, after the entries at Sl. No. 10, following shall be inserted namely;

(b) Tin or glass containers;

(c) The clause (f) and (i) of sub-rule 1 of Rule 4 of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, as quoted below shall also apply:

“4(1)(f) sachets using plastic material shall not be used for storing, packing or selling gutkha, tobacco and pan masala;

4(1)(i) plastic material, in any form including Vinyl Acetate – Maleic Acid – Vinyl Chloride Copolymer, shall not be used in any package for packaging gutkha, pan masala and tobacco in all forms”

  RAJIT PUNHANI, Chief Executive Officer [ADVT.-III/4/Exty./63/2026-27]

Note. – The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018 were published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4 vide notification number File No. 1- 95/Stds/Packaging/SP(L&C/A)/FSSAI-2017, dated the 24th December, 2018 and subsequently amended vide notification numbers:

1. F. No. Std/SP-08/A-1.2019/N-01, dated 25th January 2022;

2. F. No. Std/SP-20/T(Migration-N), dated 30th August 2022; and

3. F. No. STD/SP-20/T(Recycledplastics-N), dated 28th March 2025.

Readers should treat this as a tax and compliance update, not as personal advice.

This article is for general information based on available source information. It should not be considered legal, tax, investment, or financial advice.