The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday said it has not appointed any agent, intermediary, third party or organisation through which food and drug licences can be obtained.
No agent or intermediary is required to obtain licences and the administration has not appointed anyone for this purpose, said FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe in a statement.
Drug manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and food business operators should not trust anyone claiming to be an FDA agent, the statement said.
It had come across instances where some people posed as authorised agents of the Maharashtra FDA and misused the names of its officers and employees to demand money for obtaining licences, the FDA said.
The entire process of applying for food and drug licences has been made available online, it said.
Its official portals for submitting applications are ‘fdamfg.maharashtra.gov.in’ (for drug-related licences) and ‘foscos.fssai.gov.in’ for food licences, the FDA said.
The administration also urged people to lodge a complaint with the commissioner’s office if an FDA official or anyone using the name of its officers demands money for taking action on an application.
The identity of a person providing such information will be kept completely confidential, the statement said. — PTI