Home delivery of catering products

These services include the sale of catering products, including foodstuffs, confectionary and cold snacks, within the framework of parcel delivery services, where the catering products are delivered to the final consumer’s home. In the Standard Classification of Economic Activities (TEÁOR'08), the home delivery of catering products falls into sector 53 Postal and Courier Services; more specifically, into sub-category 53.2 Other postal and courier service activities and sub-category 53.20 Other postal and courier service activities.

While the legislation in force does not stipulate specific requirements for the commencement of these service activities, the requirements relating to engagement in these service activities are regulated in detail.

Foodstuffs, including catering products, may only be placed on the market if the labelling contains the information on the given foodstuffs in Hungarian, in an easy-to-understand, clear and well-visible manner, in accordance with the rules relating to the labelling of foodstuffs (see: here).

  1. The manufacturer of the foodstuff,
  2. while in the case of foodstuffs made outside Hungary, the first distributor in Hungary

is responsible for the safety and quality of foodstuffs until the sell-by or best-before date, unless the inadequacy of the foodstuff was caused through the non-observance of the recommended storage and warehousing conditions. The first distributor in Hungary is also responsible for any defect if it was not caused by the distributor, provided that the defect that excludes placement on the market in Hungary emerged prior to the first placement of the product on the market in Hungary. At the same time, in the case of the absence of documents verifying compliance with the food safety, food quality, animal feed safety and animal feed quality regulations, it is to be presumed that the distributor should or may have recognised the defect that excludes placement on the market.

Foodstuffs may not be distributed beyond the sell-by or best-before date.

Obligations of food businesses

In the course of the operation of a food business engaged in home delivery services,

  1. the exterior and interior environment, the location, the layout, the dimensions, the equipment, the fittings, the technologies, the production and storage capacity, the safety and quality of the foodstuffs and food ingredients used, the adequacy and safe use of the packaging materials and disinfectants used and the general health, qualifications and expertise of the staff employed must be suitable for guaranteeing compliance with the food safety and food qualify regulations on an ongoing basis;
  2. it is compulsory to operate self-inspection, quality assurance, follow-up and product recall systems or the elements of such systems which guarantee the safety, adequate quality, due identification and trackability of foodstuffs;

a food business engaged in home delivery services must have in its employ a responsible officer authorised to take immediate action who has adequate expertise in food safety throughout the entire term of its operation.

A food business must forthwith notify the food chain supervisory authority if it comes to its attention that the product distributed by it has caused illness or the suspicion thereof emerges, and is required to preserve the foodstuffs, animal feed or other substances necessary for the inspections of the authorities until the date of such inspections and to cooperate with the food chain supervisory authority in the investigation.

The Hungarian Foodstuff Code is a collection of the mandatory regulations and guidelines that govern the methods applicable in the course of the food quality, food labelling and food safety (food hygiene) inspection of certain foodstuffs and certain groups of foodstuffs and food ingredients and the general inspection of foodstuffs.

See mandatory regulations of Hungarian Foodstuff Code

See guidelines of Hungarian Foodstuff Code

The placement on the market of foodstuffs, including catering products, and consequently, home delivery services involving such products, are governed by Regulation No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety (hereinafter referred to as the „Regulation”). The Regulation lays down that unsafe food cannot be placed on the market.

Procedures related to the commencement of and engagement in service activities

Based on the Government’s appointment, the food chain safety and veterinary hygiene directorate of the metropolitan or county government office with competence in the locality of the head office of the food business or the district veterinary hygiene office (hereinafter referred to as the „food inspection authority”) proceeds as the authority overseeing the home delivery of catering products.

For the purposes of the home delivery of catering products engaged in within the framework of cross-border services, based on the Government’s appointment, the food chain safety and veterinary hygiene directorate of the metropolitan or county government office with competence in the locality of the head office of the food business (hereinafter referred to as the „food chain safety authority”) proceeds as the authority

  1. taking delivery of the report filed,
  2. keeping records of the registered food businesses,
  3. monitoring the home delivery of catering products, and
  4. supervising the activities related to the home delivery of catering products.

Not including beverages, the placement on the market of catering products, including home delivery, is subject to the licence of the food inspection authority.

The request for a licence may be submitted in person, verbally or in writing, or by mail in writing to the food inspection authority with competence in the locality of the head office of the food business. Electronic administration is at present not possible for technical reasons.

Mandatory content items of request for the licensing of home delivery services:

  1. express request for the licensing of the services intended to be provided (home delivery of catering products),
  2. name, address or head office of trader (food business),
  3. – if request is submitted by way of a representative – name and head office of representative,
  4. trader’s company register number, registration number of individual entrepreneur,
  5. trader’s statistical identification number,
  6. area of operation, list of localities covered or, if the services extend to one or several whole counties or the entire country, stating the counties or the nation-wide nature of the operation of the food business,
  7. form of commercial activities intended to be pursued (parcel service) in a breakdown by locations of commercial activities;
  8. description and serial numbers of products intended to be distributed in a breakdown by locations of individual commercial activities; see: Description: §
  9. nature of commercial activities intended to be pursued (retail). Description: §

A copy of the document verifying payment of the administrative service fee (certificate of bank transfer or payment order) must be enclosed with the request.

The food inspection authority must assess the request within the (general) processing time limit of 30 days. The food inspection authority may extend this time limit on a single occasion by 30 days.

The food inspection authority conducts an on-site inspection on the basis of the request for a licence. As part of the on-site inspection, the proceeding official of the district office lays down the relevant findings in minutes. If it is possible to determine on the basis of the on-site inspection that the retail placement of foodstuffs on the market does not conform to the relevant regulations, the food business has the opportunity to remedy any deficiencies within the time limit it undertakes to observe.

If the request, the applicant and the services intended to be provided satisfy the statutory conditions, the food inspection authority grants a licence. The licence is valid for an indefinite term, that is, until its revocation. The licence must contain minimum the following data:

  1. name and address of licensing authority,
  2. number of licence,
  3. name of food business,
  4. address (head office) of food business,
  5. address of premises used for retail of foodstuffs,
  6. description of foodstuffs intended to be retailed.

While an administrative service fee is payable to the food inspection authority for the procedure, the regulation in force as of 1 January 2013 does not determine its specific rate. (According to the regulation previously in force, it was HUF 15,000)

As part of its food safety duties, the food inspection authority registers food businesses which hold a licence.

Reporting of home delivery of catering products engaged in within the framework of cross-border services

A food business service provider with the freedom to provide services must report the intended placement on the market of catering products within the framework of cross-border home delivery services to the food chain safety directorate with competence in the locality of its head office. The report filed is valid for five years in the case of cross-border service providers.

Submission of report, mandatory content items, enclosures to be submitted

A food business may report its intended engagement in the home delivery of catering products within the framework of cross-border services to the food chain safety directorate with competence in the locality of the head office of the food business in person, verbally or in writing, or by mail in writing.

The report filed must contain the following:

  1. name and head office of service provider home delivery of catering products services,
  2. the service activities which the service provider intends to engage in,
  3. in the case of a natural person food entrepreneur, identification details,
  4. service provider’s nationality; in the case of a legal entity or unincorporated organisation residing and registered in another EEA State, title of register of EEA State in which it resides and service provider’s registration number,
  5. name of EEA State in which service provider is settled,
  6. service provider’s declaration to the effect that it wishes to provide the home delivery of catering products services, as cross-border services,
  7. name of licensing or registering authority and number of service provider’s licence or service provider’s registration number if the service provider’s services are tied to a licence or registration in the EEA State in which the service provider is settled.

The duty stamps verifying payment of the procedural duty payable for the procedure must be adhered to the report.

The food chain safety directorate verifies forthwith upon the receipt of the report whether the report filed conforms to the requirements under substantive law and, within eight days of the receipt of the report, at the latest,

  1. if the report conforms to the requirements and the procedural duty has been paid, notifies the filer of the report thereof by sending a certificate;
  2. if the report does not conform to the requirements or the procedural duty has not been paid, states the deficiencies identified in the report and warns the service provider of the legal consequences of engagement in such activities without reporting.

If the report filed conforms to the requirements and the procedural duty has been paid, the food chain safety directorate sends a certificate which contains the following:

  1. name of proceeding authority, filing number of report and name of case officer,
  2. name and address of service provider, or head office in the case of an organisation,
  3. description of reported services,
  4. date of filing of report and the fact that reporting is valid for five calendar years.

Food businesses are required to pay the general procedural duty, that is, HUF 3,000, for the procedure. The duty must be paid upon the filing of the report, in the form of duty stamps adhered to the document containing the report.

If, in addition to the home delivery of catering products, the client also wishes to engage in other commercial activities tied to a licence or reporting, it may submit all reports and licence requests to the trade authority (clerk) at the same time. In this case, the trade authority proceeds in the procedure as a participating authority and contacts the authorities with competence and jurisdiction itself. Simultaneously with the submission of the request for a licence, the client may also report any other commercial activities and may pay the relevant duties to the food inspection authority. The food inspection authority forwards such reports to the trade authority forthwith. In the above cases, the client need not contact the other authorities with competence and jurisdiction for the purpose of the institution of the relevant proceedings.

A food business with a licence must forthwith report any change

  1. in the name of the food business,
  2. in the address (head office) of the food business,
  3. in the place of the food retail activities, and
  4. in the foodstuffs intended to be retailed

to the food inspection authority.

In the case of a change in the place of the food retail activities and the foodstuffs intended to be retailed, a new licensing procedure must be conducted which is governed by the rules relating to the licensing procedure. In other instances, the food inspection authority issues a new licence and enters the relevant changes in its records. 

A food business providing its services as cross-border services must forthwith report any change in the data reported after the initial reporting to the food chain safety directorate.

The food chain safety directorate enters the changes in the data as reported in its records. The service provider may report changes to the authority in person, verbally or in writing, or by mail in writing. If no new licence is required, no duty or fee is payable for the reporting of changes.

Food businesses are required to pay a supervisory fee annually to the food chain supervisory authority in the interest of covering the costs of the fulfilment of its tasks related to its supervisory activities in the capacity of food chain authority. Unless the food business is obliged to pay a supervisory fee at a fixed rate, food businesses with the obligation to submit returns are required to keep records which clearly permit the calculation of the base and rate of the supervisory fee payable to the authority.

As a rule of thumb, the rate of the supervisory fee is

  1. 0.1% of the net sales revenue in the previous year, or
  2. 0.1% of the income in the previous year in the case of a natural person obliged to submit a personal income tax return,

derived by the food business obliged to pay a supervisory fee from the distribution of foodstuffs, not including any excise duty and public hygiene product duty.

In the case of food businesses required to pay a supervisory fee which only sell foodstuffs to final consumers, the rate of the supervisory fee is

  1. twenty thousand Hungarian forints annually in the case of micro-businesses and small producers;
  2. seven hundred thousand Hungarian forints annually in the case of small businesses.

At the same time, small food businesses may, at their discretion, also declare and pay the supervisory fee in accordance with the general rules.

Agricultural small producers are exempt from the obligation to submit returns and to pay the supervisory fee in respect of their activities as primary producers.

Food businesses obliged to pay the supervisory fee must, once annually, declare their net sales revenues or incomes as the basis for the payment of the fee. This obligation must be met by 31 May. Payment of the fee does not substitute for the obligation of declaring the relevant sales revenue or income. The supervisory fee need not be paid if its rate does not reach one thousand Hungarian forints.

Food businesses obliged to pay the supervisory fee are required to pay the annual supervisory fee in two equal instalments, by 31 July and 31 January. A default penalty must be paid on any supervisory fee not paid by the deadline; the default penalty is governed by the provisions of Act XCII of 2003 on Taxation (hereinafter referred to as the „Taxation Act”). Any unpaid supervisory fee and default penalty qualify as public debts to be collected as taxes.

 

Cross-border service provision

If you wish to launch this service in the form of cross-border service provision, please click here to read the general conditions of cross-border service provision in Hungary.

 

Legislation relating to service activities and relevant procedures

  1. Regulation No. 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety,
  2. Act XLVI of 2008 on the Food Chain and its Supervision,
  3. Decree No. 57/2010. (V. 7.) on the licensing and reporting of the placement on the market and manufacture of foodstuffs,
  4. Joint Decree No. 19/2004. (II. 26.) on the labelling of foodstuffs,
  5. Decree No. 152/2009. (XI. 12.) on the mandatory regulations of the Hungarian Foodstuff Code,
  6. Government Decree No. 328/2010. (XII. 27.) on the appointment of the agricultural administrative agencies of the metropolitan and county government offices,
  7. Act CLXIV of 2005 on Trade,
  8. Government Decree No. 210/2009. (IX. 29.) on the conditions of engagement in trading activities,
  9. Act LXXVI of 2009 on the General Rules of the Commencement of and Engagement in Service Activities,
  10. Act CXL of 2004 on the General Rules of Public Administration Proceedings and Services,
  11. Decree No. 63/2012. (VII. 2.) on the rates of the administrative service fees payable in proceedings instituted before the National Food Chain Safety Office and the agricultural administrative agencies of the county government offices and the rules regarding the payment of the administrative service fee.