New Food Business Levy

Recently the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) made a decision to implement a Food Business Levy for registered food businesses under the Food Act 2014. The levy will come into effect from 1 July 2025 and as a registration authority, our Council is responsible for collecting the levy annually on behalf of the Ministry.

If your food business is registered with us, you will be charged for the levy in July each year. Any new food business registration will be charged the levy at the time of initial registration and then annually in July thereafter.

The levy will be charged per site if you operate under a Food Control Plan (FCP), or per registered business if you operate under a National Programme (NP). The levy will be phased in over three years as below:

  • from 1 July 2025 to 30 June 2026 – $66.13;
  • from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027– $99.19;
  • from 1 July 2027 – $132.25 per year.

NB: amounts are GST inclusive

What does the levy cover?

  • providing you and your business additional education and support to meet food safety requirements;
  • monitoring to ensure the food system is working well for you and for New Zealanders, as well as assist you to proactively identify and manage any systemic issues;
  • enabling you to have a fair, consistent, and risk-appropriate level of verification, registry, and enforcement services for your business;
  • coordinated national campaigns to tackle systemic compliance issues; and
  • more effective, efficient, and up-to-date rules and standards, developed with your input and tailored to your business’ needs. 

You can view the consultation document on the Ministry for Primary Industries’ website or have a read of the Ministry's guidance document(PDF, 239KB).

If you have any questions or would like further information regarding the levy, please contact us or you can contact MPI directly at foodactlevies@mpi.govt.nz.

 

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