Food business levy
The food business levy must be paid by registered businesses operating under a food control plan or national programme
It will fund core services provided by New Zealand Food Safety, that directly benefit food businesses, including:
- developing new and improving existing food safety rules, standards and templates, ensuring they are effective, reasonable and easy to understand
- collating and analysing information on food businesses and domestically produced food to identify areas of systemic non-compliance and opportunities for improvement
- developing and delivering guidance, education, and support for food businesses, to help them understand the rules and standards and improve food safety compliance
- supporting verification agencies through national performance standards, enhanced training materials and continuous professional development
- supporting territorial authorities through the establishment of national performance standards, training and guidance
- continued audit and review of how the overall food safety system is performing.
Food businesses are the primary users and beneficiaries of these services. Government policy is to recover the cost of this work directly from food business operators.
Levy rates that apply to food businesses
Levies for food businesses come into effect from 1 July 2025. For businesses registered through a territorial authority, the levy will be collected by the territorial authority on behalf of MPI. A collection fee may be added by the territorial authority. For businesses registered with MPI, the levy will be collected by MPI.
|
Year |
Rate (excl GST)* per year |
Rate (incl GST)* per year |
|---|---|---|
|
2025/26 (from 1 July 2025) |
$57.50 |
$66.13 |
|
2026/27 (from 1 July 2026) |
$86.25 |
$99.19 |
|
2027/28 and onwards (from 1 July 2027) |
$115 |
$132.25 |
| * Does not include any collection fee for levies collected by territorial authorities. | ||
Food importer levy
The food importer levy must be paid by registered food importers
It will fund the delivery of core services provided by New Zealand Food Safety that directly benefit registered food importing businesses, including:
- developing new and improving existing imported food safety rules and standards, ensuring they are effective, reasonable and easy to understand.
- collating and analysing information on food importers and imported foods to identify areas of non-compliance and opportunities for improvement.
- developing and delivering guidance, education and support for registered food importers, to help them understand rules and standards and improve food safety compliance.
- continued audit and review of how the overall food safety system is performing.
Food importers are the primary users and beneficiaries of these services. Government policy is to recover the cost of this work directly from registered food importers.
Levy rates that apply to food importers
|
Imported quantity |
Rate (excl GST) per year |
Rate (incl GST) per year |
|---|---|---|
|
Up to and including 118,500kg of food per levy year |
$67.50 |
$77.63 |
|
118,501 or more kilograms of food per levy year |
$67.50 plus $0.00057 for each additional kilogram imported |
$77.63 plus $0.00066 for each additional kilogram imported |
MPI will issue an invoice for each food importer registration for the levy amount payable.
