EPR Certification

Our team supports accurate documentation gathering, application filing, and maintenance of compliance for your business so that none of your shipments are stuck at the port. We also support renewals and ongoing EPR obligations to assist your company in avoiding regulatory delays, compliance gaps, and disruptions to your operations or shipments. Get expert assistance for EPR compliance and stay compliant with the applicable CPCB requirements.

EPR stands for Extended Producer Responsibility. An EPR certificate is the formal registration issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board under the waste management rules of India. It checks that a company has promised to take back, recycle, or safely dispose of the waste from its own products and packaging.

In simple terms, EPR registration means the government is holding you responsible for your product even after it is at the end of its lifecycle. This is also known as an EPR authorisation certificate and EPR registration certificate. 

EPR Certificate Sample

There are now several kinds of waste with unique components that demand different techniques for treating the waste. Due to this, there are differences in the Extended Producer Responsibility laws and regulations pertaining to the types of waste, particularly with regard to e-waste, plastic waste, battery waste, and tire waste.

Why is an EPR Certificate Important for Exporters?

Today, an EPR certificate for import is no longer a compliance file. It decides whether your container leaves the port.

On 2 July 2025, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs issued Instruction No. 21/2025-Customs, telling customs officers across India to verify proof of registration on the Centralized EPR Portal for Plastic Packaging before clearing consignments of plastic raw material. So the EPR certificate in customs became a real checkpoint for goods leaving the port.

Additionally, missing your EPR targets or skipping registration attracts Environmental Compensation under Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. CPCB has been issuing notices, publishing defaulter lists, and even suspending registrations.

Large retailers, e-commerce marketplaces, and export partners also ask for an EPR registration certificate during vendor onboarding. Hence, getting this registration also provides credibility to the importer-exporters.

Why the EPR Certificate Exists

India’s Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) framework puts the onus on businesses that manufacture, import or sell regulated products to take responsibility for their waste throughout its lifecycle. Eligible entities are required to obtain an EPR registration certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and ensure environmentally responsible waste management through authorised recycling and reporting systems.

Mandatory Compliance for Businesses: Businesses importing, manufacturing or owning a brand of plastic packaging, electronic products, batteries or tyres are required to obtain an EPR certificate before placing regulated products into the Indian market. Failure to comply could result in regulatory action, fines or restrictions on how you conduct business.

Digital Registration & CPCB Approval : The EPR certificate apply online process can be completed by submitting the details of waste management plan and other documents on CPCB portal. For plastic packaging, Plastic Waste Registration of CPCB is required for fulfilling the obligations under the Plastic Waste Management Rules.

Cost of Compliance and Long term Benefits The cost of the EPR certificate is decided upon the type of waste category, business model, annual quantity put into the market and professional compliance support. Beyond legal compliance, EPR also contributes to sustainability, recovery of resources, and India’s move towards a circular economy.

You need EPR certification if you fall into any of these groups.

1. Producers

If you manufacture plastic packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries, or tyres, then you should get EPR certification. This includes companies that make the packaging itself, including films, pouches, bottles, cartons with plastic lamination.

2. Importers

You import these products into India:

• Plastic packaging, or any product packed in plastic

• Plastic raw material such as resin, pellets, granules, films or preforms (added by the 2024 amendment)

• Electrical and electronic equipment

• New batteries, or battery-operated equipment

• New tyres

If you do, treat the EPR certificate for import as part of your shipping checklist.

3. Brand Owners

You sell a product under your own brand name in plastic packaging, even if a third party manufactures it and another party packs it. The brand on the label is the brand on the hook, and so it's your responsibility to get registration.

4. Plastic Waste Processors and Recyclers

Recyclers, waste-to-energy units, waste-to-oil units, and industrial composters register for EPR separately so they can issue certificates to Producers, Importers, and Brand Owners (PIBOs).

Note: There is no turnover limit requirement to get an EPR certification. A small D2C brand shipping 200 orders a month in poly mailers is equally covered as a national FMCG company.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), a body of the MoEFCC, Government of India, grants EPR authorization. Entities taking the certificate will have to pay the registration and yearly maintenance costs set by the Central Pollution Control Board in accordance with their ability to handle e-waste, as approved by the steering committee.

CPCB runs separate registration systems for each waste stream. You might need to register under one type or more as per the nature of your business. 

1. EPR Certificate for Plastic Waste

This is the most common type. Every PIBO handling plastic packaging must complete CPCB plastic waste registration on the Centralized EPR Portal for Plastic Packaging.

Plastic packaging is divided into four categories under the rules:

Category	What it covers	Examples
Category I	Rigid plastic packaging	Bottles, jars, containers, crates
Category II	Flexible plastic packaging, single layer or multilayer	Pouches, poly bags, wrappers, sachets
Category III	Multilayered plastic with at least one layer of non-plastic	Chips packets, toothpaste tubes, tetra-style laminates
Category IV	Compostable and biodegradable plastic	Certified compostable carry bags

Each category carries its own recycling target. Since FY 2025-26, there are mandatory recycled-plastic-content obligations that change every year. You cannot count imported recycled content, as only recycled plastic sourced within India qualifies.

2. EPR Certificate for E-Waste

Under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, producers, manufacturers, refurbishers and recyclers of electrical and electronic equipment register on the CPCB e-waste EPR portal. The EPR certificate for e-waste covers over a hundred listed EEE items such as laptops and phones to solar panels and lab equipment. 

Your target is calculated from your sales in earlier years, based on the average life of the product.

3. EPR Certificate for Batteries

The Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022 apply to all battery types, including lead-acid, lithium-ion, nickel-based and electrochemical storage. Producers and importers have to register for an EPR certificate of battery waste with CPCB, meet the collection and recycling targets and purchase certificates from registered recyclers. 

4. EPR Certificate for Waste Tyres

Under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Amendment Rules, 2022, tyre producers, importers and recyclers register for waste tyres with CPCB. The target is generally linked to the weight of tyres made or imported in earlier years.

5. EPR for Used Oil

The framework was extended to waste lubricating oil, with obligations applying from 1 April 2024. Producers and importers of lubricating oil now register and meet recycling targets in the same way.

No offline route exists to get this certificate. Here is how to apply for an EPR certificate online:

Step 1: Identify your correct category and authority

First, decide which waste stream applies to you, and whether you file with CPCB or your state board. The rule is simple:

• Operating in more than two states or UTs needs to apply to CPCB.

• Operating in one or two states or UTs should apply to the concerned SPCB or PCC, through the same online portal.

If you are both a producer and an importer, you register in both roles separately.

Step 2: Create your account on the CPCB EPR portal

Go to the correct EPR CPCB portal for your waste category. Find the right one from the official CPCB website (cpcb.nic.in).

Register with your company PAN, GST, and email. The system emails your EPR certificate login credentials. 

Step 3: Fill the application form

Log in and choose the right form for your role: Producer, Importer, Brand Owner or Waste Processor. Fill in company details, unit details, product details and your category-wise waste figures. Upload every supporting document.

Step 4: Submit your EPR plan and targets

Attach your action plan showing collection channels, recycler tie-ups and how you will meet annual recycling targets.

Step 5: Pay the government fee

Pay online (₹2,500 to ₹50,000) through the payment gateway built into the portal. Keep the receipt as you will need it if the application is queried.

Step 6: Respond to queries

CPCB or the SPCB reviews the file and often raises clarifications. If any queries arise, reply within the given window. 

Ignored queries lead to rejection, and you start again from Step 3.

Step 7: Get approval and complete your EPR Certificate download

Once approved, the authority issues the certificate digitally. Log in to your account, open your dashboard, and download the EPR certificate from there. The PDF carries your unique registration number, category-wise details, and validity.

Print a copy for your office wall, and share the number with your customs broker so it is quoted at the time of clearance.

The CPCB SOP targets 15 days for processing. In practice, expect 25 to 35 working days for a clean, complete file. This may extend if queries arise.

It is important to reduce the waste produced in our environment, and therefore, let’s understand the benefits of an EPR Certificate:

✅Making Renewable Products: EPR rules promote treating waste and recycling it. Therefore, this improves products using renewable resources and reduces waste in the environment.

✅Efficient Waste Management: A simplified waste management procedure is guaranteed by an EPR Certificate. It is the responsibility of producers to establish collection methods, work with recycling facilities, and support recycling programs. As a result, there is less garbage going to landfills, better waste segregation, and increased recycling rates.

✅Reduce Waste: The use of the EPR Certificate is one strategy to reduce waste in India.

✅Cost Reduction: Businesses may save money by using EPR certificates. Businesses may reduce trash disposal costs, look into the potential to generate income through recycling, and increase overall operational efficiency by improving waste management processes.

✅Positive Brand Image: Nowadays, customers love environmentally and socially conscious companies. A company's dedication to sustainable business operations and environmental management is demonstrated by its certificate of extended producer responsibility. Businesses may improve their public perception and gain the trust of environmentally concerned customers by registering their products with Extended Producer Responsibility, which will boost their brand loyalty and competitiveness in the market.

EPR Certificate Cost or Fee Structure

The EPR certificate cost isn't a flat number CPCB structures it by application fee, annual processing fee, and renewal fee, and the exact tier depends on your product category and volume.

For CPCB plastic waste registration, the government's guidance sets application fees on a sliding scale tied to annual plastic quantity smaller producers handling under 1,000 tonnes per annum sit at the lower end, larger volumes scale up accordingly. On top of the application fee, CPCB charges an annual processing fee set at 25% of that application fee, and the renewal fee matches your original registration fee. If you're unsure which tier applies to your business, an EPR certificate consultant will help you before you file, since getting the category wrong means refiling.

For e-waste, battery, and tyre EPR, fee structures are set separately under their respective Rules and vary by category of producer and volume handled we'll confirm your exact applicable fee.

                        

Two separate factors make up your total EPR certification cost:

1. Government application fee

For plastic packaging, CPCB sets fee slabs based on annual plastic waste generation:

Annual plastic waste generation	Government application fee
Up to 1,000 TPA	₹10,000
1,000 – 10,000 TPA	₹20,000
Above 10,000 TPA	₹50,000

An additional processing fee (commonly 25% of the application fee) becomes payable at the time of filing your annual return. The renewal fee generally matches the original application fee.

For other streams, fees are structured differently. E-waste producer fees are linked to your annual recycling target and can run much higher for large volumes. Battery producer fees are usually linked to turnover.

2. Meeting EPR targets

This is the part that matters to your P&L. To close your obligation, you buy EPR credits or certificates from CPCB-registered recyclers, priced per metric tonne. Rates change with category and market demand, and range between ₹4,000 and ₹20,000 per MT for plastic. Multiply that by your target tonnage, and you have your complete annual EPR certificate cost.

Professional fees (optional)

If you hire a professional, then consultant charges vary with the complexity of your product portfolio and the number of categories you register in.

Please note: Government fee slabs, target percentages and credit prices are revised from time to time by CPCB and MoEFCC. Always confirm the current figures on the official portal or ask us for a written quote before you budget. 

Validity, Renewal and Annual Compliance of EPR Certificate

Getting the EPR certificate is not enough; you also need to follow these obligations:

• Validity: For plastic packaging PIBOs, a fresh registration is typically granted for one year, and renewals for a longer term. Other categories carry their own validity periods. 

• Renewal: Apply well before expiry, as several months ahead is sensible, and the plastic rules expect renewal applications to come in months in advance. A lapsed certificate can freeze imports overnight.

• Quarterly returns: File in sequence on the portal. You cannot skip a quarter and file the next one.

• Annual return: Report sales, packaging weights, recycling certificates procured, recycled content used and awareness activities.

• Records: Keep invoices, recycler certificates and transport records ready for inspection.

• Recycled content: Track how much domestically recycled plastic goes into your packaging, category by category.

Miss these and CPCB can levy Environmental Compensation, suspend your registration, or cancel it for false declarations or repeated target failures.

You can file on your own. Many businesses do, and some get through fine. However, many times complications like application rejection, incorrect field filing, and more take place. Here’s how we help as your consultant:

1. Accurate target calculation: We rebuild your packaging and sales data properly, because an inflated declaration costs you every single year afterwards.

2. Complete documentation: We prepare the file to CPCB's format so it clears review instead of bouncing back.

3. End-to-end filing: Portal registration, form submission, fee payment, query replies and follow-up with CPCB or your SPCB.

4. Recycler tie-ups: We connect you with CPCB-registered recyclers so you are not overpaying for credits.

5. Ongoing compliance. Quarterly returns, annual returns, renewals and a compliance calendar so nothing lapses quietly.