Waste Tyre EPR in India

Waste tyre EPR is a statutory obligation under Schedule IX, read with rule 9(4), of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016. Schedule IX was inserted by the 2022 Amendment Rules, notified by G.S.R. 593(E) on 21 July 2022 and in force from that date. The rules are made under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. Waste tyre EPR is therefore not a standalone law but a schedule added to the hazardous-waste framework.

Under the regime the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) runs a live online portal on which producers, recyclers and retreaders register, and the producer obligation is discharged with EPR certificates generated by registered recyclers. A compliant year is one where the producer holds certificates against its target and has filed its returns.

The obligation rests on the producer, defined broadly to cover domestic tyre makers, own-brand sellers, sellers of imported new tyres, importers of vehicles fitted with new tyres, automobile makers importing new tyres for domestically sold vehicles, and importers of waste tyres. A waste tyre is defined to include tubes and flaps that are no longer mounted on a vehicle and no longer used for their intended purpose. The next sections set out who registers, how registration works, and how the target is computed.

The commercial side, where a consultant registers a business, computes its target, sources the certificates and files the returns, sits on the waste tyre EPR service page. This guide holds the how-it-works detail.

Producer, the obligated role. The producer carries the recycling target. Schedule IX defines a producer broadly, so an entity is a producer if it does any of the following:

Recyclers and retreaders. A recycler converts waste tyres into recognised end-products and generates the EPR certificates that producers buy; a retreader renews the tread and side-wall of a structurally sound worn tyre and generates retreading certificates. Both register on the CPCB portal. There is no turnover-based exemption: registration is mandatory before commencing or continuing business, regardless of scale.

An entity that falls in more than one category, for example a manufacturer that also imports waste tyres, registers separately under each. A business that owes waste tyre EPR often also owes other EPR obligations, which the full EPR guide covers across the CPCB streams.

Schedule IX recognises five recycling end-products against which a registered recycler generates EPR certificates.

Two constraints matter. Recovered carbon black may be sold only to manufacturers, and the import of waste tyres for the purpose of producing pyrolysis oil or char is prohibited. Credits generated from imported waste tyres cannot be transferred to other producers and can be used only by the importing recycler for its own obligation.

Retreading defers, it does not extinguish

A structurally sound worn tyre may be retreaded, and a retreading certificate defers the producer obligation by one year for the corresponding quantity. The obligation is extinguished only after the tyre reaches end of life and is disposed of through a registered recycler. Since the 2024 amendment, retreaders must submit monthly information and file quarterly and annual returns.

Part A. The recurring compliance calendar

Once registered, the filing rhythm runs on the portal.

Part B. The regulatory rollout

The recurring cadence is the statutory default. The CPCB has repeatedly issued notices extending the operative return deadline for a given cycle, so the live date is confirmed against the current CPCB portal notice rather than assumed. The current-cycle deadlines are not quoted here for that reason.

The producer recycling target ramped to 100 per cent. The producer must ensure that a quantity of waste tyres equivalent to a percentage of the new tyres it placed on the market in the base year is recycled through registered recyclers. The percentage phased in on a statutory schedule.

The producer base year lags the compliance year by two years. The target is additionally reduced by a wear-and-tear factor set by the CPCB.

Importers of waste tyres, and new units

An importer of waste tyres carries a flat 100 per cent obligation, computed on the quantity of waste tyres imported in the previous year (Y minus 1), a one-year lag distinct from the two-year lag applied to producers of new tyres. A producer established after 1 April 2022 begins its obligation two years after establishment, at 100 per cent of the year Y minus 2 quantity, rather than repeating the 35 and 70 per cent ramp.

The pyrolysis import ban

The import of waste tyres for the purpose of producing pyrolysis oil or char is prohibited under Schedule IX. This is a scope constraint, not a target, but it shapes how imported waste tyres can be handled.

EPR certificates are the instrument that discharges the target. The CPCB generates them in favour of a registered recycler from the quantity of recognised end-product it produces and sells, using the formula QEPR = QP x CF x WP, where QP is the quantity of end-product, CF is a CPCB-set conversion factor, and WP is the weightage for that end-product. A producer buys and holds certificates against its target on the portal, and every transaction is recorded there.

Weightage differs by end-product. The weightages are set in Schedule IX and steer recycling toward higher-value routes.

The weightage is fixed at 1.0 for all end-products made from imported waste tyres.

Validity, denominations and purchase cap. A certificate is valid for two years from the end of the financial year in which it was generated, after which it is automatically extinguished. Certificates are issued in denominations of 100, 200, 500 and 1000 metric tonnes. A producer may buy up to its current-year liability plus any carried-over liability plus a further ten per cent, purchasing proportionately each quarter, with the earliest liability adjusted first.

The certificate price is a regulated band. Since the 2024 amendment, the CPCB fixes a ceiling and a floor for the exchange of EPR certificates, at 100 per cent and 30 per cent respectively of the environmental compensation rate for non-fulfilment. The specific rupee prices sit inside that band and move with a compensation figure the CPCB sets, so this guide states the mechanism and does not quote a rupee figure.

Environmental compensation is the financial levy imposed under paragraph 10 of Schedule IX for falling short of a target or a filing obligation, on the polluter-pays principle. The CPCB guidelines structure it in two regimes: one for a producer that misses its recycling target, set on the cost of collection, transportation and processing of the shortfall quantity, and one for other non-compliances such as operating unregistered, dealing with an unregistered entity, or failing to file returns.

Paying compensation does not extinguish the obligation. The unmet obligation is carried forward for up to three years, and the compensation is refunded on a sliding scale if the shortfall is cured in time, at 85 per cent, 60 per cent or 30 per cent where the obligation is met after the first, second or third year respectively, and forfeited after three years.

Enforcement is active. A recycler that over-generates certificates beyond five per cent of the quantity actually recycled has its registration revoked and pays non-returnable compensation. Providing false information, using forged certificates or wilfully violating the Schedule can attract prosecution under Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in addition to the compensation. The CPCB has issued show-cause notices to producers and recyclers for non-fulfilment and non-filing.

The specific rupee rate of compensation is set by the CPCB through its guidelines rather than fixed in the rules, so this guide describes the mechanism and the refund logic rather than quoting an amount.