EPR Annual Return Due Date
When is the EPR annual return due in India?
There isn't one EPR annual return date in India. It depends on which EPR regime you're under. Plastic packaging, batteries and used oil are all due by 30 June after the financial year ends. E-waste (and, per CPCB, waste tyres) work differently: returns are due by the end of the month after the period they cover.
| EPR regime | Who files | Annual return deadline | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic packaging (Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, EPR Guidelines, para 15.1) | Producers, Importers, Brand-Owners; since 2024 also manufacturers, and manufacturers of compostable or biodegradable plastic items | 30th June of the next financial year. Certificate details for plastic waste recycled and sent for end-of-life disposal are filed with the return on the online portal. | 2022 EPR Guidelines, p.32; 2024 Amendment Rules (G.S.R. 201(E)), p.31 |
| Batteries (Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, rule 4(11)) | Producers | 30th June of the next financial year, in Form 3, to CPCB and the State Pollution Control Board. You must also list the registered recyclers you bought EPR certificates from. | Rules, p.30 |
| Used oil (Hazardous and Other Wastes (M&TM) Second Amendment Rules, 2023) | Producers of base oil or lubrication oil | On or before 30th June following the financial year the return covers | CPCB Used Oil FAQ, Q.14 |
| E-waste (E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, rule 6(4)) | Producers; manufacturers, refurbishers and recyclers have the same wording (rules 5(3), 7(4), 9(6)) | Annual and quarterly returns are due "on or before the end of the month succeeding the quarter or year, as the case may be". The rules say "year", not "financial year". If that means the April-March financial year, the annual return falls due at the end of April. | Rules, p.24 |
| Waste tyres (Hazardous and Other Wastes (M&TM) Amendment Rules, 2022, Schedule IX) | Producers | CPCB says producers file annual and quarterly returns "on or before the end of the month succeeding the quarter to which the return relates". The FAQ gives no separate annual date. | CPCB Waste Tyre FAQ, Q.12 |
Points that affect the dates:
- Plastic, one-off extension: the 2024 amendment let annual returns for FY 2022-23 under paras 10.6 and 11.2 be filed "on or before 31st March 2024". That applied only to that year; the 30 June date stands otherwise.
- Batteries, separate EPR plan: producers must also submit an EPR plan in Form 1(C) by 30th June every year, covering batteries made in the previous financial year (rule 4(7)). This is a different filing from the Form 3 annual return.
- E-waste, solar PV: manufacturers and producers of solar PV modules, panels or cells file an annual return "on or before the end of the year to which the return relates", until 2034-35 (rule 12(2)(iii)).
Approach: None of the datasets I can search holds these rules, so I read the Gazette texts published on the MoEFCC and CPCB websites and CPCB's portal FAQs. For used oil and waste tyres I used the CPCB FAQs, not the amendment rules themselves.
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How do I file it online?
You file each EPR return online, on the CPCB portal for that waste stream, by logging in with the account you registered under. The steps differ between portals, as set out below. Two current points: on the Used Oil portal, the FY 2025-26 annual return deadline has been extended to 30 November 2026, so it is still open. On the Waste Tyre portal, the FY 2025-26 extension ran only to 30 September 2026, and that date has passed.
Plastic packaging: eprplastic.cpcb.gov.in (CPCB Guidance Manual, Feb 2023, pp. 91-95)
- Annual Filings. Under "Annual Consumption", click "Add New" and enter your plastic packaging consumption by category. Then enter state-wise and category-wise pre- and post-consumer waste generation, including recycled content, and click "Confirm". Brand-owners using Category I also split it into containers >0.9 L to <4.9 L and >4.9 L.
- Pass the portal's checks. Annual consumption must equal total state-wise waste generation. Recycled plastic used must equal recycled plastic procured. A 20% variation is allowed between packaging procured and waste generated. Then click "Submit".
- Annual Report. This opens on 1 April of the next financial year. The manual says PIBOs "are required to submit Annual report by June 30", and Environmental Compensation is levied after that. The overview and compliance-status sections fill in automatically from your annual filings and certificates. You can buy more certificates to reduce any shortfall before you confirm.
- Confirm and pay. Confirm the report and pay the Annual Processing Fee. The amount is set in the PIBO registration SOP.
Batteries: eprbattery.cpcb.gov.in (CPCB Guidance Document for Producers, pp. 14-20)
- Go to "Annual Returns Filing", select the financial year and click "File Annual Report Metal Wise".
- Tab A (General Information) fills in from your profile. In Tab B, enter waste batteries collected and sent to registered recyclers. In Tab C, enter used batteries sent to registered refurbishers. You must complete at least one of B or C.
- Tab D (End Products Data): click "+" to apply credits from your wallet against each end product's annual target. You can apply credits only up to that target. If you have no credits you can still submit with 0, but Environmental Compensation is levied and any shortfall carries into next year's target. Credits expire 7 years after the recycler creates them.
- Your sales data must already be in "Daily Sales Data". Entries lock after 30 June or once the return is filed, whichever comes first. If no return is filed by 30 June, a "Return Not Filed" Environmental Compensation is levied automatically.
E-waste: eprewaste.cpcb.gov.in (CPCB Instruction Sheet for Producer Return Filing)
- Click the "Return" tab and choose "annual return" from the dropdown (or choose a quarter for a quarterly return).
- Check the details, then your obligation, clicking "save and next" at each step.
- Fill in the Awareness tab and upload your awareness documents. This is compulsory for the annual return but optional for quarterly returns.
- A solar panel section is mandatory only if you are registered for solar panels (CEEW14).
- On the Submission tab, click "submit" and confirm. Quarterly returns can only be filed in sequence.
Waste tyres: eprtyres.cpcb.gov.in
- The portal's home page has an "Instruction Sheet for Producer" in its Instruction Sheet menu. I didn't open that sheet, so I can't give its steps.
- The FY 2025-26 annual and quarterly return deadline was extended to 30 September 2026. The portal warns that late filing attracts a penalty under the EC Guidelines.
- For help, raise a ticket at eprsupport.cpcb.gov.in.
Used oil: eprusedoil.cpcb.gov.in
- The portal handles quarterly and annual returns. It lists a "Guidance Document for Annual Return filing by Registered Producers", which I didn't open, so I can't give its steps.
- Its notice says the FY 2025-26 annual return deadline is extended to 30 November 2026.
CPCB also lists Single Sign-On covering all six of its EPR portals: ELV, used oil, plastic, battery, tyre and e-waste (CPCB: All EPR Portals).
Approach: I tried CPCB's EPR portal directory in our datasets but couldn't get results this time, so I worked from CPCB's portal pages and its official guidance manuals and instruction sheets. The plastic manual dates from February 2023, so some screen names may have changed since.
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