Producers, importers and brand owners of plastic packaging file an annual return on the CPCB EPR portal on plastic packaging placed on the market and plastic packaging waste collected and processed against their EPR targets, including recycled content and EPR certificates used.
- Who files
- PIBOs registered under the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 - with CPCB if operating in more than two States/UTs, otherwise with the SPCB/PCC - for all categories of plastic packaging.
- Applies to
- Companies, LLPs, Partnership firms, Importers and exporters
- When
- Annually, by the 30th of the 3rd month after the financial year
- Form
- Annual return on CPCB centralised EPR portal for plastic packaging
- Law
- Para 10.6, Guidelines on Extended Producer Responsibility for Plastic Packaging (Schedule II, Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016), inserted by the PWM (Amendment) Rules 2022, G.S.R. 133(E) dated 16-02-2022; Section 15, Environment (Protection) Act 1986
Cost of a delay
Drag across the chart or use the slider to see the fixed cost on any day late.
CA$4,628 (Rs 3,10,000)
| Days late | 1 | 7 | 15 | 30 | 60 | 90 | 180 | 365 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fixed cost, CAD | CA$299 | CA$1,194 | CA$2,389 | CA$4,628 | CA$9,107 | CA$13.6K | CA$22.4K | CA$22.4K |
| Fixed cost, INR | Rs 20,000 | Rs 80,000 | Rs 1.6 L | Rs 3.1 L | Rs 6.1 L | Rs 9.1 L | Rs 15 L | Rs 15 L |
- Environmental compensation per CPCB EC guidelines for unfulfilled EPR obligation (partly refundable within three years).
- Registration may be suspended or revoked; closure of operations for unregistered PIBOs.
Legal basis of the penalty
Environmental compensation under para 9 of the EPR Guidelines and CPCB EC guidelines for unmet targets or non-compliance (75, 60 or 40 percent refundable if the shortfall is cleared within one, two or three years); penalty under Section 15 EP Act as substituted by the Jan Vishwas Act 2023 - Rs 10,000 to Rs 15 lakh, plus Rs 10,000 per day while the contravention continues.
Notes and recent changes
The 30 June date comes from the 2022 EPR Guidelines as hosted by CPCB. Later amendments - PWM (Second Amendment) Rules 2023, PWM (Amendment) Rules 2024 (14-03-2024) and PWM (Amendment) Rules 2026 (G.S.R. 237(E), 31-03-2026, recycled content, reuse and labelling) - could not be opened in gazette form here; the summaries seen do not mention a new return date. FY 2024-25 returns were reportedly extended to 30-11-2025 (CPCB communication of 18-09-2025). For FY 2025-26 the annual-return module on the new common EPR portal was delayed; a consultancy note says no environmental compensation applies until the module works and CPCB notifies the timeline, and the old plastic portal was reportedly discontinued from 28-06-2026. The FY 2025-26 override rests on a scanned copy of the MoEFCC memorandum hosted on a consultancy site.