India amends E-Waste Management Rules, allowing more informal dismantlers, relaxing of annual returns

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India has published the E-Waste (Management) Amendment Rules, 2024 on March 8, 2024, to amend the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, effective immediately. Among the major changes in this amendment is the removal of requirements that by e-waste dismantlers. The amendment rules also provide power to the central government to extend the deadline for the filings by producers, manufacturers, etc. The highest and lowest prices for Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) certificates were also stipulated.

Definition of Dismantler

A “dismantler” was previously defined to be “…having authorisation from concerned State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee as per the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)”. In the recent change, dismantler had been redefined plainly as “any person or entity engaged in dismantling of used electrical and electronic equipment and components thereof in accordance with the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board made in this regard”. As vast numbers of informal operators including dismantlers exist in India, the country is seeking to utilize these unauthorized dismantlers as a part of strengthening of its e-waste management.

Relaxation of timelines for filing of returns

Under the rules, all producers, manufacturers, recyclers and refurbishers are obligated to file quarterly and annual returns by the end of the month following their respective closing months. The amendment rules now gives the central government the authority to extend that submission deadline by up to nine months. In FY2023, which is the first year this rule comes into effect, there were numerous businesses that had not filed their returns while CPCB had issued notices urging them to do so. This amendment should allow more flexibilities for the authorities to extend the deadline.

EPR Certificates Trading Platform

While the current rules only allow EPR certificates to be traded only on government operated portals, this amendment has allowed the establishment of multiple trading portals upon approval by the authorities. Meanwhile, the amendment also stipulated the highest and lowest prices for EPR certificates, equivalent to 100% and 30% respectively of the buyer’s environmental compensation for non-fulfillment of EPR obligations. Transactions of EPR certificates must be priced in this range.

Download the amendment rules here:
https://egazette.gov.in/writeReadData/2024/252788.pdf