Guidelines, issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Battery Waste Management Rules 2022, aim to promote proper battery waste management practices and enhance environmental sustainability across the country.
What is Environmental Compensation (EC)?
- 2022 Rules empower the CPCB to impose and collect EC from producers and entities involved in refurbishment and recycling of waste battery, in case of noncompliance of the rules.
- It can also be levied to entities carrying out activities without registration, providing false information / wilful concealment of material facts by the registered entities, etc., based on the polluter pays principle.
- It shall also be levied on Producer operating with respect to non-fulfilment of their Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) targets, responsibilities and obligations set out in these rules.
- EPR means responsibility of any Producer of Battery for Environmentally sound management of Waste Battery.
- Payment of EC, however, shall not absolve Producer of EPR obligation set out under the rules. For instance, unfulfilled EPR obligation for a particular year will be carried forward to the next year.
Key Highlights of the Guidelines issued
- EC to be levied is divided in to two regimes:
- EC Regime 1 – EC will be levied to the Producers for non-fulfilment of metal-wise (For Lead Acid Batteries and For Lithium-ion and Other Batteries) EPR Targets.
- EC regime 2 – EC will be levied to any entity for non-compliances of BWM Rules, 2022 based on application fees.