EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners

An Overview of EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners

Searching for a top consultancy assisting in a compliant EPR registration for producers and brand owners? Your search ends here with Enterclimate, India’s leading firm offering assistance in EPR registration. Before getting into EPR registration, let’s have a quick look at what is EPR?

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is an environmental compliance framework regulated by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The EPR framework applies to the producers and brand owners introducing packaged products into the Indian market.

Under the Plastic Waste Management Rules, producers and brand owners introduce products using plastic packaging. It becomes necessary for such entities to apply for EPR registration on the CPCB EPR portal and meet the EPR recycling targets for plastic waste.

Let’s say you are a business operating without an EPR registration on the CPCB EPR portal. As per the CPCB guidelines, you are held responsible for its environmental and public impacts; so, it might be a possibility that you will receive a notice of facility closure or a penalty. Next, what? To prevent this, businesses must apply for EPR registration for producers and brand owners.

EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners: Who are Eligible Businesses?

Producers and brand owners introduce plastic packed products in the Indian market. This imposes the responsibility of EPR authorization for Plastic Waste Management on both entities.

Let’s understand Producers and Brand Owners in simple terms.

• Producers manufacture new products, raw materials, plastics, electronic equipment, tyres, batteries, used oil, and packaging.
• Brand owners sell products under their own brand, even when they do not manufacture the product.

Now, let’s look at the eligible business separately for each entity:

Businesses requiring EPR Registration for Producers

The businesses that require the EPR registration for producers are as follows:

• Plastic raw material
• Carry bags
• Plastic sheets
• Multilayer plastic
• Packaging material used by brands

Businesses requiring EPR Registration for Brand Owners

Businesses that require EPR registration for brand owners are mentioned below:

• FMCG business
• Cosmetic brands
• Food brands
• Consumer goods
• E-Commerce private labels

Upon qualifying as a brand owner or producer under the CPCB guidelines, businesses must identify the plastic packaging categories in the market.

Under the Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, four types of plastic packaging are covered in the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) compliance. Let’s look below to know what each category consists of:

• Category I Rigid Plastic Packaging covers hard plastic that stay as it is in their shape even when empty.
• Category II Flexible Plastic Packaging is available in single and multilayer plastic sheets.
• Category III Multi-Layered Plastic Packaging (MLP) contains at least one plastic layer and one layer of material (non-plastic).
• Category IV Compostable Plastics includes carry bags, plastic sheets, and packaging sheets certified as compostable.

Why is EPR Registration for Brand Owners and Producers Necessary?

Whether it’s a producer or a brand owner, both require EPR registration for different reasons. Look at the pointers given below to understand the necessity of EPR registration for brand owners and producers, separately.

Reasons why EPR registration is necessary for brand owners are:

• Introduce plastic packed consumer goods in the market.
• Plastic waste from branded packaging before introducing into the market.
• Category-wise obligations for plastic recycling.
• Require CPCB approval to legally operate producers in the market.
• Must provide an annual report for plastic packaging.

NOTE: The brand owners are a major source of plastic waste at the time of brand packaging and commercializing.

Reasons why EPR registration is necessary for producers are:

• Add new plastic packaging materials to the supply chain.
• Ensure EPR compliance in India for plastic packaging.
• File annual recycling compliance returns.
• Fulfil EPR recycling targets and waste management targets.
• Requires EPR authorization following the Plastic Waste Management Rules.

NOTE: Without EPR registration for producers, it triggers CPCB notice, environmental compensation penalties, restrictions on access to CPCB EPR portal, and disruptions in daily business operations.

EPR Applicability based Business Model

Here is a structured table for EPR applicability to find out if your business is eligible for producers, brand owners, or import, or PIBOs. Look below to understand how EPR applicability changes because of different business models and their structure for operations.

Importance of EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners

The EPR registration for producers and brand owners is important for multiple reasons, see below:

Business Continuity:

Without EPR compliance in India, businesses face complex struggles in their daily operations. In this condition, the central or state pollution control board may send a legal notice on facility closure, impose heavy penalties, or impose operational restrictions, creating hurdles in selling packaged products in the market.

Vendor Onboarding:

CPCB EPR registration for producers and brand owners is highly crucial. Without registration, such entities (as vendors) face regulatory risks. Vendors supply the products, packed goods, or branded goods to large companies, who, in turn, verify before collaborating with them. For this, the entities must secure the CPCB certification, along with fulfilling the obligations for product packaging.

Online Marketplace Compliance:

EPR registration for producers and brand owners helps to gain confidence in online marketplace brands. This is highly crucial because e-commerce platforms and online marketplaces cross-check documents consisting of details such as:

• EPR Registration Number
• Packaging Responsibility details
• CPCB EPR Compliance Proof

Investor Due Diligence

Any business, as a producer or a brand owner, must resolve all the compliance risks. It promotes investors’ confidence in funding and partnership. You must know that investors check regulatory compliance, pending legal notices, sustainability risks, and environmental liabilities before collaborating with businesses.

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Positioning:

Businesses implement ESG practices to show their compliant operations. This reflects more of their environmental compliance side because it highlights a few but essential things:

• Recycling responsibility
• Sustainability commitment
• Waste accountability

All these support businesses to build their image among branded products, market competitiveness, and ensure sustainability.

Sustainable Reporting

The sustainable reporting mandate businesses to publish their reports highlighting their performance in taking measures of environmental compliance. In this report, businesses may reveal the quantity of plastic used, recycling measures to recover new materials from waste plastic, and fulfil the sustainability targets.

Regulatory Risk Management:

By regulatory risk management, we mean that EPR registration for producer and brand owners prevents legal notice, business disruptions, non-compliant challenges, heavy penalties or facility disclosures or revoking access to the CPCB EPR portal. Businesses will not face any legal or compliance issues with EPR registration for producers or brand owners.

Thus, an EPR Registration for producers and brand owners is not only an environmental but a business eligibility requirement too.

What are the Documents Required for EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners?

Documents are important to apply for EPR registration for producers and brand owners. They are proof of validating all the EPR-compliant requirements before you apply for an EPR registration. Look for a list of documents given below to apply for EPR registration for brand owners and producers on the CPCB EPR portal.

Business and Entity Identity Documents

• Certificate of Incorporation (CIN)/Partnership Deed/ LLP Agreement
• The company’s PAN card
• Company’s GST Registration Certificate
• Aadhar card, PAN card for Authorized Signatory KYC
• Authorization Letter
• Import Export Code (IEC)

Operational and Product Documents

• Product Catalogues/Brochure
• Trademark certificate/Brand Authorization Letters
• Process Flow Diagram
• Factory Registration
• MSME Certificate
• Air/Water Consent by SPCB

EPR and Management Action Plan

• EPR Action Plan: Collect, Recycle and Dispose
• Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
• Historical Sales or Previous Year Data

What is the Procedure of EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners?

Here is a step-by-step EPR registration for producers and brand owners that you must not miss. See the simple process to register yourself on the CPCB EPR portal in compliance with the EPR framework.

Step 1: Identify your waste stream category

Know your waste stream from E-Waste, Battery Waste, Plastic Waste, used oil, tyre waste and packaging.

Step 2: Collect Documents

Gather all the essential documents to apply for EPR registration for producers and brand owners. This will help to avoid delays in processing for authorization of EPR plastic waste.

Step 3: Fill out the Online Application

Create an account with a valid ID and a password using PAN and Aadhar card details.

Step 4: Submission of Action Plan Report

Submit an action plan report to collect, recycle and process your EPR obligations. Next, pay the prescribed registration fee.

Step 5: Review the Application

Upon completion and submission of the application, the SPCB/CPCB will perform scrutiny of all documents. It takes 2 to 6 weeks in total.

Step 6: EPR Authorization for Producers and Brand Owners

After successful scrutiny of the application, the authorities will release a digital EPR certificate for producers and brand owners through the CPCB EPR portal.

Obligation Requirements Post EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners

The registration process is the primary step towards EPR registration for producers and brand owners. For EPR compliance, there are two obligations post-registration, see below:

• Secure EPR certificates by collaborating with registered recyclers or Producer Responsibility Organizations to fulfil the EPR recycling targets.
• Filing annual returns on the CPCB EPR portal within the defined deadlines.

How does EPR Target Fulfilment work?

The EPR target fulfilment operates through the following processes, see below:

• Target allocation is based on the previous year's sales for the quantity of products introduced in the market. Also, most waste streams go for Phase-in options that increase the recycling targets.
• Producers apply two fulfilment methods to meet their targets. First is EPR credit generation by CPCB-certified recyclers, refurbishers, and processors. Secondly, in-house or direct collection in which businesses set up a deposit-refund collection system and channelize the collected waste in order, through authorized recyclers and processors.
• Businesses register on the CPCB EPR portal to submit the annual returns and record the raw materials brought into the market, along with the recycling waste proof.
• The collected and recycled waste in any volume goes through auditing and quality checks by the authorities.
• If a business fails to fulfil or meet the annual targets for the current year, then the remaining targets are carried forward to another year. Also, they are required to be completed within a given timeline.
• The authorities impose penalties for unfulfilled annual targets.

What are the Common Mistakes during EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners?

Several times, EPR registration by an applicant does not delay due to technical issues or penalties, but due to common errors. If you are also going to apply for EPR registration for producers and brand owners, look for the common mistakes to prevent smooth registration on the CPCB EPR portal.

• An applicant selects the incorrect category from the waste streams.
• An applicant picks the wrong entity, like selecting a brand owner instead of a producer.
• An applicant provides documents, but some of the documents for verification are missing.
• Using EPR credits from unauthorized recyclers is of no use.
• Submission of an incomplete report for the waste management plans.
• Uploading outdated certificates may lead to rejection.
• Underreporting of the volume of plastic packaging brought into the Indian market.
• Reporting twice under different categories.
• An applicant does not file the annual returns.

What are the Challenges in EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners on the CPCB EPR Portal?

There are several challenges an applicant might face in the EPR registration for producers and brand owners. Look at the pointers below to find out if you’re facing similar challenges in the EPR registration.

• Technical issues on the CPCB EPR portal cause disruptions and delays in the completion of EPR registration for brand owners and producers.
• In some cases, if your documents are fake or unapproved, the application will not proceed.
• If you don’t have authorized signatures on the documents, the application will be rejected.
• Sourcing certified recyclers is complicated for producers and brand owners.
• Complex issues arise in the transfer of EPR credits by recyclers to producers or brand owners.
• Invalid or paper certificates are not accepted on the CPCB EPR portal, as it accepts only digitally generated certificates.

What are the Penalties in Non-Compliant EPR Registration for Brand Owners and Producers?

There are a few penalties for non-compliant EPR registration for brand owners and producers. You must remember these points to avoid delays or rejections of your application.

• An entity must pay EC in case of unfulfilled EPR targets.
• Any entity operating without an EPR registration would be fined Rs.1 lakh per day.
• Any entity that misuses data in the Form – 1 certificate would be fined between Rs. 5 lakh and Rs.10 lakh per day.
• Any entity operating without EPR registration will not receive any EPR certificate, and their CPCB/SPCB consent will be cancelled or rejected.
• The entity will not be able to sell its products on e-commerce platforms or online marketplaces.
• Any entity operating without EPR registration will face imprisonment for 7 years, outlined under section 15 of the Environmental (Protection) Act, 1986.
• CPCB authority regularly releases a list of producers and brand owners who are non-compliant with the guidelines for EPR registration. This may disrupt investors' confidence in funding.

Why Choose Enterclimate for EPR Registration for Producers and Brand Owners?

Enterclimate is a top sustainability consultancy in India helping clients in 25+ states with EPR registration for producers and brand owners. With its in-house 500+ experts, businesses as producers or brand owners get help in securing EPR authorization for producers and brand owners. Our client retention rate is 99.9% that we’ve achieved over the years.

Given below are the reasons why we are the top choice of producers and brand owners for EPR registration-

• 700+ EPR Registrations for Producers and Brand Owners
• 10+ Years of Proven Experience
• Save 100+ Internal Man-Hours per Filing
• Save 5 Lakh-50 Lakh in Delay Costs
• Support for ₹50 Cr+ Scaling Brands
• Lower 90%+ Marketplace Compliance Friction
• Enable 10X Cleaner ESG Positioning
• Expert Support for Category I, II, III, and IV Packaging Identification