Rules 5 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rules 5 to 9 describe the waste battery chain after the producer: the consumer who discards a battery, the public authority that collects it, the entity that segregates and treats it, and the refurbisher and recycler that give it a second life or recover its materials. Rules 8 and 9 are the registration and reporting rules for refurbishers and recyclers.
These Rules are current as amended up to S.O. 958(E) dated 24 February 2025. Later amendments, CPCB guidelines and notifications should be checked. If you run or plan a collection, refurbishing or recycling unit and need to line up registrations and returns, our compliance advisory team can help.
A consumer must discard waste batteries separately from other waste and give them to a collection, refurbishing or recycling entity (rule 5). Public waste management authorities hand collected waste batteries to producers, refurbishers or recyclers (rule 6). Refurbishers and recyclers must register with the State Board on the portal, follow CPCB guidelines, manage hazardous and other waste lawfully and file quarterly returns in Form 4 by the end of the month after the quarter (rules 8 and 9).
Rule 5: consumers
It is the consumer's responsibility to discard waste battery separately from other waste streams, especially mixed and domestic waste, and to ensure it is disposed of in an environment friendly manner by giving it to an entity engaged in collection, refurbishment or recycling.
Rule 6: public waste management authorities
Public waste management authorities, meaning a Village Panchayat, Municipal Corporation, Municipality and agencies engaged on their behalf, hand over the collected waste battery to the producers or agencies acting for them, or to the entity engaged in refurbishment or recycling, or carry out recycling or refurbishment themselves.
Rule 7: collection, segregation and treatment entities
Such entities must hand over waste battery to a registered refurbisher or recycler (7(1)). They must ensure the facility is in accordance with CPCB standards or guidelines and carry out any activity per CPCB guidelines (7(2)). Rule 13(1)(iv) allows environmental compensation against such entities that do not follow sound handling of waste battery, as explained in rules 13 to 15.
Rules 8 and 9 side by side
| Point | Refurbisher (rule 8) | Recycler (rule 9) |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | With the State Board on the portal; certificate in Form 2(B) (8(1)) | With the State Board through the online portal; certificate in Form 2(B) (9(1)) |
| Application | Form 2(A) to the State Board for one-time registration (8(2)(i)) | Form 2(A) to the State Board for one-time registration (9(2)(i)) |
| CPCB guidelines | Carry out activity per CPCB guidelines; processes and facilities comply with CPCB standards (8(2)(ii), (v)) | Same (9(2)(ii), (v)) |
| Hazardous waste | Manage under the HOWM Rules, 2016 (8(2)(iii)) | Same (9(2)(iii)) |
| Other waste | Manage as per extant regulations such as the Solid Waste Management Rules and Plastic Waste Management Rules (8(2)(iv)) | Same, and the E-waste Rules (9(2)(iv)) |
| Battery in equipment | Remove waste battery from collected appliance if incorporated in equipment (8(2)(vi)) | Same (9(2)(vi)) |
| Returns | Quarterly in Form 4: used battery collected or received, refurbished quantities, hazardous and other waste generated and its disposal; by the end of the month succeeding the quarter (8(3)) | Quarterly in Form 4: waste battery collected or received, recycled quantities, compliance of material-wise recovery percentages, waste generated and its disposal; by the end of the month succeeding the quarter (9(3)) |
| Quantities on portal | Total weight processed each quarter made available on the CPCB portal for generation of EPR certificates (8(4), as substituted in 2023) | Total weight processed each quarter made available on the CPCB portal (9(4), as substituted in 2023) |
| Dealing | Shall not deal with an entity not holding registration mandated under the Rules (8(5)) | Same (9(5), as substituted in 2023) |
Rule 8(2)(iv) and 9(2)(iv) name the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016 and, for recyclers, the E-waste (Management) Rules, 2016 as printed; the current rules are the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 and the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022.
Recovery targets and a dangling reference
Rule 9(3) asks recyclers to report "compliance of material-wise recovery percentage as per recovery targets provided under sub-rule 4 of rule 10". The 2023 amendment omitted sub-rules (4) and (5) of rule 10, which had held the recovery target table, and the wording in rule 9(3) was not changed in that amendment. A recycler should therefore read the Form 4 reporting requirement with the current CPCB guidelines on recovery and the certificate rules in rules 10 to 12.
What the rules do not say
The Rules print no fee for registration. Registration is "one-time" under both rules. Suspension or cancellation of a refurbisher's or recycler's registration for false information is dealt with by the State Board under rule 12(2) after a hearing, and an appeal lies to the CPCB under rule 11, covered in rules 10 to 12.
Who is affected
Households and businesses discarding batteries, municipal bodies and panchayats, dealers and aggregators who collect waste batteries, refurbishers of second-life packs and recyclers of lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries.
Example
Greenloop Recyclers Private Limited, a lithium-ion recycler, buys waste batteries only from entities that hand over to registered recyclers or refurbishers. It holds its Form 2(B) certificate from the State Board, removes batteries from collected appliances before processing, manages its hazardous residue under the HOWM Rules and files its Form 4 return by the end of the month following each quarter. Because it would be dealing with an unregistered collection entity otherwise, it checks each supplier's registration (rule 9(5)).
Need help with battery recycler or refurbisher registration?
Registration, consent, hazardous waste authorisation and quarterly returns all have to line up. Our compliance advisory team can help you map the permissions for a collection, refurbishing or recycling facility.
Key takeaways
- Consumers must discard waste battery separately and hand it to a collection, refurbishing or recycling entity.
- Collection and treatment entities may hand waste battery only to registered refurbishers or recyclers.
- Refurbishers and recyclers register once with the State Board and file Form 4 quarterly returns.
- Hazardous waste from battery processing falls under the HOWM Rules, 2016.
- Recyclers and refurbishers must not deal with unregistered entities.
Read next
- Rules 10 to 12: EPR certificates, CPCB and State Board functions
- Rule 4: producer EPR
- Rules 13 to 15 and the Schedules
- Waste management company registration: licenses, process and cost
Disclaimer: Based on the environment rules, guidelines and notifications named above as published in the Gazette of India, read with every amendment notified up to 3 October 2026 that the article names (consolidated reading texts from the CPCB 2021 compilation and the Goa State Pollution Control Board 2025 compilation were checked against the amending notifications), as consulted on 3 October 2026. Later amendments, CPCB guidelines, State Board orders and fees should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.