Schedule IX 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.
Schedule IX is the waste tyre EPR regime within the Hazardous and Other Wastes Rules, in force from 21 July 2022. It makes tyre producers (manufacturers, importers and brand sellers) responsible for seeing that waste tyres are recycled, requires producers, recyclers and retreaders to register on a CPCB portal, sets year-wise targets, and lets recyclers earn certificates by weightage for each end product.
These Rules are current as amended up to G.S.R. 636(E) dated 16 July 2026 (Chapter VIII on non-ferrous metal scrap in force from 1 April 2026). Schedule IX was amended in 2024 (G.S.R. 177(E)) and its action-for-contravention paragraph by G.S.R. 698(E) of 12 November 2024. Later amendments, CPCB guidelines, notifications and portal instructions should be checked. If you are a tyre producer, importer, recycler or retreader, see our compliance documentation service.
Producers of new tyres (including importers and brand sellers), recyclers and retreaders register on the CPCB portal (paragraphs 2 and 3). A manufacturer's or importer's target rises from thirty-five per cent in 2022-2023 to hundred per cent of the new tyres made or imported two years earlier (paragraph 4(1)(a)). Producers fulfil it by buying certificates from registered recyclers only, and contravention attracts a penalty under section 15 of the EP Act (paragraph 11).
Paragraph 1: the definitions
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| "producer" | A person or entity who manufactures and sells new tyres domestically; sells under its own brand new tyres made by others; sells imported new tyres; imports vehicles fitted with new tyres; is an automobile manufacturer importing new tyres for new vehicles sold domestically; or imports waste tyres |
| "waste tyre" | Any tyre, including tubes and flaps, no longer mounted on a vehicle and no longer used for its intended purpose |
| "recycling" | Converting waste tyre in an environmentally sound manner, with facilities as in CPCB standard operating procedures or guidelines, into reclaimed rubber, crumb rubber, crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB), recovered carbon black usable as raw material for new tyres, or pyrolysis oil or char used only as fuel |
| "retreading" | Renewal of the tread and side wall rubber of a worn-out tyre of good structural quality |
| "recycling target" | Quantity of waste tyre to be recycled as per paragraph 4 |
| "portal" | The online system developed by the CPCB under paragraph 9 |
Paragraphs 2 and 3: who is covered and registration
The Schedule applies to producers, recyclers of waste tyre and retreaders. Under paragraph 3:
- all three register on the portal;
- no entity carries on business without registration;
- registered entities do not deal with an unregistered producer or recycler;
- false or concealed information can lead to revocation by the CPCB for up to three years after a hearing, with environmental compensation under paragraph 10;
- an entity in more than one category registers separately under each; and
- the CPCB may charge registration fees specified from time to time with the Steering Committee's approval.
Paragraph 4: targets and modalities
4(1)(a), manufacturers and importers of new tyres.
| Year | Waste tyre recycling target |
|---|---|
| 2022-2023 (the year this Schedule comes into force) | 35 per cent of the quantity of new tyres manufactured or imported in 2020-2021 |
| 2023-2024 | 70 per cent of that manufactured or imported in 2021-2022 |
| 2024-2025 | Hundred per cent of that manufactured or imported in 2022-2023 |
| After 2024-2025 (year Y) | Hundred per cent of the new tyres manufactured or imported in the year (Y-2) |
| Units established after 1 April 2022 | The obligation starts after two years and is hundred per cent of the new tyres manufactured or imported in the year (Y-2) |
4(1)(b), waste tyre importers: the obligation in year (Y) is hundred per cent of the tyres imported in year (Y-1), and import of waste tyres for producing pyrolysis oil or char is prohibited.
4(2), retreading: waste tyre may be retreaded; a retreader registers on the portal to issue retreading certificates; on production of those certificates the EPR obligation is deferred by one year for the corresponding quantity, but the obligation is extinguished only after end-of-life disposal through a registered recycler.
4(3): the target is reduced by a factor laid down by the CPCB for wear and tear of tyres.
4(4): producers fulfil the obligation by buying EPR certificates online from registered recyclers only, with a quarterly return by the end of the month after the quarter; producer and recycler details are cross-checked and the lower figure counts; certificates are subject to environmental audit by agencies authorised by the Central Government. 4(5): the CPCB specifies SOPs in accordance with the Schedule.
Paragraph 5: certificates and weightage
The CPCB generates certificates for registered recyclers on the portal. The weightage (WP) by end product is:
| End product | Weightage |
|---|---|
| Reclaimed rubber | 1.30 |
| Recovered carbon black usable as raw material for new tyres | 1.25 |
| Crumb rubber modified bitumen (CRMB) | 1.10 |
| Crumb rubber | 1.00 |
| Pyrolysis oil and char (fuel only), from continuous pyrolysis | 0.80 |
| Pyrolysis oil and char (fuel only), from batch pyrolysis | 0.50 |
The quantity eligible is QEPR = QP × CF × WP, with the conversion factor set by the CPCB. The weightage is reviewed by the Steering Committee. For imported waste tyres the weightage is 1 for all categories, and the value of a certificate is reduced by dividing it by the WP of the respective certificates when an importer adjusts them. A certificate is valid for two years from the end of the financial year of generation and has a unique number; denominations are 100, 200, 500 and 1000 metric tonnes, or as the CPCB decides with the Steering Committee's approval.
Paragraphs 6 to 9: transactions, producer, recycler and retreader duties, portal
- Paragraph 6: a producer may buy certificates up to its current-year liability plus leftover liability plus 10 per cent of the current-year liability; it buys proportionately each quarter; purchases adjust automatically, earlier liability first; platforms for exchange may be set up by Central Government order; the CPCB fixes the highest and lowest exchange price at hundred per cent and thirty per cent of the environmental compensation under paragraph 10, and the exchange price lies between them (sub-paragraphs (6) to (9) added in 2024).
- Paragraph 7: the producer fulfils EPR only through registered recyclers' certificates and files annual and quarterly returns.
- Paragraph 8: recyclers submit monthly information on waste tyres used, end product produced and certificates sold, and file annual and quarterly returns.
- Paragraph 8A (added 2024): retreaders submit monthly information on quantity retreaded and retreading certificates, and file annual and quarterly returns.
- Paragraph 9: the CPCB develops the portal as the single data repository; until it is developed, activities are offline.
Paragraph 10: environmental compensation
The CPCB lays down guidelines, which the Steering Committee and Central Government must approve before implementation, for compensation on producers for unfulfilled obligations and use of false certificates. It is also levied on recyclers for false certificates and information, and on unregistered producers, recyclers and anyone who aids or abets a violation. Payment does not absolve the producer; unfulfilled EPR carries forward up to three years. If the shortfall is addressed after the first year, 85 per cent of the compensation is returned; after the second, 60 per cent; after the third, 30 per cent; thereafter none. Over-generation of certificates by a recycler above 5 per cent of actual recycled waste on false information results in revocation of registration and compensation that is not returnable. Funds are held in escrow by the CPCB and used for collection and recycling or end-of-life disposal of uncollected waste tyres.
Paragraph 11 and onwards
Paragraph 11, "Action for contravention", was substituted by G.S.R. 698(E) of 12 November 2024: any person who fails to comply or contravenes the Rules "shall be liable to a penalty in accordance with the provisions of section 15 of the Act"; the penalty is explained in sections 15 to 15B of the EP Act. The CPCB verifies compliance by inspection and periodic audit, with action under paragraph 10. Paragraph 13 sets up a Steering Committee chaired by the CPCB Chairman or nominee, which monitors implementation, decides disputes and reviews targets, weightage and modes of recycling with the Central Government's approval.
Utilisation of waste tyre is linked to this Schedule by rule 9(4), and the used oil EPR in rules 25 to 30 has a similar structure.
Example
Deccan Tyres Limited made a certain quantity of new tyres in 2022-2023. Its obligation for 2024-2025 is hundred per cent of that quantity, reduced by the CPCB's wear and tear factor. It buys certificates from registered crumb rubber and reclaimed rubber recyclers in equal quarterly lots and reconciles them with the portal before filing each quarterly return, since the lower figure counts where entries differ.
Need help with waste tyre EPR?
Our compliance documentation team can help you register, compute targets and prepare returns.
Key takeaways
- Producers (including importers and brand sellers), recyclers and retreaders must register on the portal.
- Producer targets step from 35 and 70 per cent to hundred per cent of the new tyres of two years earlier.
- Certificates come only from registered recyclers and are weighted by end product, from 1.30 for reclaimed rubber to 0.50 for batch pyrolysis oil and char.
- Retreading defers the obligation by a year but does not extinguish it.
- Compensation, carry-forward and refund follow the same pattern as used oil; contravention attracts the penalty under section 15.
Read next
- Rules 8-10: storage, utilisation and SOPs
- Rules 25-30: EPR for used oil
- Rules 44-50: EPR for non-ferrous metal scrap
- Sections 15 to 15B of the EP Act: residuary penalty
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.