Sections 7 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.
Section 7 forbids any person carrying on an industry, operation or process from discharging or emitting an environmental pollutant above the prescribed standards. Section 8 forbids handling a hazardous substance except by the prescribed procedure and after complying with the prescribed safeguards. They are the two working duties of the Act for most plants.
This article is current as amended up to the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force for this Act from 1 April 2024). Sections 7 and 8 were not changed by that Act; what changed is how a breach is penalised. Later amendments and notifications should be checked. For a plan-wise review against these duties, see our compliance advisory service.
Section 7 says no person carrying on any industry, operation or process "shall discharge or emit or permit to be discharged or emitted" any environmental pollutant in excess of the prescribed standards. Section 8 says no person shall handle or cause to be handled any hazardous substance except in accordance with the prescribed procedure and after complying with the prescribed safeguards. A breach of either, or of the rules under them, attracts a civil penalty under section 14A, decided by an adjudicating officer.
Section 7: the standards
The section is a single sentence with four parts that matter.
- Who. "No person carrying on any industry, operation or process". It is not limited to factories. An "operation" or a "process" can be a mine, a workshop, a laboratory or a treatment unit.
- What is barred. To "discharge or emit" a pollutant, and to "permit" it to be discharged or emitted. A plant that lets a contractor or a tenant discharge on its premises is caught by the word "permit".
- How much. Anything "in excess of such standards as may be prescribed". The Act sets no figure. The standards are in the rules and notifications made under sections 3 and 6. See section 6 and the explainer on rule 3 of the Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986.
- Which pollutants. "Environmental pollutant" is defined in section 2(b) as any solid, liquid or gaseous substance present in such concentration as may be, or tend to be, injurious to environment. See sections 1 and 2.
The words "or permit" matter in practice. A plant manager cannot say the discharge was made by a vendor if the plant allowed it.
Section 8: hazardous substances
Section 8 says "no person shall handle or cause to be handled any hazardous substance except in accordance with such procedure and after complying with such safeguards as may be prescribed".
Note the two words that widen it:
- "Person". Not only an occupier or an industry. Anybody who handles a hazardous substance is bound.
- "Cause to be handled". A company that hires a contractor to transport or store a substance is bound as well as the contractor.
"Handling" is defined in section 2(d) and covers manufacture, processing, treatment, package, storage, transportation, use, collection, destruction, conversion, offering for sale, transfer or the like. So the safeguards reach every stage of a substance's life. The procedures and safeguards themselves are set by rules under section 6(2)(c) and (d) and section 25(2)(b). On waste-specific rules, see the explainer on the Hazardous and Other Wastes Rules, 2016. For the separate factory-law framework for hazardous processes, see our post on hazardous processes under section 41A.
How the two duties compare
| Point | Section 7 | Section 8 |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | Discharge or emission of an environmental pollutant | Handling of a hazardous substance |
| Who is bound | A person carrying on an industry, operation or process | Any person who handles, or causes handling |
| Test | Excess over the prescribed standards | Non-compliance with the prescribed procedure and safeguards |
| Where the detail sits | Rules and notifications on standards | Rules on procedures and safeguards |
| Consequence | Penalty under section 14A | Penalty under section 14A |
The consequence: section 14A
Section 14A, inserted from 1 April 2024, makes contravention of section 7 or section 8 "or the rules made thereunder" a ground for a civil penalty for each contravention, with an additional daily penalty while it continues. The amounts are printed in section 14A and are explained in sections 14A and 14B; this article does not repeat them. The penalty is decided by an adjudicating officer after an inquiry, and an appeal lies to the National Green Tribunal. See sections 15C and 15D.
What a plant should keep ready
Neither section prescribes a record format. The rules and consent conditions do. As a working checklist:
- A list of the standards that apply to each outlet, stack and process, with the notification they come from.
- Test reports for each discharge or emission point, with dates and the laboratory that issued them.
- An inventory of hazardous substances, with the procedure and safeguards that apply to each.
- Written arrangements with contractors who transport, store or treat hazardous substances on your behalf.
- Training and inspection records for the staff who handle those substances.
An example
Himalaya Chemicals Private Limited operates a plant with one stack and one effluent outlet. A sampling visit shows that the stack emission is above the prescribed standard for its class of industry. Section 7 is the section breached. Separately, the company's transport contractor stores drums at a yard without the safeguards the rules require; the company is bound under section 8 too, because it "caused" the handling. The adjudicating officer will consider both, and the company's records of corrective action will matter at the inquiry.
Need help with environmental compliance?
Meeting section 7 and section 8 means knowing the exact standard and safeguard for each outlet and substance, then proving it with records. Our compliance advisory team can help you build a standards register and a handling checklist for your plant and your contractors.
Key takeaways
- Section 7 bars discharge or emission of a pollutant, or permitting it, above the prescribed standards.
- Section 8 bars handling, or causing handling, of a hazardous substance except by the prescribed procedure and safeguards.
- The numbers and the safeguards are in the rules and notifications, not in the Act.
- Contraventions of either section attract a civil penalty under section 14A.
- Keep standards, test reports, inventories and contractor arrangements together.
Read next
- Sections 1 and 2: definitions
- Section 9: accidental discharge, intimation and remedial measures
- Sections 14A and 14B: the civil penalties
- Hazardous processes in factories: sections 41A to 41H
Disclaimer: Based on the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 and the Public Liability Insurance Act, 1991 as amended by the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 (in force for these Acts from 1 April 2024), the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974 as amended by its Amendment Act of 2024 (which applies only in the States and Union territories it names and in States that adopt it), and the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010 as amended by the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Later amendments, rules and notifications should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.