How Automakers Can Buy ELV EPR Certificates

Why Do Automakers Need ELV EPR Certificates

ELV EPR certificates are tradable compliance instruments issued to RVSFs based on the steel recovered from scrapping end-of-life vehicles. Their legal basis is the Environment Protection (End-of-Life Vehicles) Rules 2025, effective 1 April 2025 and administered by the CPCB. The instrument exists so that vehicle producers can demonstrate they have funded the environmentally sound recycling of vehicles they sold years earlier.

Under Extended Producer Responsibility, the obligation to recycle does not end at the point of sale. Vehicle manufacturers, assemblers, importers, and sellers remain accountable for the vehicles they put on the market, which is the core of automaker EPR compliance ELV obligations. The framework covers cars, commercial vehicles, electric vehicles, e-rickshaws, and e-carts, so almost every producer category carries a target.

The certificate is the mechanism that connects this obligation to actual recycling. When an RVSF recovers and processes steel from a scrapped vehicle, the portal generates an ELV EPR certificate India producers can buy to offset their target. This matters more now because the auto sector missed its FY26 scrappage target by about 70 percent, and the draft 2026 amendment counts only vehicle-scrapping steel, which makes certificate procurement from RVSFs harder and more strategic than before. 

A broader primer on the regime sits in this overview of end-of-life vehicles in India, which frames why these obligations exist.

How Automaker ELV EPR Targets Are Calculated

The ELV Rules 2025 EPR target is built on a historical baseline, not on current sales. Producers must scrap a percentage of the steel equivalent of vehicles they sold many years earlier, which ties present compliance to past production. The portal computes this figure from the historical data each producer declares at registration.

Vehicle type	FY26 baseline year	FY26 target	Escalation
Private (non-transport)	Vehicles sold in FY2005-06 (20 years prior)	8 percent of steel equivalent	13 percent from 2030-31, 18 percent from 2035-36
Commercial (transport)	Vehicles sold in FY2010-11 (15 years prior)	8 percent of steel equivalent	13 percent from 2030-31, 18 percent from 2035-36

The detail behind the calculation determines how large a target a producer carries.

• Private vehicle targets are tied to vehicles sold 20 years prior, while commercial vehicle targets are tied to vehicles sold 15 years prior.
• The FY26 target was set at 8 percent of the relevant steel equivalent, and it rises in later compliance cycles on the schedule above.
• During registration, producers declare historical sales and production data, including the weight of steel, plastics, and batteries used in vehicles from FY2005-06 onward.
• The draft 2026 amendment removed other steel scrap from eligibility, so producers now depend on RVSFs actually processing scrapped vehicles and on enough vehicles reaching authorised facilities.

Step-by-Step Process for Automakers to Buy ELV EPR Certificates

The purchase process runs end to end on the CPCB portal, and each step builds on the previous one. The sequence below mirrors how a producer moves from registration to a closed compliance year, with the detail that matters at each stage.

Step 1: Register on the CPCB EPR Portal

Registration establishes the producer as an obligated entity and unlocks the rest of the workflow. The portal is the single system through which targets, purchases, and returns are managed, which is why CPCB ELV portal automakers access begins here.

• Register the corporate entity on the centralised portal as a vehicle producer or importer.
• Submit the required documents, including PAN, GST, corporate identity number, import codes for importers, and authorised signatory details.
• Declare historical sales and production data, including steel, plastic, and battery weights for vehicles from FY2005-06 onward.
• Receive an EPR registration number once the declaration is approved.

Step 2: Confirm Your Annual EPR Target

Once registered, the producer needs a confirmed number to procure against. The portal converts the declared historical baseline into an annual steel-recovery target, and verifying it against internal records prevents over or under procurement.

• The portal computes the annual target from the declared historical baseline.
• Reconcile the portal figure against your own production and sales records before acting on it.
• Treat the confirmed target as the quantity of certificates you must acquire for the compliance year.

Step 3: Buy EPR Certificates From RVSFs

This is the core transaction, and it is where supply-side reliability matters most. To buy EPR certificate, automakers work directly with facilities that have processed vehicles and generated certificates.

• RVSFs depollute, dismantle, and recover steel, and the portal generates certificates for the facility based on the steel recovered.
• Automakers view available certificates listed by RVSFs and purchase them through the portal to offset the target.
• Pricing is set between the automaker and the RVSF, shaped by RVSF throughput on the supply side and producer targets on the demand side.
• Building direct relationships with a Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility ahead of the deadline secures supply, which matters given the tighter draft 2026 rules and limited vehicle inflow.

Certificate reliability depends on the data behind it, so automakers benefit when RVSFs run on robust systems. Facilities operating on MMCM’s AutoLoop, the operating system that captures 40-plus digital Measurement, Reporting and Verification (dMRV) data points per vehicle under AIS-129 standards, can generate traceable, audit-ready certificates. MMCM provides this platform to RVSFs rather than scrapping vehicles itself, so the certificate remains the RVSF’s output while the data layer supports clean compliance.

Step 4: Map Certificates to Your Compliance Target

Buying certificates only completes the obligation once they are allocated correctly. The portal ties each certificate to a specific compliance year, so the final step is administrative but decisive.

• Allocate purchased certificates against the annual target on the portal.
• Confirm that certificates are mapped to the correct compliance year.
• Check that the allocated total closes the obligation for that year before the window shuts.

Compliance Returns and Penalties for ELV EPR

Filing returns is what converts purchased certificates into demonstrated compliance. Producers must file quarterly and annual returns on the CPCB portal, documenting total production against certificates acquired. The annual declaration of EPR obligations is due by 30 April for the relevant financial year, so the reporting calendar is fixed and predictable.

• Failing to meet the target or acquire sufficient certificates exposes the producer to Environmental Compensation (EC), charged per unit of unmet obligation and designed to cost more than compliance.
• A portion of the EC can be refunded if the producer meets the outstanding obligation within three years, which rewards corrective action.
• Compliance status feeds into Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting disclosures, ESG ratings, and investor scrutiny, so the consequences extend beyond the penalty itself.
• Treating procurement as a year-round function, rather than a year-end scramble, protects supply when certificates are scarcest.

The practical lesson from FY26 is that supply, not paperwork, is the binding constraint. With the sector short by about 70 percent and the draft amendment narrowing eligible steel, the producers who map targets early and engage RVSFs in advance are the ones who close the year cleanly. The vehicle scrappage policy in India and the underlying EPR framework set the incentives that make early engagement worthwhile.

Conclusion

Buying ELV EPR certificates is now a central compliance requirement for automakers under the ELV Rules 2025, and the draft 2026 amendment has made RVSF-sourced certificates the main route to meeting targets. The producers that succeed will register early, confirm their ELV Rules 2025 EPR target against their own records, build RVSF relationships before deadlines, and treat automaker EPR compliance ELV as a year-round procurement function. 

Because the supply of certificates depends on vehicles reaching authorised facilities and being processed with verified steel recovery, the strongest position is to secure that supply in advance. The rules remain in active amendment, so automakers should verify current targets and the status of the draft amendment before finalising procurement.

FAQs

Extended Producer Responsibility Certificate (in kg) = Weight of steel scrap generated (in kg) at the Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facility (RVSF).