Government E-Waste Drive Runs All October, and a Tax Notice Shows Why Every E-Waste Receipt Matters

What happened

On 14 September 2026, the Centre announced Special Campaign 6.0, led by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances. Offices prepared from 15 to 30 September 2026. The main drive runs from 2 to 31 October 2026, with special stress on how e-waste is collected, separated and disposed of. The Ministry of Heavy Industries had identified 439 e-waste items for disposal by 24 September 2026. The Ministry of Mines has finalised more than 44 office locations, of which more than 28 are in Maharashtra. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has circulated an SOP for scientific disposal of e-waste to its offices. The Department of Commerce said it generated about ₹70 lakh from disposing of scrap and redundant material in the previous round, Special Campaign 5.0. A final evaluation phase is planned for 16 to 30 November 2026.

The same weeks brought a warning about paperwork. A 550-page tax notice, dated 27 August 2026, went to three home-appliance makers. It alleges that the makers relied on compliance certificates and papers from one recycler, and that the recycler's papers were fabricated. It says the makers did not check for themselves whether the e-waste was collected, moved, received, taken apart and recycled. It also alleges that they wrongly claimed tax credits on recycling services. Tax officials wrote that the basic activity of buying, receiving and processing the e-waste was not established.

The notice includes photographs of trucks, first loaded with e-waste and then empty. It says the images were digitally altered. In one example from 2024, a photo stamped 7:43 p.m., which is 29 minutes after sunset, still showed daylight and sharp shadows. Investigators also compared recorded sunset times with the scenes in the photos.

The recycler's officials deny wrongdoing and dispute the evidence, according to the notice. Two of the makers said they will reply to the notice and remain committed to following the law. They also said the recycler had been authorised by the government. One of the two said it followed all government guidelines. The other said it had no reason to suspect any irregularity, but has stopped dealing with the vendor. The third maker said it will keep cooperating with the authorities.

Two senior government sources said the tax authorities are widening the inquiry across the industry. Three industry executives, who did not want to be named, said several large firms that know of the case have begun internal reviews of how their recycling supply chains work. Both accounts are anonymous. The report also says penalties for false tax-credit claims can go up to 100%. We have seen no link between the tax notice and the campaign.

The numbers

CPCB works out generation from the sales data that registered producers submit and from the average life of each product. So the official generation number rests on sales records and not on a count of waste.

Recykal Times analysis: Generation rose by about 11% from FY 2023-24 to FY 2024-25, and recycling rose by about 49%. The authorised capacity of 22.09 lakh tonnes is about 1.6 times the generation for FY 2024-25. Recycling of 11.59 lakh tonnes equals about 83% of the 13.98 lakh tonnes CPCB estimated for that year. (Our estimate: 13,97,955.59 divided by 12,54,286.55; 11.59 divided by 7.78; 22,08,918 divided by 13,97,955.59; 11.59 divided by 13.98.)

That 83% sits awkwardly beside other estimates. A NITI Aayog and TERI report puts India's e-waste generation in 2024 at 61.9 lakh tonnes. That is more than four times the CPCB figure for FY 2024-25 (our estimate; the years and methods differ). Estimates of the informal share of e-waste handling run from about 62% to 78%. The data sets use different bases, so they should not be added or compared line by line. They suggest that a large part of the sector's volume is hard to see in official records.

Why it matters

The EPR system for e-waste runs on documents. An EPR certificate is proof that a recycler has processed e-waste. Under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2022, a registered recycler generates these certificates on the CPCB portal for four recovered products: gold, copper, aluminium and iron. Producers meet their legal recycling targets by buying them. CPCB's guidance makes a GST-linked sales invoice compulsory as proof that the recovered metals were sold. When a recycler buys e-waste from the formal sector, it uploads the seller's invoice, and that invoice must show the weight of the commodity. When it buys from the informal sector, it uploads a receipt that carries the seller's name and address. Recyclers must keep records of what they collect, dismantle and recycle, and make them available for verification or audit.

The Rules also allow CPCB, or an agency it designates, to verify compliance through random inspection and periodic audit. They provide for environmental compensation when a provision is violated.

The tax notice deals with tax credits. It turns on a question the EPR system also asks: can the business prove that the tonnes moved? A certificate or an invoice answers that question only if the weight, the date, the vehicle and the receiving facility all agree with each other. The investigators in this case went as far as checking photo timestamps against sunset times.

The allegations are in a notice, and the makers have the right to respond. Nothing is decided. Even so, the reported internal reviews suggest that makers are re-checking their recycling supply chains.

What this means for you

Kabadiwalas and aggregators: Government offices will clear old computers, printers and other e-waste in October, and the rules say recycling must go through registered recyclers. If you supply a recycler, your slip is the first link in the chain. When a recycler buys from the informal sector, it must upload a receipt that carries your name and address. A formal seller's invoice must show the weight of the commodity. So write the material, the weight, the date and your name and address on every slip, and keep a copy. Ask your recycler which papers they need before you deliver. A clean record makes you easier to buy from.

Recyclers: Check that every certificate you generate can be traced to weighed inward lots with seller invoices or receipts, and to outward sales of recovered metal on GST-linked invoices. Keep weighbridge slips, vehicle records and processing records for each lot in one place, and test that the numbers agree. Buyers of your certificates may ask to see this file. Registered recyclers are the ones government offices must use in October, so keep your registration and records ready.

Appliance and electronics makers: The notice alleges that relying on a recycler's papers was not enough. Ask your recycler for lot-level proof, such as inward weights, processing records and outward invoices, and compare the quantities with what the facility could handle. Visit the facility. Review any tax credit claimed on recycling services with your tax adviser. This is our suggestion and not a legal requirement stated in the notice.

Refurbishers: Refurbishing certificates can defer a producer's EPR obligation for a period that CPCB sets, under Rule 14(2). That makes your records valuable to producers. Keep serial-level or batch-level records of what came in and what went out, with dated photos and invoices.

Buyers of recovered metal: Copper, aluminium, iron and gold recovered from e-waste carry weight and invoice records that support EPR certificates. You may be asked for a GST-linked invoice that matches the recycler's weights. Buy from sellers that can show the matching processing and inward records.

What to watch

1. 31 October 2026: Special Campaign 6.0 is scheduled to end. Watch for ministry statements on how much e-waste was disposed of and who collected it.
2. 16 to 30 November 2026: The final evaluation phase of the campaign is planned. Ministry results may show scrap and e-waste revenue, as the Department of Commerce reported for the previous round.
3. After 30 September 2026: The extended deadline for filing FY 2025-26 e-waste returns has passed. Check the EPR portal and CPCB notices for any further extension or action on late filers.
4. No date announced: The tax inquiry is reported to be widening, and the makers' replies to the notice are not public. Further reports or notices could follow at any time.

The bottom line

The tax notice is an allegation, and the makers are yet to be heard in full. The practical lesson holds either way. Every lot of e-waste should have a weight, a date, a vehicle record, a seller receipt or invoice and a buyer invoice that all agree. A business that keeps this trail can answer a tax officer, an auditor or a buyer from its own files.