The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has proposed a set of amendments to the current End-of-Life Vehicle (ELV) Rules 2025, shifting the focus from scrapping to a comprehensive lifecycle waste management system.
In its notification of the Draft Environment Protection (End-of-Life Vehicles) Amendment Rules, 2026, the ministry has also sought bring in accountability of insurance companies and strengthen monitoring.
The draft amendments aim to expand the Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) beyond steel to include all waste streams, such as used oil, tires, batteries, e-waste, plastics, and glass. It introduces new stakeholders, such as insurance companies, into the waste management framework, increases traceability and reporting requirements and promotes the use of recycled materials, especially steel.
The proposal for amendment was made after the government received requests from various stakeholders regarding the implementation of the existing regulations. The current ELV Rules, notified on January 6, 2025, address handling, recycling, and scrapping of steel from old and unusable vehicles in an environmentally-friendly manner to support circular economy.
Broader waste management framework
The proposed amendment includes updated definitions of waste management rules which will integrate with other waste laws, including those governing plastics, batteries and e-waste. The government has also created a baseline database for future recycling targets. Producers will be required to declare vehicles sold between 2005-06 and 2024-25, along with their material composition, such as steel, tires, oil, and electronics. Furthermore, the proposed amendment has introduced a new obligation that mandates a minimum recycled content of steel in vehicles, increasing it from the current 8% of total weight to 60% by 2055. To support producers and recyclers, multiple flexible and market-based compliance pathways will be offered. If a producer fails to manage recycling properly, it will have to purchase an EPR certificate.
Producers need to get multi-waste EPR certificates for tyres, batteries, plastic and e-waste. Earlier it was only limited for steel. Stronger monitoring and accountability measures are also included, such as the regular filing of compliance reports in Form-1 and the disclosure of responsible entities.
New stakeholders: Insurance companies
The draft has introduced new clauses under 8A &8B rules to fix its responsibilities. Insurance companies will have to register on a portal to ensure that ELVs are directed to authorized scrapping facilities. This change acknowledges that many ELVs result from accidents and total loss claims for which insurance companies have not previously assumed any responsibility. The role of Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India to enforce compliance through insurance regulation has been clearly defined as an oversight entity.