India import compliance calendar, November 2026 to October 2027: returns, renewals, fees and QCO deadlines month by month

An importer of electronics, appliances or packaged goods has five regular cycles: EPR returns to CPCB, the yearly IEC update with DGFT, BIS licence fees and renewals, BEE label fees if it sells star-labelled appliances, and Legal Metrology's new annual update. On top of those sit one-off Quality Control Order start dates. BIS's list of upcoming QCOs, updated 30 October 2026, had 30 entries due between 6 November 2026 and 1 May 2027^[9].

This calendar puts all of them on one timeline from November 2026 to October 2027. The month-by-month table comes first, then a section per regime explaining each date. Dates that are fixed in a rule are shown as dates; dates that depend on your own licence (renewals, validity) are shown as 'X months before validity'. Work those out with the licence renewal date tool.

Where a date has been extended, we show the current one and say so. Extensions are common: CPCB's battery return deadline has been pushed out three years running^[4][12][13]. For one-off rule changes rather than recurring dates, see new rules 2026 and the QCO tracker.

Rows are in date order. 'All year' tasks are listed in the sections below the table. E-waste quarterly dates are worked out from the rule that returns are due by the end of the month after the quarter^[1]; BEE quarterly dates from the rule that fees are paid within thirty days of quarter end^[6].

E-waste producers, which include importers of electrical and electronic equipment, file quarterly and annual returns on CPCB's portal by the end of the month following the quarter or year they cover^[1]. Producers must register, meet their targets and file those returns^[1], and they meet targets only by buying EPR certificates from registered recyclers and submitting them through the quarterly return^[1].

On that wording, the October-December return is due by 31 January, January-March by 30 April, April-June by 31 July and July-September by 31 October. The annual return also falls a month after the year on the same wording; CPCB practice and any relaxation order should be checked each year, because rule 9A lets the government relax any return deadline by up to nine months^[34].

There is also a Rs 5,000 annual maintenance charge on the portal^[35], and registration renewal must be applied for 120 days before the five-year registration expires^[35]. Missing a return draws environmental compensation of Rs 20,000 for a first default^[36]. Full detail: EPR annual returns and e-waste EPR.

Both are due by 30 June for the previous financial year. Plastic packaging importers (PIBOs) file the annual return on plastic waste collected and processed by 30 June^[2], and pay 25% of the application fee as an annual processing fee when they file^[37]. Late filing triggers a notice after 5 days, then environmental compensation of Rs 5,000 for the next 5 days and Rs 10,000 for the following 10^[38].

Battery producers file two things by 30 June: Form 1(C) with the quantity and weight of batteries placed on the market in the previous year^[31], and the Form 3 annual return on batteries collected and recycled^[3]. The FY 2025-26 annual return has been extended to 30 November 2026 by an OM of 27 August 2026^[4], which is the nearest EPR date on this calendar.

Plastic registration renewal needs all annual returns filed and must be applied for four months before expiry^[37]. See plastic EPR, battery EPR and the CPCB EPR portal guide.

Every IEC holder must update its details on the DGFT portal each year between April and June, and confirm online even if nothing has changed^[5]. The update is free^[39] and is auto-approved on submission in most cases^[40].

If you miss it, the IEC is de-activated until you update it^[5], and a de-activated IEC stops imports at the port. Changes to address, constitution or bank details must be updated within 30 days of the change, not just in the annual window^[41].

Put 1 April and 15 June in the diary: the first to file early, the second as a last check. See the IEC code guide and DGFT portal guide.

Under the 2026 CRS rules a licence runs up to five years, with fees paid every year in advance^[42]: Rs 25,000 processing and Rs 1,000 licence fee a year, before GST^[43]. If the annual fee and production statement are not received by the due date, the licence stands suspended for 90 days; paying with a Rs 5,000 late fee in that window lifts it, otherwise it is cancelled^[43]. The due date is tied to your grant date, so it differs for every licence.

Renewal should be applied for three months before validity^[7]. After validity you have 90 days, with a Rs 5,000 late fee^[7], and you may not mark or dispatch goods after the validity date until renewed^[7].

Surveillance has its own short clocks when an R-number is picked: 10 working days for documents and 15 working days to pay^[44][45]. See CRS renewal and CRS surveillance.

ISI (Scheme-I) licensees have quarterly and yearly tasks. Since 25 February 2026 a licence runs up to five years with fees paid in advance every year before the due date, and a missed yearly fee triggers the same 90-day suspension as CRS^[43]. Month-wise production and consignee details go on the portal every quarter^[46]. A CA-certified production statement for the actual marking fee covers the first nine months in year one, then the last three months of the previous year plus the first nine of the current one^[47].

Renewal is filed in Form XII, preferably two months before validity^[8], with the self-compliance report^[48]. Miss it and the licence is deferred for up to 90 days with a Rs 5,000 late fee, then expires^[49]. A request to keep a licence dormant must reach BIS 30 days before validity^[50].

Fixed dates this year: concurrent running of the old and new IS 302 (Part 1) ends 23 February 2027^[26], and the MSE marking-fee concession runs until 31 May 2029^[51]. Details: ISI renewal and ISI fees.

BEE permittees pay label fees every quarter within thirty days of the quarter end, with a production statement, and file a CA-certified reconciliation within two months of the financial year end^[6]. That gives due dates of 30 July, 30 October, 30 January and 30 April, and 31 May for the reconciliation. The authorised sellers list is due by 30 April^[6].

Label permissions last three years and must be renewed before expiry^[6]. Star tables have their own end dates: the side-by-side refrigerator and pedestal fan tables end on 31 December 2026^[15][16], split AC tables on 31 December 2027^[52], and colour TV tables on 31 December 2027^[53].

From 1 January 2027 induction hobs become mandatory^[10], and from 1 April 2027 label fees are to be prepaid when QR codes are requested, if the portal is ready^[6]. See BEE fees and BEE products.

LMPC registration itself no longer needs renewing: since 29 May 2026 certificates stay valid until cancelled^[54]. In its place is an annual update. A 2026 proviso to rule 27(3) requires companies and firms to update their details yearly on the portal, including products, the numbers imported in the previous year and country of origin^[54]. The research note on that rule records that the portal function was reported as not yet active in June 2026, so no due date has been fixed yet.

New importers must register within ninety days of starting^[55], and any change to the certificate costs Rs 100^[55]. Breaching the Packaged Commodities Rules now carries a penalty up to Rs 5 lakh^[56], so a missed update is not trivial.

One fixed date sits in this window: from 1 July 2027 e-commerce platforms must give imported products a searchable country-of-origin filter^[11], which means sellers must supply accurate origin data before then. See LMPC penalties and LMPC label rules.

BIS's upcoming list had 30 entries due between 6 November 2026 and 1 May 2027^[9]. The ones most relevant to importers of consumer goods are below; the full list is in the QCO tracker, and the QCO deadline checker looks up a product.

For imported goods, the date the consignment lands decides whether a CRS deadline applies; goods landing on or after the due date must comply^[57]. Book shipments with that in mind.

Several temporary reliefs expire, and importers relying on them need a plan before the date.

• 31 December 2026: self-certification for SPV inverters above 200 kW, unless MNRE orders otherwise earlier^[17]. See solar inverters.
• 31 March 2027: the hermetic compressor relief for AC and refrigerator makers, capped by type at 30% to 100% of FY 2024-25 imports^[27], and the IS 14650 stainless steel exemption for 162 grades^[28]. See steel QCO.
• 15 February 2027: concurrent running of the 2016 and 2023 editions of IS/IEC 61730 for solar panels ends^[25].
• 31 July 2027: the extended window for selling old footwear stock^[33].

Relief dates have often been extended at the last moment, but planning on an extension is a gamble. If your supply chain depends on one of these reliefs, place orders so goods land before the end date, or start certification now so the relief is no longer needed.

Seen as a cycle rather than a list, the year bunches into four peaks. The table assumes an electronics importer with e-waste EPR, a CRS licence via its supplier, LMPC registration and an IEC.

Some dates are not on any public calendar because they run from your own grant or registration date. Work them out once and add them to the same diary.

The cost of a miss varies a lot by regime, which is a useful way to rank where to spend attention.

Often enough to watch for, not often enough to rely on. Battery annual returns are the clearest case: FY 2023-24 returns were extended to 31 December 2024 and then 31 March 2025^[13], FY 2024-25 to 30 September 2025^[12], and FY 2025-26 to 30 November 2026^[4]. Both battery and e-waste rules allow relaxation by up to nine months^[31][34].

CRS and QCO dates move too: the TV standard was deferred to 26 January 2027^[61] and standalone HDDs to 1 May 2027^[30]. We update this calendar when an extension is notified; the new rules 2026 ledger records each change with its date.

Not every importer has every date. A rough guide: if you import any electrical or electronic equipment, the e-waste EPR dates apply^[1]; if your goods come in plastic packaging, plastic EPR^[2]; if they contain batteries, battery EPR^[31]. Every importer has the IEC update^[5], and every importer of retail packaged goods has LMPC^[55].

BIS dates apply if you hold a licence or import a product under a QCO; BEE dates if you sell a star-labelled appliance. Use the approval checker or the HS code approval finder to see which regimes cover your products, and the first-time importers guide for the order to set them up in. For a reviewed list for your business, ask for our free compliance check.