India: E-waste disclosure exemptions for solar panels and medical devices
In a press release issued in March 2022, the government said, “The mission would put forward specific strategy for the short term (four years), and broad strokes principles for long term (10 years and beyond).”
On 30 January 2023 the Ministry of India notified a new amendment regarding the exemptions for solar panels and medical devices.
The notification stated that companies producing solar panels and medical devices are exempted from the requirements of the E-waste (management) Amendment Rules 2023 which is to come into force on 1 April 2023. The E-waste (management) Amendment Rules 2023 mean that the manufacturers, sellers or importers of solar panels and related equipment and medical devices will no longer be required to provide information about the amount of restricted hazardous substance in their products for the user documents. They will however be required to perform conformity assessments, retain that information and submit it to India’s Central Pollution Control Board upon request.
Furthermore, the following substances will still be allowed for use:
- Cadmium and lead in solar panels/cells, photovoltaic panels/cells/modules
- Lead in medical devices (except for implanted and infected products)
