Lithium-ion Battery Import License

What is a Battery?

A battery is a device that consists of one or more electrochemical cells to supply power to electronic and electrical devices such as flashlights, mobile phones, and electric cars. When a battery is connected to an external electric load, a redox reaction occurs which converts high-energy reactants to lower-energy products, and then the free-energy difference is delivered to the external circuit which results in electrical energy. The battery is specifically referred to as a device that is composed of multiple numbers of cells; however, some battery has evolved to include devices composed of a single cell.

What are the Types of Batteries?

Batteries are classified into two types i.e. primary batteries and secondary batteries.

• What are primary batteries?

Primary batteries are the batteries that are designed to be used until exhaustion of energy then they are discarded. Their chemical reactions are generally not reversible. That is why, they cannot be recharged. When the supply of reactants in the battery is exhausted, the battery stops producing current and the battery becomes useless.  Examples of primary batteries are zinc-carbon batteries and alkaline batteries.

• What are secondary batteries?

Secondary batteries are the batteries that can be recharged. So, their chemical reactions can be reversed by supplying electric current to the cell. This leads to the re-generation of the original chemical reactants.  So, they can be recharged and used again a number of times. Some examples of secondary batteries are lead-acid batteries and lithium-ion batteries.

• What is Lithium-ion Battery?

A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery or in other words, it is a type of secondary battery.  Lithium-ion batteries are rechargeable batteries that are characterized by very high-power densities. Such batteries have become very common for everyday electronic products such as cell phones, electric vehicles, etc. These batteries are used for military purposes, batteries in electric vehicles, and also in aerospace applications.

Origin of Imports

The manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries in India is not sufficient to fulfill the demand, so India needs to import them from foreign countries. India imports Li-ion batteries from China, Japan, and South Korea. India is among the largest importers of lithium-ion batteries in the world.

Import of Lithium-ion Batteries

Import of lithium-ion Batteries requires authorization from the concerned State Pollution Control Board/ Central Pollution Control Board & MoEF (Ministry of Environment & Forest).

An application that is complete in all respects along with documents can be submitted to the concerned pollution Board for authorization.

After Scrutinizing the documents by the Board, the Board issues the authorization certificate in the name of the Unit.

These are the following advantages of lithium-ion batteries:

• Maintenance: Unlike lead-acid batteries with water levels that need to be monitored, lithium-ion batteries do not need to be watered. This reduces the maintenance needed to keep the batteries operational.
• Life span: The average lithium-ion battery life span for a large-capacity battery pack can be nine years or more than nine years.
• Easy & Fast Charging:  Lithium batteries can be charged at a very fast speed. Fast-charging lithium-ion batteries means less downtime for a machine. 
• Safer Facilities: Lithium-ion batteries improve indoor air quality and reduce the risk of accidents by eliminating exposure to flammable fuels and battery acids.
• Environmental Impact: Lithium-ion batteries provide many environmental benefits in comparison to other fossil fuel alternatives. With the increase in the number of electric vehicles, we are observing an immediate impact in the reduction of carbon emissions, which is good for the environment because the emission of carbon adversely affects the environment.

• PAN Card
• Aadhaar card
• GST Certificate
• IEC
• Rental agreement or ownership documents
• Quantity of Batteries imported

The following procedure shall be followed for the grant of certificate to importers of new lead-acid batteries:

• An applicant shall apply for the grant of registration through online web-portal www.cpcbbrms.nic.in
• After submission of the online application, the applicant shall also submit a physical copy of the application on their letterhead, enclosing the following documents;
• Printouts of Form II and Form III taken out from the online application with their stamp and signature on the same.
• Self-attested copy of Import-Export certificate
• The complete application will be processed within 7 days from receipt of a physical copy.
• Registration will be issued only at the corporate address or branch address specified on the IEC certificate.
• In charge, HWM Division will grant the registration to importers of new lead acid batteries.
• The importer registered earlier by MoEF & CC desirous to get registered with CPCB, may apply for the same as above. However, they shall surrender the original registration certificate issued by MoEF & CC along with their application.