The Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), on November 24, 2025, has issued revised directions regarding the refund of consent fees under various Consent to Establish (CTE) and Consent to Operate (CTO) applications. This amendment has been made in continuation of its earlier Circular dated October 11, 2023, and in compliance with the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) directions issued under Section 18(1)(b) of the Water Act, 1974 and the Air Act, 1981 concerning harmonised classification of industries.
KSPCB has clarified the refund mechanism when a project is voluntarily dropped by the entrepreneur. For CTE or CTE-Renewal applications under process, one year’s fee may be retained and the balance refunded; if consent has already been issued, the fee corresponding to the remaining consent period shall be refunded. For CTO applications of projects dropped before commencing operations, the same refund logic applies, whereas no refund is allowed for CTO-Renewal cases.
Further, for units re-classified as White category or exempted from consent requirements, the Board will retain either one year’s fee or the fee corresponding to the period from issue of consent to its revocation—whichever is higher. Refunds will be processed only after revocation of the earlier consent, if issued, and shall strictly comply with this Circular.
[Notification No. KSPCB/1428/2023-SEE-1]
