Audits & Advisory

The annual Environmental Statement in Form V under Rule 14 of the EP Rules, 1986 is mandatory for every unit that needs consent under the Water or Air Act or authorization under the hazardous waste rules. A full third-party audit is not itself mandated by central law (some states, such as Gujarat, have scheme-based mandatory audits for certain categories), but it is the only reliable way to populate Form V accurately and to prepare for inspections.

An environmental audit focuses on pollution-control performance and the Form V statement. An EHS compliance audit is wider: it covers environment, occupational health and safety, hazardous chemicals, fire and statutory licences across all regulators, and it is organised around a legal register so that nothing applicable is missed. Many clients do both — the environmental audit annually and the EHS audit before renewals, transactions or customer audits.

A Phase I Environmental Site Assessment is a non-intrusive review of records, interviews and site inspection to identify recognised environmental conditions — potential contamination or liabilities. A Phase II involves intrusive investigation such as soil borings, groundwater monitoring wells and laboratory analysis to confirm whether contamination exists and estimate its extent and remediation cost. Phase II is triggered only where Phase I finds credible indications.

The 2020 guidelines require industries, infrastructure and mining projects abstracting groundwater above specified daily quantities (which vary with the stress category of the assessment unit) to conduct annual water audits through auditors certified by recognised bodies such as CII, FICCI or NPC, submit the reports and reduce groundwater use by the stipulated percentage within a set period. We confirm the exact thresholds and obligations applicable to your NOC.

The Central Government notifies energy-intensive industries and establishments as Designated Consumers under the Energy Conservation Act based on annual energy consumption thresholds for each sector — for example, specified tonnes of oil equivalent per year for cement, steel, textiles, pulp and paper, and connected load thresholds for commercial buildings. Designated Consumers must appoint a certified energy manager, conduct mandatory energy audits through accredited auditors, file annual returns and meet PAT targets.

The base retainer covers the obligation register and calendar, preparation and filing of all routine returns and reports (Form V, hazardous waste returns, EPR filings, EC compliance reports and similar), coordination of monitoring, inspection support and unlimited advisory calls on compliance questions. New applications such as consent renewals, EPR registrations or amendments are quoted separately at preferential rates, and government fees are always extra.