The Government Information Center

Introduction

• The Environmental Protection Licence is a regulatory/legal requirement under the provisions of the National Environmental Act No 47 0f 1980 (NEA).
• Section 23A of NEA states that no person shall carry out any prescribed activity except under the authority of an Environmental Protection Licence. That means it is a legal authorization under certain conditions, for industries/ activities to discharge effluents, deposit wastes, emit smoke/gases/fumes/vapor or excessive noise /vibration into environment
• Industry/activity which is prescribed under parts “A” and “B” according to the Gazette Notification No: 1533/16 of 25.01.2008 has to obtain EPL from the CEA Provincial or District Offices.
• Industry/activity which is prescribed under part “C” has to obtain EPL from the respective Local Authority (LA) - Municipal Council/Urban Council/ Pradeshiya Sabha to the location of industry. The powers of the CEA with regard to issue EPL have been delegated to the Local Authorities under Section 26 of the NEA.
• Industry /activity which is registered under section 17 of the Act of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), has to obtain EPL from the BOI situated at World Trade Centre, Colombo 01.
• EPL for an industry/activity which is situated in the North Western Province has to be obtained from the North Western Provincial Environmental Authority (NWPEA) situated at Maligawa, Kurunegala. The North Western Provincial Council has its own statute and the EPL programe for industries is administered through the NWPEA.
• EPL is valid for a specific period and is renewable.

How to Apply

• Fresh EPL
• Duly filled EPL application has to be submitted to the relevant authority 01(one) month (30 days) prior to the commencement of the prescribed industry/activity.
• Renewal of EPL
• Duly filled EPL renewal application has to be submitted to the relevant authority 3 (three) month before the date of expire of the current license.

How to get an Application
Available at any office of the Central Environmental Authority (CEA) and can be downloaded from www.cea.lk. Also available at relevant Local Authorities.

Application Process

• Upon the receipt of application, inspection fee will be calculated and applicant is requested to pay the inspection fee.
• Inspection is carried out upon the receipt of inspection fee.
• If the waste generated from any industry/activity doesn’t conform to the stipulated standards and criteria by the CEA then the issue of EPL is refused. The refusal is informed to the applicant.
• When the decision of issuing EPL is made, applicant is requested to pay the License Fee.
• Once the license fee paid the Environmental Protection License will be issued.

Application Fee
Free of charge.

Office Hours
From 9.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. on any working days (weekdays). Local authorities have their own working hours.

Fees Payable

Inspection Fee:
It will depend on several factors. However minimum value is LKR 3393.60 and maximum is LKR 11312.00 with Government taxes
Inspection fee is charged only for fresh EPL.

License Fee:
Depends on the type of industry as below (Gazette Notification No: 1533/16 of 25.01.2008).

* In addition to this fee, 12%VAT,2%NBT and10% stamp fee will be added

Processing Time
2 months if everything is up to standards and all information and fees are provided on time.

Required Documents

• Certificate for the Registration of Business
• Legal authorization to use the land for the particular industrial activity. (Copy of deed, copy of the Lease agreement of the land etc.)
• Copy of Survey Plan of the land.
• Legal authorization for establishing the particular industry at the site. (Certificate of Conformity/Trade License or Consent paper from relevant LA)
• Production Certificate necessary for specific products. (Distilleries, medicinal products, pesticide manufacturing etc.)
• Proposal for pollutant abatement.
• Any other detail/document requested by the Authority

Exceptions
Industry /activity which is registered under section 17 of the Act of the Board of Investment of Sri Lanka (BOI), has to obtain EPL from the BOI situated at World Trade Centre, Colombo 01.

If the applicant fails to submit the renewal application on time, he/she has to submit a fresh EPL application instead of the EPL-Renewal application. In this circumstance inspection fee will be charged.