Six-authority battery recycling rules take effect on 1 April

China’s interim measures for collecting and processing waste EV batteries took effect on 1 April 2026. Joint Order 73 contains 50 articles covering battery production, vehicle sales, repair, swapping, collection and processing, with duties and penalties across the chain.

Battery producers must establish collection outlets in provinces where they sell batteries, excluding sales to vehicle manufacturers. Vehicle producers must provide outlets in the cities or prefectures where they sell vehicles and publish collection information.

Swapping operators, repairers and vehicle dismantlers must transfer batteries to lawful processors or producer collection outlets. Processing requires the applicable investment, environmental assessment, safety, environmental protection and discharge procedures.

A national traceability platform and battery digital identity system link records through battery codes. Reporting periods vary by event; processors have 30 days after battery receipt and 30 days after product dispatch to submit the corresponding information.

The rules prohibit using waste traction batteries, directly or after processing, in electric bicycles and other prohibited applications. They repeal the 2018 collection and traceability rules, the 2019 collection-outlet guidance and the 2021 second-life measures.