CCTS offset mechanism: project registration and CCUs in India

India's Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS) has a compliance mechanism for companies with emission-intensity targets and an offset mechanism through which non-obligated entities can register approved projects that cut or remove emissions and earn carbon credit certificates (CCUs). One CCU stands for one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. VPA India takes offset projects from the first eligibility check to registration, issuance and sale.

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Who it is for

Non-obligated entities in India with projects that fit an approved methodology:

renewable power producers;
hydrogen producers using electrolysis or biogas;
industrial units that improve energy efficiency or switch fuels;
landfill and livestock-manure methane projects;
afforestation and reforestation projects, including degraded mangrove habitats.

How the offset mechanism works

Roles. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) is the Administrator, and Grid Controller of India (Grid-India) keeps the registry. Credits are issued on the recommendation of the National Steering Committee for the Indian Carbon Market.
Who can register. Indian firms only, with 1 January 2025 as the start date for project registrations.
Sectors. The procedure lists ten sectors: energy, industries, waste handling and disposal, agriculture, forestry, transport, construction, fugitive emissions, solvent use, and carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS). A project also needs a methodology approved by BEE.
Methodologies. On 13 November 2026, BEE lists nine: grid-connected renewable electricity; hydrogen from electrolysis of water; industrial energy efficiency and fuel switching; hydrogen from biogas methane; landfill methane recovery; flaring or use of landfill gas; methane recovery from livestock and manure at households and small farms; afforestation and reforestation of degraded mangrove habitats; and afforestation and reforestation of lands other than wetlands.
Audits. An accredited carbon verification agency (ACVA) validates the project, and a different ACVA verifies its results.
Exclusivity. A project cannot be registered at the same time in another carbon market or market-based mechanism, including renewable energy certificate schemes; the Green Credit Programme is the only exception.
Small projects. Several projects can be registered as a bundle, and grouped projects are allowed if their make-up stays fixed.
Trading. CCUs are tradable on power exchanges under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's 2026 regulations, and BEE has set the last Thursday of each month as the trading day.

How we work

Eligibility. We check the methodology fit, start date, additionality, regulatory surplus and exclusivity rules.
Estimate. We estimate the CCUs, the costs and the timeline.
Project design document. We write it in BEE's format, with the monitoring plan.
Validation. We support you through the ACVA's validation and help you answer its findings.
Registration. We prepare the documents for registration.
Monitoring. We set up data collection and prepare each monitoring report.
Verification and issuance. We support you through verification by a second ACVA and the issuance request.
Sale. We help you prepare for trading on the power exchanges and introduce buyers.

What you receive

An eligibility note with an estimate of CCUs
The project design document and monitoring plan
Answers to the ACVA's findings
A monitoring report for each period
Support with registration, issuance and the first sale

Track record

Since 2008 we have developed carbon credit projects in India and abroad under international programmes, and our founder is a former DOE/VVB lead auditor (SGS SA). The CCTS offset mechanism follows the same cycle of validation, registration, monitoring, verification and issuance.

Frequently asked questions

Who can earn CCUs under the offset mechanism?

Non-obligated entities – organisations without an emission-intensity target under the compliance mechanism – that register an approved project. Registration is limited to Indian firms. Companies with targets: see our CCTS compliance page.

Can a project already registered with Verra or Gold Standard join the CCTS?

Not while it stays registered there. A project cannot be registered in another carbon market or market-based mechanism at the same time; the Green Credit Programme is the only exception.

Which project types qualify?

Projects covered by one of BEE's approved methodologies – today renewable power, green hydrogen, industrial energy efficiency and fuel switching, landfill and manure methane, and afforestation and reforestation. The list can change, so we check the current one at the start.

How are CCUs sold?

On power exchanges, under the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission's 2026 regulations; BEE has set the last Thursday of each month as the trading day. We help you prepare for trading and introduce buyers.

Sources

Press Information Bureau (Ministry of Power), "Carbon Credit Trading Scheme", 05-Feb-2026 (pib.gov.in).
Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, 2023, notified 28-Jun-2023, section 2(1).
Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Approved methodologies and tools under the offset mechanism (beeindia.gov.in), read 13-Nov-2026.
BEE, Detailed Procedure for Offset Mechanism under the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme, version 1.0, effective 27-Mar-2025 (beeindia.gov.in).
Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (Terms and Conditions for Purchase and Sale of Carbon Credit Certificates) Regulations, 2026, as summarised by Climate Change Laws of the World, read 08-Nov-2026.
Energetica India, "BEE sets monthly trading schedule for carbon credit certificates", 02-Nov-2026.