CSR Rules for Tree Plantation in India (2026 Guide)

Last reviewed: October 2026. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice. Check the current rules with your company secretary.

Which companies must spend on CSR

Under Section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013, a company must spend on CSR if, in the immediately preceding financial year, it had any one of:

• net worth of ₹500 crore or more
• turnover of ₹1,000 crore or more
• net profit of ₹5 crore or more

The company must spend at least 2% of its average net profit of the three immediately preceding financial years. If the obligation is ₹50 lakh or less, the board can run CSR itself; above that, a CSR committee of the board is required.

Is tree plantation allowed under Schedule VII?

Yes. Schedule VII lists the activities CSR money can be spent on. Item (iv) covers ensuring environmental sustainability, ecological balance, protection of flora and fauna, agroforestry, conservation of natural resources and maintaining the quality of soil, air and water. Plantation programmes that fit here include:

• Miyawaki forests: dense native forests on small urban plots
• Agroforestry: fruit and timber trees on farmers' land
• Mangrove restoration on degraded coastal land
• Urban forests and green belts
• Lake and pond restoration, which conserve water and soil

What does not count as CSR

• Activities in the company's normal course of business
• Activities that benefit only the company's employees and their families
• Sponsorships and events whose main purpose is marketing the company's products or services
• Contributions to political parties
• Activities required by any other law, such as plantation mandated under environmental clearances

So an employee plantation day can be part of a CSR project when the trees benefit the public or community. The event costs that benefit only employees should not be booked as CSR.

Who can implement a CSR plantation project

A company can run the project itself or through an implementing agency: a Section 8 company, registered trust or registered society. Implementing agencies must be registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs by filing Form CSR-1, which gives them a CSR registration number. Ask for this number before you sign.

Key rules for spending and reporting

• Annual action plan: The board approves the year's CSR projects, budgets, timelines and implementing agencies.
• Ongoing projects: A multi-year project, such as planting with three years of care, can be approved as an ongoing project lasting up to three years beyond the year it starts.
• Unspent money, ongoing projects: Transfer it within 30 days of the financial year's end to an Unspent CSR Account and spend it within the next three financial years.
• Unspent money, other projects: Transfer it to a fund listed in Schedule VII within six months of the financial year's end.
• Administrative overheads: Capped at 5% of the year's total CSR spend.
• Impact assessment: Required, through an independent agency, if the company's average CSR obligation over the last three years is ₹10 crore or more, for projects of ₹1 crore or more completed at least a year earlier.
• CFO certification: The CFO certifies that CSR funds were disbursed and used for the approved purposes. Implementing agencies support this with utilisation certificates and project reports.
• Disclosure: The CSR policy and projects go on the company website, and the annual CSR report is filed with the annual return (Form CSR-2).

What good evidence looks like for tree plantation

Auditors and boards increasingly ask for proof that trees were planted and are surviving, not only invoices. Strong evidence includes:

• a utilisation certificate from the implementing agency
• geo-tagged photos of every tree or plot, with planting dates
• survival checks through the care period
• site maps and, for larger projects, satellite views

How Grow Billion Trees runs CSR plantation projects

We plan and run CSR plantation programmes for companies across 14 states, from site selection and species choice to three years of care. Every tree is geo-tagged and tracked on our GreenTrack platform, which gives your team, board and auditors the records they need. 85% of trees survive across our programmes. See CSR tree plantation or talk to our team.

Official sources

• Ministry of Corporate Affairs: Companies Act, 2013 and CSR Rules
• National CSR Portal

Companies in India spent ₹40,794 Cr on CSR in FY 2024-25 (provisional), and ₹4,491 Cr of it, 11.0%, went to environment-related causes, according to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' National CSR Portal. See CSR spending in India by sector and state.