Decide what you will make, because packaging is several businesses. Corrugated boxes are the easiest start: making boxes from bought kraft paper without a boiler is in the White pollution category, boxes now carry 5% GST while kraft paper carries 18% (so refunds of unused credit are part of the business), and PMEGP subsidises 15 to 35% of a manufacturing project up to Rs 50 lakh. Flexible plastic packaging is heavier: a converter counts as a producer under the Plastic Waste Management Rules and must register for Extended Producer Responsibility on the CPCB portal, rotogravure printing puts the unit in the Orange category, solvent storage needs a PESO licence, and plastic pouches and film carry 18% GST. Either way you need GST, Udyam and a trade licence, and factory registration once you cross 20 workers with power. Win two or three local brands as anchor buyers before you buy machines. What kills most packaging units is working capital: paper prices swing and big buyers pay late.
A July 2026 guide to corrugated boxes: boxes fell to 5% GST under GST 2.0 while kraft paper rose to 18%, making refunds of unused credit part of the business model; box-making from bought paper without a boiler is White category; BIS is voluntary and PMEGP fits smaller plants.
A September 2026 guide to plastic pouches and laminates: multilayer packaging is not banned, a converter is a Producer with EPR obligations, rotogravure printing pushes the unit to Orange category, solvent storage needs a PESO licence, and plastic packaging carries 18% GST.
CPCB's portal for registration and annual filings under Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging, used by producers, importers and brand owners.
The government's own summary of PMEGP, the credit-linked subsidy for new micro enterprises run by KVIC: the subsidy is 15% of project cost in cities and 25% in villages for general applicants, and 25% and 35% for special categories, on projects up to Rs 50 lakh in manufacturing and Rs 20 lakh in services.
A tighter second read that makes the "register early" case concrete: it lists 12 scenarios that force registration regardless of turnover and states plainly that below-threshold businesses register voluntarily to unlock input tax credit and to look credible. It also names the documents you need (PAN, ID proof, digital signature) so you know what to gather before you start.
