Late or inaccurate emissions returns

Emissions returns and your responsibilities

An emissions return is a report about the changes in carbon stored in forest land over time. They are required if you registered with post-1989 forest land in the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). Emissions returns are due at the end of each mandatory emissions return period, and when certain situations change, for example when selling ETS forest land or after changes to registered forestry rights or registered leases. Emissions returns are also usually required if you deforest pre-1990 forest land.

When you submit an emissions return, it contains your assessment of the number of New Zealand Units (NZUs or units) you earned or that you must pay (surrender).

Find out about emissions returns due at the end of mandatory emissions returns periods (MERPs)

Submitting emissions returns when certain situations change

You are responsible for ensuring that:

you submit the return on time
the information in your emissions returns is accurate.

Late emissions returns

We will send you a reminder if you are late in filing your return. We will give you a further 20 working days to submit it. If you submit your return within this time and it is correct, no penalty will apply.

If you don't meet the extended deadline, you may incur a penalty. We will take your circumstances into account before charging a penalty.

Penalties for late emissions returns and how they are calculated

You may also receive an infringement notice and be charged a fee if you don’t submit an emissions return on time.

Find out more about infringement offences

Asking for more time to submit an emissions return

If you cannot submit your emissions return on time, you can ask us for an extension. We can extend the due date by up to 20 working days if:

you request this before the return is due, and
you can show to our satisfaction why you are unable to submit the return on time.

You, or your ETS representative, must use the form below to ask for more time. You must explain why you are asking for an extension of time.

Ask for more time to submit an emissions return [PDF, 320 KB]

Upload the form to the online system, Tupu-ake.

Access Tupu-ake – Forestry ETS online services

There is a fee for this service.

Find out the current fee for requesting an extension for an emissions return

We may contact you to ask for more information. We may decline your request if:

you do not supply a reason why you are unable to submit the return on time
any requested information doesn’t reach us by the due date for the emissions return
we aren’t satisfied that you are unable to submit the return on time.

We cannot consider requests received after the due date for the emissions return.

Note: If we give you an extension to the deadline, the deadline to complete your calculations using the ETS online system, Tupu-ake, will also be extended. This will be 7 days before the new deadline.

If we find an error in your emissions return

Make sure your emissions return is accurate when you submit it. If we process your return, it does not mean that it has been accepted as correct. We may correct an emissions return later, if we find an error.

If we find a potential error in your emissions return, we may contact you to ask for more information. We may correct your return if there is an error and give you notice we did this (this is known as an "amendment to an emissions return" in the ETS legislation).

If the corrected return shows that you owe units

You must pay (surrender) these within 60 working days of receiving our notice.
You will also be responsible for paying any infringements fees and penalties in addition to the units you must surrender.

If the corrected return shows that you received too few units

The Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) will transfer the additional units to your New Zealand Emissions Trading Register (NZETR) holding account.
You will also be responsible for paying any penalties associated with submitting an incorrect emissions return.

If the corrected return shows that you have paid too many units

You will be reimbursed units within 20 working days. The registrar will transfer the units into your holding account.
You will also be responsible for paying any penalties associated with submitting an incorrect emissions return.

Requesting a review of our decision to correct an emissions return

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of our decision to correct an emissions return, you may ask us to review our decision. This is a formal process covered by section 144 of the Climate Change Response Act 2002. You must:

make this request within 20 working days of receiving the decision, or within any further period that we allow
explain why you believe the original decision should be reviewed.

Details about how to request a review will be included with the notice explaining that the emissions return was amended.

You may also request a review of, and appeal, infringement and penalty decisions related to the amended emissions return.

When we review the decision, we may ask you for more information (other than any information already supplied). We can also use any other relevant information that we hold, as long as we give you notice about this. You will be given a chance to comment or object to our information. We will take into account any relevant information that you provide to us.

Even if we accept a review request, the original decision is still valid while the request is with us and under review. This means that any obligation from the original decision still stands, even while it is under review. For example, obligations to surrender units within 60 working days or to pay a penalty incurred.

Collect and keep records of the information in your emissions returns

You must keep records of the data and information used in your emissions return.

From 2023 onwards, our online ETS system, Tupu-ake, can calculate your return, so we will hold the record of your calculations.

You will still be able to complete the calculations manually in Tupu-ake. If you calculate your return manually, you must keep adequate records.

The regulations for forestry in the ETS on the NZ Legislation website give more detail about what records you need to keep (Climate Change (Forestry) Regulations 2022):

If you don’t keep accurate records that are sufficient to verify your return, or don’t provide these when asked, you may receive an infringement notice and fee.

You may also receive a separate fine if you don’t have a reasonable excuse for failing to:

provide information or documentation to an enforcement officer when required
meet an enforcement officer at a time and place specified by the notice.

If you are convicted of this offence, you could receive a fine of up to:

$12,000 for individuals
$24,000 for bodies corporate.

For details about the requirements for collecting and keeping records for the ETS

Learn more about infringement offences

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