India initiates anti-dumping investigation against China and the US

The Indian Ministry of Commerce has initiated anti-dumping investigations against China, Malaysia, Taiwan and the US, following a complaint from the Solar Manufacturers’ Association (SMA).

As with the US-led anti-dumping investigation against China, which was resolved earlier this month, the Indian investigation is also against solar cells imported from these countries “whether or not assembled partially or fully in modules or panels’’. The period under investigation will be between 1 January 2011 and 30 June 2012.

The SMA brought this application on behalf of solar manufacturers Indosolar, Jupiter Solar Power and Websol Energy Systems. The other members include Moser Baer, Tata BP Solar, Lanco, Alpex Solar, Solar Semiconductor, Borosil, Emmvee, Vikram Solar, Waaree, Ajit Solar, Photonix, Modern Solar, HHV, Toposon, Evergreen, Euro Multivision, Goldy Green and Green Brillance.

The notification from the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping & Allied Duties Udyog Bhavan said that although there was sufficient primary evidence to initiate an investigation, the department had made efforts to garner opinion from other Indian companies, but “none of them provided the required information in the prescribed format’’, says the notification.

The Association is also asking for the imposition of retrospective duties.

Similar complaints were made by non-governmental organisation (NGO), the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), in September accusing US manufacturers of taking advantage of a loop hole in the Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). The initiative mandates a domestic content requirement, however, only for crystalline PV and not for thin film, which according to the Ministry of Commerce, is the primary source for panels in India.

In the Batch II of the National Solar Mission, where projects worth 340MW were awarded to developers through a bidding process, 76% of the modules were thin film.

Furthermore, PV-Tech can reveal that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce has confirmed receipt of this investigation.