India will introduce a 40% basic customs duty on solar modules and 25% duty on cells as of April 2022 to cut the reliance on imports and expand the country’s PV manufacturing base.
Details of India’s proposed basic customs duty (BCD) on imported solar modules and cells are expected to be announced this week, according to a report in BusinessLine.
Despite an uptick in activity in June, India added just 351MW of solar generation capacity in Q2 2020, down 64% on the previous quarter, as the industry was hit by COVID-related constraints.
India should put in place immediately a basic customs duty (BCD) of at least 50% on solar equipment to safeguard the future of local manufacturers, the chairman of trade body All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA) said.
A strong rebound of utility-scale solar installations in India is not expected until 2021, with just 2.5GW expected to be deployed in the second half of this year, research from JMK Research & Analytics has found.
The threat of a double taxation of solar in India via both safeguard and basic custom duties could squeeze developers and result in large numbers of project cancellations, consultancy Fitch Solutions has warned.
Two senior figures from Indian solar manufacturing companies have said government proposals to boost the country’s domestic PV industry through duties on imported equipment do not go far enough.
