Monday, June 23, 2014: Import duties in solar equipment imports is surely a cause of concern for the Indian solar power manufacturers. According to ACME Group, if the duties are imposed by the Indian government, it may lead to closure of planned and contracted projects worth 3,500 megawatts.
Speaking about the analysis, Manoj Upadhyay, founder of the group, said, “Most projects will get affected because they didn’t plan for this. He said that if the duties are imposed, solar energy will no longer will economical.
The import duties on solar equipment imports may also result in cancellation of agreements by state government in Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The projects in these states are worth 1,500 megawatts in capacity.
The contracts with the state governments allow the project owners to request that the extra cost of the taxes is passed on to the consumers. It is most likely that the governments may not accept the proposal, leading to abondon of the projects in these states, Upadhyay said.
It is noteworthy that the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has recommended anti-dumping duties between 11 – 81 cents per watt on U.S., Chinese, Malaysian and Taiwanese solar imports. The Ministry of Finance has time until 22 August 22 to implement the duties.
