Union finance minister Ms Nirmala Sitharaman, in a meeting on January 6, 2022, with a delegation of solar power-centric industry associations assured that basic customs duty (BCD) on imported solar modules will be implemented effective from April 1, 2022, as already envisaged.
The industry associations represented at the meeting included North India Module Manufacturers Association (NIMMA), Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA), and All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA)
The delegation flagged their concerns regarding manufacturing units that are on the verge of closing owing to the current duty-free window on solar panels and solar cells from China and other countries. They also appealed to her to exempt the module and cell line plant and machinery from import duty.
The associations have also requested that a notification regarding this be brought in the upcoming union budget
Also read: Solar Energy Can Accelerate Economic Revival: AISIA
According to Manish Gupta, President, NIMMA, “The meeting with the minister was promising as she recognized that the industry will require policy assistance to grow and achieve its full potential. Implementation of BCD will bring relief to the domestic manufacturing industry. We hope that additional measures to address supply-chain gaps will be considered. Further, this is the peak time for developers to purchase modules, and I request them to promote the government’s Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative and install Indian modules.”
Expressing his views on the positive development, Bharat Bhut, Cofounder & Director, Goldi Solar, said, “We appreciate the government’s move to implement BCD on schedule. It is a boon for Indian module manufacturers who have been facing stiff price competition from imported modules. Goldi Solar has also increased its annual module manufacturing capacity to 2.5 GW and plans to expand it to 5 GW to align with the Indian Government’s vision in becoming energy-independent with Made in India modules.”
NIMMA was set up in October 2017 to promote, and act as the industry voice of, small and medium solar PV module manufacturers.
