Government May Defer Duty on Solar Equipment
The government is mulling delaying the imposition of customs duty on imported solar equipment or allowing extension of deadline for completion of domestic solar projects which are facing supply uncertainties from vendors in China, power and renewable energy minister RK Singh said. Domestic solar companies allege that Chinese companies are taking advantage of the proposed 40% customs duty on solar equipment from April next year, making Indian firms pay more than 1.5 times of the originally signed contract. Equipment supply from China also remains uncertain as the Chinese government has imposed severe power cuts on its industries, leading to abrupt increase in solar panels cost and retraction of signed binding contract, they said. Rising prices of commodities such as polysilicon, copper, steel, aluminum, silver and increased sea freight had led to solar equipment prices rising to a record high earlier this year. The contracts for upcoming solar power plants do not have provision for price variation, and any increase in the cost of inputs will have to be borne by the companies. As per the contracts, change in price can only be allowed when there is a change in law or force majeure. Solar power project developers have written to the renewable energy ministry seeking extension of the duty deadline by a year. They said extension of BCD imposition by at least one year will be a “win-win situation as domestic manufacturing will come up and Indian solar developers won’t have to depend on Chinese imports.
Tags : ALLIED Government Solar Equipment Solar Power Plant Custom Duty Power and Renewable Energy Commodities Indian Solar Developers