India’s Supreme Court allows imposition of 25% duty on solar imports – reports

In a significant move, which will greatly impact India’s solar industry, the country’s Supreme Court has reportedly given the go-ahead for the government to impose 25% safeguard duties on imports of PV cells and modules. The levy will be effective July 30, 2018.

September 10, 2018 Preeti Verma Lal

The new ruling of the Supreme Court nullifies the stay order.

Image: Yann Forget, Wikimedia Commons

The decision is an interim order issued by the Supreme Court, according to BloombergQuint. The next hearing is scheduled for October.

This major ruling puts an end to all uncertainty surrounding the 25% safeguard duty, recommended earlier this year by the Directorate of Trade Remedies (DGTR).

The two-year phased-duty was ratified by the Ministry of Finance on July 30. However, the order was later temporarily halted, after the Odisha High Court issued a stay order on the imposition of the duty until August 20, following a petition from Acme Solar Holdings opposing it.

The new ruling of the Supreme Court nullifies the stay order.

With July 30, 2018, as the effective date of the duty imposition, the developers which had their solar module shipments released by providing bonds, will now have to pay the duties.

India’s import of cells has jumped from 1,275 MW in 2014-15, to 9,790 MW in 2017-18. Exports from China and Malaysia account for nearly 90% of the total inbound shipments to the country. India, meanwhile, produced 842 MW solar cells in 2017-18.

In its report, the DGTR concluded that the increased imports of solar cells in India have caused ‘serious injury’ and ‘threaten to cause serious injury’ to the domestic producers.

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