India to hike import duty on solar devices

The government is planning to enhance the tariff on solar equipment in the coming years to encourage domestic industry. Other measures aimed at giving a fillip to local production include a storage policy which would provide tax incentives to local manufacturers in the country. The industry is apprehensive that this may impact the bids for the NTPC and SECI tenders as solar IPPs (independent power producers).

At the same time, the safeguard duty (of 25%) on solar equipment would be diluted in the coming years. The duty was imposed to cushion the industry from dumping of products like solar glass and EVA sheets by China & Malaysia.