Indian solar manufacturers are divided in their reactions to the Directorate General of Safeguards’ recommendation of imposing provisional 70 percent safeguard duty on the import of solar cells for 200 days.
While a section of Indian solar manufacturers welcome the proposal, some say that the levy will badly impact solar manufacturers operating out of Special Economic Zones (SEZ) across India.
According to ETTelecom, Hitesh Doshi, chairman and managing director, Waaree Group, one of India’s largest solar module manufacturers which has a 500 MW module manufacturing plant in Surat, said that the proposed duty would boost solar cell and module manufacturers and help protect the industry from the long-standing challenge faced due to dumping.
Chinese solar modules are 8-10 percent cheaper than their Indian counterparts. India imported about $3.2 billion worth of solar photovoltaic cells in FY17, 36 percent more than in FY16. Of this, 88 percent and 7 percent were imported from China and Malaysia, respectively.
