India Solar – Government decides not to impose Anti-Dumping Duties : NDTV

5 Comments / Policy, Solar, Solar PV / By

There is no official word yet, but NDTV has reported that the government has decided to put off the anti-dumping duties on imported solar modules . More details awaited.
According to the news article, the decision was taken after a last minute meeting between the Finance Minister, Commerce & Industry Minister and the Minister for New and Renewable Energy. The lobbying “for” and “against” imposition of anti-dumping duties(ADD) had been heavy, with the Assocham and the developers batting against the ADD and the Manufacturers pleading for the imposition of ADD. A whitepaper released by KPMG on behalf of the manufacturers favoured the imposition of ADD. (More here). On the other hand, First Solar, one of the manufacturers against whom ADD was recommended, challenged the ADD in the court.
But with the MNRE taking a very clear stand against imposition of the ADD, well supported by powerful Ministers like Nitin Gadkari, the proponents of ADD had a tough task at hand, and ultimately could not swing the decision in their favour.
Does this mean end of the road for Indian PV manufacturers? Absolutely not. The global PV demand-supply situation is changing, and Bloomberg has reported that the industry is facing a module shortage(more here). The US based SolarCity has entered into PV manufacturing and has announced its intentions to build a GW factory precisely because of the expected shortages. Elon Musk of Tesla fame, and one of the promoters of SolarCity, had this to say “ “If we don’t do this(manufacturer PV modules), we felt that there was risk of not being able to have the solar panels that we need to expand the business in the long term,”. (Read here). 
Given the changing global scenario, Indian manufacturers do have a great opportunity opening up, despite the disadvantages of lack of scale or vertical integration. (The anti-dumping duties against Chinese modules in the USA and EU is also an opportunity for Indian manufacturers in exporting to those markets)
The NDTV article can be read here.

5 thoughts on “India Solar – Government decides not to impose Anti-Dumping Duties : NDTV”

  1. pbajaj

    very surprising only NDTV has carried this article, and hopefully if true, the final notification does not come with riders/limitations on the imports (some set-off recommended by Commerce/Industry ministry earlier).

    1. Madhavan Nampoothiri

      I am also a bit perplexed that even 2 days after this story appeared, no other media outlet has reported on this subject. It is a wait and watch till the official notification is released.

  2. ashish

    If the decision is not to impose anti umping duty, then no official notification would be issued by the Government. This is because as per the law, the recommendation of the DGAD in the form of final findings is only valid till 90 days from the date of its issuance. If no anti dumping duty is levied during the 90 day period, the final finding automatically lapses.

  3. amarjeet singh

    solarcity example need further detailing as the shortage might be due to discouraging Chinese import of solar modules and promotion of US based solar module manufacturing n getting grants from US govt. just like First Solar doing. the same might have happened if ADD would have come.

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