New Delhi: India is planning to levy a customs duty of 40 per cent on solar modules and 25 per cent on solar cells from April next year, to cut imports and boost local manufacturing.
India wants to ramp up its renewable capacity to 175 gigawatts by 2022 and 450 GW by 2030, from about 93 GW currently, as part of its commitment under the Paris climate accords.
In a memo the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) said the Ministry of Finance has agreed to its (MNRE) proposal to impose Basic Customs Duty on solar cells and modules.
India does not currently levy a customs duty on imports of solar cells and modules, but has a safeguard duty to protect its local industry which will expire in July.
India imports most of its solar cells and modules from China. The India government has set a target of installing 100 gigawatts of solar energy by 2022.
India is targeting ramping up its solar capacity to 280 GW by 2030-31 from about 39 GW currently, making it over a third of its overall power requirement, according to the memo.
