Solar Industry Body Says Import Obligation on Solar Panels will Hurt Makers

India has 3.1 GW of the introduced limit of solar cells out of which 2 GW is arranged in SEZs.

All India Solar Industries Association (AISIA), the industry assemblage of local solar power producers, today said it is against inconvenience of any sweeping protection obligation on import of solar panels and cells referring to worries over the conceivable negative effect of such out of here local solar plant developers working in Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The business body offered for a particular against dumping obligation on imports from China.

Gyanesh Chaudhary, General Secretary of All India Solar Industries said, “The SEZ units are treated on par with foreign manufacturers and hence any Safeguard duty will be detrimental to the Indian solar industry as a whole.” AISIA is a 15-member association based in Mumbai.

He included, India has 3.1 GW of the introduced limit of solar cells out of which 2 GW is arranged in SEZs. Additionally, of the 8.3 GW of sunlight based module producing offices, 3.8 GW is arranged in SEZs. “Thus, the indigenous fabricates arranged in SEZs will go under the ambit of any sweeping obligation that will be forced on solar cells and modules which will make them uncompetitive,” Chaudhary said in an announcement.

Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD) had in December started a Safeguard examination on solar cells on an objection recorded by sun oriented delegate body Indian Solar Manufacturers Association (ISMA) for the benefit of five makers – Mundra Solar PV, Jupiter Solar Power Limited, Indosolar Limited, Websol Energy Systems Limited and Helios Photo Voltaic Limited.

“The purpose of imposing Safeguard Duty should be to protect the domestic industry from goods which are being dumped at below market prices, but in case of domestic manufacturers situated in SEZs, the levy yields counterproductive results,” Chaudhary added.

The DGAD had said in a December warning: “The application has been analyzed and it has been discovered that by all appearances the expanded imports of the PUC have caused and are debilitating to make genuine damage the local business of items that resemble and straightforwardly aggressive to the PUC. As needs be, it has been chosen to start an examination through the issue of this Notice.”

Under the World Trade Organization system, apart nation can force a Safeguard Duty if the expanded amount of imports is either a flat out increment or an expansion in respect to local creation which is causing genuine damage or a risk of genuine damage to the residential business, as indicated by AISIA. ‘Genuine damage’ is characterized as a critical general weakness in the position of a residential industry.

Source: ET Energy World