The Indian government has imposed safeguard duty on solar cell imports for a period of two years, till July 29, 2020. The duty will not be levied on solar cell imports from developing countries such except China and Malaysia.
Currently, more than 90 per cent of panels and modules used in solar projects in India are imported from China and Malaysia. The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued the regulations based on the final recommendations that had been proposed by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR). As per the notification, there will be a 25 per cent duty for one year which will gradually come down to 20 per cent during July 30, 2019 to January 29, 2020 and 15 per cent during January 30, 2020 to July 29, 2020. The duty is applicable on subject goods (solar cells whether or not assembled in modules or panels) when imported into India.
The order was issued by the MoF despite Orissa High Court’s stay order on the safeguard duty proceedings up to August 20, 2018. As per the MoF, the duty has come into force from July 30, 2018.
According to the ministry, the order has been issued as per sub-section (1) of section 8B of the Customs Tariff Act, read with rules 12, 14 and 17 of the Customs Tariff (Identification and Assessment of Safeguard Duty) Rules, 1997, after considering the final findings of the DGTR.
| Validity period | Duty |
| July 30, 2018 – July 29, 2019 | 25 per cent ad valorem (according to value in proportion) minus anti-dumping duty payable, if any |
| July 30, 2019 – January 30, 2020 | 20 per cent ad valorem minus anti-dumping duty payable, if any |
| January 30, 2020 – July 29, 2020 | 15 percent ad valorem minus anti-dumping duty payable, if any |